Playdead Press – förlag

"My brother has risen to be leader of the most powerful country in the world. My aim, in Kenya, is to be a leader amongst the poorest people on earth." Meet "the Mamba" - George Hussein Obama, former Nairobi slum gangster. Barack's younger brother, born of the same Kenyan father. Only an accident of birth divides them. The Mamba, means crocodile in Swahili. It is George's gang name - he was always the first to snap. Barack Hussein Obama Snr was the father the two boys never really knew. Whilst one brother made it to the pinnacle of First World power, the other became self-styled Third World President of African's most lawless slum - Huruma. Enter Obama The Mamba's secret world- his charm will captivate you. A true life story of fate, power and destiny.

Falling is the first collection of poems by promising new writer Barney Norris. Influenced by poets such as Bernard O'Donoghue, Norris' writing shows a maturity and wisdom that is delicately translated on the page through articulate observation and honest consideration.

Six outfits, one hour of make-up, one push-up bra and eight cigs. She's ready. Six press ups, twenty minutes cleaning, three beers and a pube trim. He's ready. Hear their thoughts and feel their pain as you witness the rawest most hilarious portrayal of male and female attitudes, anxieties and agonisingly familiar sex tricks as Ryan and Laura meet for their second date. A true story based on your sex life. Whether male, female, single, married or divorced, here is everything you need to know... and loads you don't. A Guide to Second Date Sex was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and later transferred to the Soho Theatre in March 2013. A Guide to Second Date Sex is now a film starring George Mackay (1917).

People don't really accept chickens, which is wrong, cos we invented the pecking order.' The outback. Danny and Lyle were abandoned by their mother in the chicken coop. Discovered after several months, surrounded only by hens, feathers, pecking and clawing, they are taken into care. Over the years, they've become media celebrities. Sultry TV journo Pru has entered their lives. But now, society is bored with them. It's New Year's Eve. Tomorrow, Danny and Lyle must leave care and step out into the world alone for the first time. But are childhood traumas coming home to roost? What's Pru hatching? Why's she egging them on? Will they ever eat Nando's again? And of course, which came first?

Leila is an aeronautical engineer. Shahab is a film maker. Today they have been asked to give a talk about their famous friendship and how two such unlikely people have become friends in the first place. It all started with a crash. Leila was thrown into the air one day when Shahab crashed his car into her. Did she experience shock? or peak experience? And was it possible she experienced both at once? Meanwhile Shahab, who has spent his whole life on the run, is having to come to terms with why he didn't stop to see if Leila was ok. Moon Project is about how often the thing we want the most is the thing we are most frightened of. It is also about space.

It's probably the menopause. My Aunty Vera's went on for twenty years. She was so hot once, she ended up in the freezer cabinet at Tesco's. Just got in with the fisherman's pies.' What do you do when your world turns upside down? Cate and Johns marriage has hit the rocks. Now they are trapped in a nightmarish limbo until they manage to sell the family home. When a rather unusual couple fall in love with the house, it looks like the answer to their prayers-but be careful what you wish for... A wickedly dark comedy about love loss and real estate. Dog Days was first show at Theatre 503.

Kyle is comfortable with his life as a male escort until the day he is hired by a premiership footballer and finds himself falling in love. But can Kyle maintain a relationship with a closeted footballer in a country where no top flight players are out? Can he go on pretending that the homophobia endemic in the game is nothing to do with him? Does he know what a relationship means, when, for him, sex has only ever been a transaction? Can he ever tell his friends -- and his family -- the truth? "Away From Home" won two awards at the prestigious Manchester Theatre Awards 2014. It was first shown at the 24:7 festival before transferring to the Jermyn Street Theatre, London and then a UK tour. An edgy, moving and subversively political one-man show, laced with sharp humour, going in for a hard tackle on football's last taboo.

In a gloomy vault of a Paris bank in September 1940, Picasso has been summoned by the German occupation authorities. His precious works of art are to be inventoried. But for what reason? To the new German order Picasso is an artist of the 'Bolshevik-degenerate' variety. Is this summons a prelude to the art equivalent of the burning of the books? An art Kristallnacht just for Pablo -- the most famous artist alive? A desperate, surreal, sometimes comic, battle of wits and wills ensues. If Picasso loses, the consequences could be dire, both for him personally and for his work.

This new collection of contemporary monologues has been developed through consultation with young people. They offer a range of authentic voices and relevant issues to stimulate discussion and participatory drama work. Monologues featured: A Friend Request by Kate Collins (Act Now! Monologue Competition Winner) -- Joshua can be whoever he wants in an online world; Father's Footsteps by Mary Cooper -- everything has changed since Nathan's son was born. But is his past still ruling his future?; Web Pal by Billy Cowan -- Zoe has met someone special on Facebook. Will he turn out to be the same as his profile pic?; A Change for the Better by Anne Neville -- Ian liked his last school. He doesn't understand why things had to change; It Should Have Been Me by Billy Cowan -- when faced with unrequited love, will Sophie take revenge on the object of her affection?; Cheers by Ged McKenna -- Ben has finally found the courage to speak up, but not everyone is thanking him.

This is a play for young people about six characters exploring their relationship to work, education, society and the influences/barriers to all of these. Six friends wake to the first day of the rest of their lives after their A Levels. Harry is not too worried as his parents are well enough off for him to bounce around before joining the family business. Ben has got a job working with his dad on the dustbin lorries and is putting money over studies. Hannah works too much. Ruth and Mandy have big ideas about uni, but Mandy has just discovered that she and Joe might be about to become parents. Joe has no plans, no motivation for work, nothing to look forward to at all. Could a baby really be the answer to his prayers? Education @ The Palace joined forces with Vision West Nottinghamshire performing arts department and Create Theatre to present this new play, which comes from Write Track, the new writing programme at the Mansfield Palace Theatre.

Marcus and Colin have escaped the madness of London to live in the peaceful countryside. But will this new idyllic reality soon be shattered when Steven, his beautiful young boyfriend, Jamie, and Wendy arrive unexpectedly for supper? The Glass Supper is a blistering, poetic, funny new drama about the search for love and sex in the modern world. The Glass Supper by BAFTA-Nominated Martyn Hesford is a searing new comic play from the writer and team behind Mrs Lowry and Son (Critics' Choice in The Times and in The Telegraph, 2013). It had its UK première in July 2014 at the Hampstead Theatre in a production starring Michelle Collins.

A clever comedy about the dumb consequences of hot sex meeting cold statistics. Alan and Robin are a go-getting couple who want to spice up their sex life. Jezebel is a woe-fretting singleton who's looking to get one. Could a threesome be the answer to all their problems? Follow this unlikely trio on a fast-paced adventure of misunderstandings and unexpected complications. Jezebel is a light-hearted lesson in what not to do when your sex life needs saving. Jezebel was commissioned by Rough Magic Theatre Company through its SEEDS programme and premièred at Project Arts Centre, Dublin in December 2012. It was revived for a 2014 Irish tour and dates in Paris and Glasgow, and subsequently transferred to Soho Theatre in August 2014.

Six characters, one park: Fast Track follows six young city-dwellers whose lives collide on one life-changing day. Characters run, cycle, walk and hurtle past each other. Strangers confess, love and judge each other. They have one thing in common: they are all stuck in a relationship - a relationship with money. They are trying to find ways to handle it: save it, steal it, exchange it, make it or get rid of it. And as the sun sets and night falls, the park becomes an altogether darker place... Pulsing with energy and dark humour, Fast Track exposes the beating heart of the city and the challenges faced by those that live in it. The North Wall is proud to present the premiere of this bold new play from one of Britain's brightest up-and-coming playwrights.

Inspired by astonishing true stories, INSIDE is a psychological drama that explores the effects of Stockholm Syndrome on a kidnap victim desperate to keep hope. Locked in a basement for 12 years, she has survived physical and psychological abuse by escaping to her childhood and recording video messages to her Mum. Now, reeling from her latest beating and in the most critical hour of her captivity, the victim discovers that not everything she's been told is true. But to find a way out, she'll have to break through something much stronger than just the basement door.

By Kenneth Grahame, Adapted by Gari Jones. Toad hasn't been seen since the most recent of his escapades backfired, Badger doesn't react well to visitors in the winter and Ratty and Mole have tucked themselves away eating sardines and telling tales of sunnier days. How will we drive the wild-wooders back where they belong? Warm your feet by the fire, toast yourself a crumpet and let us thrill you with the daring adventures of Mr Toad, as his friends try to put him off his latest scheme while the seasons turn on the riverbank.

How does one woman make sense of events that are beyond her control but which touch her deeply? This is the focus of THE MOMENT WE MET. Liz is an ordinary woman - an amazing ordinary woman - who struggles to make sense of the senseless. Only when she uncovers the truth of what happened in the past, and of who had been involved, will she find any degree of inner peace. Hers is an unremitting, inescapable struggle to sift truth from lies and to balance personal fulfilment with the need for justice. Admirable, moving, tenacious -- Liz is a woman for our times...

The Robert Louis Stevenson classic, originally written in 1883 and which created the archetype pirate, is here brought to life through theatrical magic in 2015. Jim has three visitors, as if from dreams or nightmares, and life is never the same again. A journey of discovery and betrayal is re-imagined in an inventive and nutty new theatrical adaptation. Whilst retaining the narrative of Stevensons classic, with depth, integrity, a dash of thriller and a large amount of silliness, Gari Joness adaptation zips along like a wacky race brimming with pirate speak, off-the-wall characters and a whole heap of original shanties and brand new songs. The original production was created in collaboration with Oxfords Creation Theatre.

"What if you woke up to find your body was slowly shutting down? Unable to walk, talk or blink and nobody knows why When Guillain Barré Syndrome affected Adam Pownall it caused full paralysis within days. Getting Better Slowly tells his inspiring story of recovery through new writing, sound and movement. Funny, moving, and honest, Adams journey through illness and rehabilitation including months re-learning how to walk and talk invites audiences to consider how they would deal with an unexpected illness or accident, and explores how it feels when your closest relationship is with the illness thats holding you back."

Three chilling tales. Two ghostly performers. One thrilling night. Legend has it that many years ago a book of terrifying tales was found. Now, you are invited to discover the secrets of The Book of Darkness & Light if you dare. Join The Storyteller and The Musician for an evening of spine-tingling tales and haunting live music. Three ghostly stories to delight and horrify, accompanied by the beautiful sounds of the violin. Be thrilled, chilled and thoroughly entertained by this charming storytelling experience. But, be warned, once the pages of the book are opened, anything could happen.

"Everyone says Mick and Sylvs is dangerous. So why does Dummey feel its so much like home? Young Alan Dummey Dummett doesnt fit in. He lives on the Fountain Park Estate, Northumberland, voted the second worst estate to live in Britain 1992. It doesnt even have a fountain. Or a park. His school the Police even his parents dont want him. Nobody does. Until he meets Mick and Sylv. Dummeys found a new home but one with consequences he could never imagine. A runner up in the Papatango New Writing Prize HYEM (yem, hjem, home) is a play about belonging, broken families and finding somewhere safe in a world about to go to war."

"During a life of over 80 years, Bess rose from being a Derbyshire farmers daughter with 400 acres to become Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury with 400,000 acres. The life and times of Bess of Hardwick is in every way an epic life-telling. Midst all this she would marry four times, become a Lady-in-Waiting and confidante of Queen Elizabeth 1st jailor to Mary Queen of Scots, even spend time herself in The Tower of London and become the founding mother of the Cavendish dynasty, the Dukes of Devonshire. Three of the most iconic women of the age: Elizabeth Tudor Queen of England, Mary Stuart Queen of Scots and Bess Hardwick The Commoner Queen embroidered into the same tapestry - when all about them were men. Over 400 years later the Bess legacy lives on today through the countrys most titled and wealthiest families notably via the Cavendish-Bentinck line to Queen Elizabeth II."

Frank and funny storytelling about the darker side of being a good girlggs girlhood is unfolding as an inquisitive game but a mysterious tingling sensation heralds her sexual awakening. Good Girl is a bold and provocative look at the darker side of being a good girl. Welcome to the 90s. Where the only sex education is from Madonna. Naomi Sheldons debut play is a frank and funny monologue for a female performer. It premiered in association with Old Red Lion Theatre and Bruised Sky Productions at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, before transferring to the Old Red Lion Theatre, London, VAULT 2018 and for a 4 week run in the west end at Trafalgar Studios early 2018.

Carrying the weight of the world in his J.D sports bag, a working class lad trades his bag-head mates and council estate for a one-way ticket out of Salford. Combining new writing, spoken word and original song lyrics, Growing Pains takes us on a poetic journey from heartache to redemption, against the backdrop of broke lads and shit dads.

Driven by a daily quest for perfection, Will takes us on a fast paced, sweaty, physical exploration of how the gym has strengthened and weakened his relationships, his physique and ultimately his life. A complex love story from a gym addicts point of view, set within a 60 minute workout, A Gym Thing tackles body image and bigorexia (Body Dysmorphic Disorder), leaving those who dont visit the gym with a greater understanding of why we do what we do.A Gym Thing transferred to London after an exhilarating run at the Pleasance Courtyard, 2017 Edinburgh Festival.The gym has taken our society by storm. Its a lifestyle and an imperative part of many peoples daily routines. What isnt so widely publicised are some of the negative effects. A Gym Thing shines a much needed spotlight on the world of Bigorexia (reverse anorexia), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD affects men and women equally, quality of life is extremely poor and the suicide rates are amongst the highest in all of the mental disorders.

Three generations of women try to push back the tide.It is 1966. I am sixteen years old and I am on the Venetian bridge with Brian Joy from the Golden Sands Guesthouse and he has bought me a 99 and I am on top of the world. Now I am 16, I know what boys want and why you mustnt give it to them.Tensions are high in Clacton-on-Sea. Guesthouse owner Val has been taken ill and both her estranged daughter Lisa and ambitious grand-daughter Chloe have arrived to lend a hand. Chloe is close to Val, having spent most of her childhood raised by her grandmother. But Lisa and her mother are not on best terms. In this poignant and beautifully observed drama, three generations of women have to set aside differences as they decide the fate of their family-run B&B.

A modern day Genesis story. Newlyweds Adam & Eve are moving to the countryside, leaving the city behind for good. Theyre going to buy a house, start a family and live happily ever after. But when Adam is suspended from work and accusations are made, theyre forced to question how well they really know each other.What lurks beneath the surface of their perfect marriage?

"Steven, recently separated and heading towards divorce, bumps into an old friend on the journey to a job interview. A complex recent past and a fragile present collide, as Steven tries to make sense of the world around him and his place within it. We accelerate headlong into Stevens chaotic and troubled inner life, as the everyday encounter unravels into something dark, disturbing and unrestrained.Following the acclaimed Out Of The Cage, Alex McSweeney returns with this powerful contemporary story, to bring you an emotionally gripping, darkly funny, and visually dynamic portrayal of the mind. Distance is an urgent examination of mental illness, and its impact on the individual, their family, and the society around them."

What holds families together? What tears them apart? Whats brewing in the silences?1996. London. Its Ewas birthday. Her daughter Anna is coming home from university with a secret to share but Maria has some news of her own. As wartime memories of Siberia resurface, old steps are retraced to uncover the secrets of the past and a Polish heritage that unites and divides them.Nicola Werenowskas funny and fascinating new play hurtles between Warsaw and London over two decades and three generations of a Polish/British family.

What if the bitter wounds caused by Brexit do not heal? What if the Brexit vote, UKIP, even the BNP and the EDL what if all that was just the beginning? Joe Newman is the mainstream Labour MP for a traditional, working-class constituency in the North of England until Momentum try to oust him. Unwittingly they unleash a tide that could destroy not only Labour and the Conservatives but also every assumption anyone has ever made about what is acceptable in the mainstream of British politics. This is also a study of how political success and personal disintegration can go hand in hand.