This collection of three plays for young performers from multi-award-winning playwright Rory Mullarkey offers astutely relevant and powerfully theatrical pieces of drama. Each offering large and flexible casts for non-gender specific performers, they are perfect for performances and study by young performers aged 13-23.
Presented in the style of eloquent contemporary verse, Flood explores the consequences of global warming and salvaging hope in the midst of despair. The play was originally commissioned by National Youth Theatre and was performed at Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation in 2018.
The Grandfathers explores the personal experience of warfare and what it takes to train to fight for your country. The play was first performed as part of National Theatre Connections, 2012, before being revived at Bristol Old Vic and the National Theatre's Shed.
Through a collection of vignettes, On The Threshing Floor captures the speed, strangeness and confusion of living through pivotal moments of history. The play premiered at Hampstead Theatre and uses a large ensemble cast exploring themes of work, government and society.
Popular with drama schools, youth groups and young people, this collection provides an excellent resource for those looking for large-scale and flexible plays to produce, perform and study.
Rory Mullarkey's original plays include Pity, The Wolf from the Door (Royal Court Theatre), Saint George and the Dragon (Royal National Theatre), Each Slow Dusk (Pentabus Theatre/UK Tour), Cannibals, Single Sex (Royal Exchange, Manchester), The Grandfathers (National Theatre Connections, then Bristol Old Vic/National Theatre) and On the Threshing Floor (Heat & Light Company, Hampstead Theatre). His adaptations/translations include The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (Bristol Old Vic/Manchester Royal Exchange), The Oresteia by Aeschylus (Shakespeare's Globe) and Remembrance Day by Aleksey Scherbak (Royal Court). He has written the libretti for The Skating Rink by David Sawer (Garsington Opera), Coraline by Mark-Anthony Turnage (Royal Opera House) and The Way Back Home by Joanna Lee (ENO/Young Vic). He has won the Abraham Woursell Prize (co-winner 2017), the James Tait Black Prize for Drama (2014), the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright (co-winner, 2014), the Harold Pinter Commission for the Royal Court (2014) and the Pearson Bursary for the Royal Exchange, Manchester (2011).
1. Introduction by Rory Mullarkey
2. Flood
3. The Grandfathers
4. On the Threshing Floor