Drama & Performance Studies New Books July-September 2026
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
July - September 2026
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DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES - THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE
COLLECTIONS
Arden Shakespeare Insights
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
312 Pages • 60 colour illustrations
HB 9781350123571 • £95 00 / $130 00
PB 9781350123564 • £19 99 / $40 95
ePDF 9781350123595 • £17 99 / $36 85
ePub 9781350123588 • £17 99 / $36 85
The Arden Shakespeare
COLLECTIONS
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
264 Pages • 2 b/w
PB 9781350553781 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350553705 • £80 00 / $110 00
ePDF 9781350553750 • £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350553736 £72 00 / $99 00
The Arden Shakespeare
COLLECTIONS
Shakespeare and Theory
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
288 Pages
PB 9781350275119 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350275072 • £75 00 / $100 00
ePDF 9781350275096 • £67 50 / $90 00
ePub 9781350275089 • £67 50 / $90 00
The Arden Shakespeare
Shakespeare's Objects
Early Modern Material Culture
Catherine Richardson, University of East Anglia, UK
The world in which Shakespeare lived and wrote was a material one before it was a textual one – made up of people’s interactions with a wide variety of things Shakespeare’s plays were first experienced as a rich mixture of objects, language, spaces and actors’ bodies. This accessible and fascinating book delves into the lives of 33 significant things through full-colour images and an easy-to-read analysis of their significance
Shakespeare’s Objects asks who owned these things and how were they used? It considers the diverse reality of trade, exchange and conquest which meant some individuals in early modern England could encounter carpets from Turkey and China, dyes from the Americas and paper from Venice, alongside woods and fabrics from their local communities
Whether you are an actor thinking about how to use props, a student wanting to understand early modern drama, a theatrical designer considering a period setting, a museum professional wanting to understand the significance of objects in your care, or someone curious about objects from the past which are unfamiliar, you will find something useful in this essential guide to early modern things
Horror on the Early Modern Stage
Nightmare on Thames Street
Edited by Hannah Korell, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, USA & Sheila Coursey, Saint Louis University, USA
Early modern English theatre provides countless examples of the tropes and feelings we associate with the horror genre Depictions of obscenity and violence designed to elicit a mixture of loathing, fear, repugnance, shock, awe, and desire in their audiences abound From the bodily mutilations of Titus Andronicus, to the demonic, ghostly, and psychological terrors of Macbeth and Hamlet, to the sensory shocks of torture and imprisonment within The Duchess of Malfi This collection of essays argues that the horror genre as we know it should be extended back to the 16th century to include classic early modern plays from A Midsummer Night's Dream to The Witch of Edmonton
Contributors plot a new theory of horror through its roots as a conscious and complex generic mode in the late sixteenthand early seventeenth-century Drawing together essays on topics such as bodily torture and experimentation, necrophilia and decomposition, psychological and supernatural torment, scholars critically engage with categories such as tragedy, comedy, parody, and folk horror The volume offers new interpretations of both famous and obscure early modern plays, and places them in conversation with contemporary horror films like Midsommar, The Wicker Man, The Substance, and the works of David Cronenberg, providing a new route into the burgeoning field of early modern horror for scholars and students
Shakespeare and Theories of Political Theology
Sandra Logan, Michigan State University, USA
Sandra Logan’s Shakespeare and Theories of Political Theology provides a clear, nuanced explication of modern theories of political theology and the early modern theories that ground them This accessible overview shows how these theories have contributed to new ways of interpreting Shakespeare’s works Logan demonstrates the centrality of political theology to our understanding of sovereign authority across history, tracing debates about political theology and modern sovereignty through Schmitt, Benjamin, Derrida, and Agamben, alongside its early modern aspects through Luther, Calvin, de Vitoria, Smith, and Bodin
She then turns to Shakespearean scholarship to reveal how scholars have employed those theories to show that Shakespeare himself drew on and critiqued concepts of political theology through his plays, such as sovereign authority and impunity, sovereign/subject relations, questions of obedience and resistance, and conditions of exceptionalism and banishment Plays covered include Hamlet, Macbeth, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Tempest, and The Winter ’s Tale Logan also offers a bold new interpretation of Shakespeare’s Richard II that is rooted in political-theological theories of resistance to tyranny and Benjamin’s concept of messianic history Shakespeare and Theories of Political Theology serves as a powerful tool for understanding theories of political theology and richly demonstrates how such theories have been taken up by the field
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES - THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE
COLLECTIONS
UK July 2026 US July 2026
328 Pages
PB 9781350591424 £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350591387 • £80 00 / $110 00
ePDF 9781350591400 £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350591394 • £72 00 / $99 00
The Arden Shakespeare
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
336 Pages • 4 bw illus
HB 9781350002845
• £75 00 / $100 00
PB 9781350529847 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350002869 • £67 50 / $90 00
ePub 9781350002852 £67 50 / $90 00
The Arden Shakespeare
The Chorus in Early Modern English Tragedy
The One and the Many
Silvia Bigliazzi, University of Verona, Italy
Silvia Bigliazzi explores the dynamics between the individual and the collective in 16th century English tragedies in this vibrant study of the chorus in early modern tragedy. Employing a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, Bigliazzi examines the performative, political and cultural implications of chorality in early modern English tragedy over five decades
From the first English language translations of Seneca’s play, Troas, Horace’s Ars Poetica, and the reinvention of the ItaloEuripidean Jocasta to the use of prologue in plays like Romeo and Juliet and Pericles, Bigliazzi traces the appearance and transformation of the ancient Graeco-Roman chorus in early modern English theatre between the late 1590s to the mid1590s Through a reinterpretation of the ancient threnos/kommos and female lament to a regendering of collective or choric mourning in tragedies such as David and Bethsabe, Tamburlaine, Richard III and Romeo and Juliet A nuanced understanding of tragedy and the politics of gendered choral performance emerges through a complex reworking of ancient models, where the essence of tragic drama was rooted in the interplay between the chorus and individual characters From the early Inns of Court drama to Shakespeare, this study reveals a fresh understanding of early modern tragedy as part of a thrilling encounter between the ancient and the new
NEW IN PB
Shakespeare and Fun
The Birth of Entertainment Value
Donald Hedrick, Kansas State University, USA
In this bold, original study Hedrick proposes an early modern ‘entertainment value’ revolution, to which Shakespeare contributed and in which he played a competitive role As London’s nascent capitalist industry developed and the variety of entertainments proliferated, theatre contributes to the birth of entertainment value and a commercial trajectory toward what Marxist critic Adorno theorizes as ‘fun,’ seen contemporaneously in LasVegasization and the election of Donald Trump to U S Presidency
In this innovative approach to Shakespeare’s plays through their compulsory, competitive relation to other choices from London’s entertainment industry, such as sex work and gaming, Hedrick recovers a coherent internal dynamic of theatre’s ‘pleasure enclosure’ accompanying the revolutionary logic of capital’s new cultural and economic extremes Applying these relations to original, insightful readings of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter ’s Tale, and The Taming of the Shrew, Hedrick draws from cultural studies, contemporary and personal parallels, wide-ranging historical materials, and political theory These include: the semantic shifts in keywords of pleasure, the practice of betting on actors, the psychology of paying admission before an entertainment, and various ‘reality shows’ such as contests of prose and verse
COLLECTIONS NEW
Global Shakespeare Inverted
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
248 Pages
HB 9781350421462 • £80 00 / $110 00
PB 9781350421493 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350421486 • £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350421479 • £72 00 / $99 00
The Arden Shakespeare
Global King Lear Crisis, Performance, Adaptation
Edited by William R Rampone, Jr , South Carolina State University, USA & Eric S Mallin, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Global King Lear provides a kaleidoscopic view of multinational adaptations of King Lear with a focus on productions across Asia and Eastern Europe By approaching Shakespeare’s great tragedy as a global phenomenon its signature themes become context-dependent and culture-specific whilst avoiding simplistic appeals to the play’s universality International scholars of literature and theatre explore those culturally specific interpretations as new plays, films, and critical contributions on their own terms
As a film in Japan, King Lear becomes a meditation on contemporary eldercare and the question of celebrity; on a stage in Hungary the play emerges as a ferocious invective against domestic abuse; in another performance in Hungary the play considers childhood trauma and a crisis in maternal care; and a pan-Asian Lear emerges out of multiple adaptations on stage and screen in India, Japan, and China Taken together these readings are dismantled as merely derivative interpretations and cast instead as theatrical and cinematic engines of transformation Despite the play’s focus on the cultural context of England, this volume highlights King Lear’s position as one of the most popular texts for international directors and playwrights to explore their own nations’ troubles and challenges
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES - THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 US September 2026
256 Pages
PB 9781350400696 £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350400658 • £80 00 / $110 00
ePDF 9781350400672 £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350400665 • £72 00 / $99 00
The Arden Shakespeare
COLLECTIONS
Arden Studies in Early Modern Drama
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
304 Pages • 15 bw illus
HB 9781350272392 • £80 00 / $110 00
PB 9781350272446 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350272422 • £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350272415 • £72 00 / $99 00
The Arden Shakespeare
COLLECTIONS
Arden Early Modern Drama Guides
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
296 Pages • 10 bw illus
HB 9781350439252 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350439290 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350439269 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350439276 • £76 50 / $103 50
The Arden Shakespeare
Popular Romance in Early Modern Amateur and Regional Drama
The Age of Mucedorus
Kim
Gilchrist, Cardiff University, UK
As one of the most popular early modern plays, Mucedorus provides new insights into romance narratives and the understudied history of amateur and regional performance. A story of a disguised prince and a rebellious princess surviving various perils in a pastoral forest, Kim Gilchrist highlights how this anonymous play encompasses the common themes through which early modern performance was most widely experienced
He explores the rich landscape of regional performance that existed after the play’s original performance in London playhouses and its later revival by Shakespeare’s King’s Men before the Stuart court As the play was widely performed outside of London by non-professionals, the book draws attention to theatrical culture independent of the capital with distinct dramaturgical characteristics This expands our understanding of the relationships between commercial, literary and elite drama, and wider national traditions of playing Gilchrist corrects the play’s critical neglect by situating its value to early modern performers and audiences The reasons for this neglect focus on the class and gendered aspects of the romance genre, which we learn was vital for so many, even as it endured literary derision
NEW IN PB
Atrocity and Early Modern Drama
Edited by Sarah Johnson, Royal Military College
of Canada & Georgina Lucas, Independent
scholar
Extreme violence scarred the early modern period Contemporary commentators grappled to find language to categorize the massacres, genocides, assassinations, enslavements, sacks, rapes, riots and regicides that characterized the period Some used ‘outrages’, others ‘cruelties’, but, significantly, the term ‘atrocity’ that we use today gained the most currency
Atrocity and Early Modern Drama intervenes in the broad field of violence and early modern drama by placing acts of atrocity at its centre In doing so, this essay collection offers the first book-length examination of atrocities and early modern English drama The volume considers atrocity in early theatre, its varied representations in contemporary Shakespeare performance, and strategies for teaching early modern atrocity drama Contributors introduce us to atrocity in the works of Shakespeare, John Fletcher, William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton across a range of forms including comedy, tragedy, revenge, cinematic adaptation, documentary film and contemporary theatre The collection addresses the intersections of atrocities through class, crime, gender, race and the natural world Together, the chapters interrogate how early modern English drama reflects upon and shapes understandings of the historically contingent, politically loaded and culturally contentious phenomena of atrocity
The Winter's Tale A Critical Reader
Edited by Peter Kirwan, Mary Baldwin University, USA & Todd Borlik, Purdue University,
USA
An international group of scholars reappraise The Winter ’s Tale through a series of research essays covering performance history, critical history, and new interpretations
Navigating the play’s fluctuating genre conventions, onstage spectacle and leaps across time, scholars consider how ecomateriality, radical hospitality, childhood, gender, and critical race studies shape contemporary understandings and staging of a play that defies easy definition
By charting these changing interpretive trends, readers are introduced to a rich body of scholarship which shows how the play can be used to confront the experiences of those marginalized by race, age, gender, and nationality, to place fresh attention on the economic and material structures that define the dramatic plot of the play As The Winter ’s Tale’s depictions of patriarchal violence, vulnerability, economic disparity, border crossings and exploitation continue to draw attention, this guide serves as an invaluable resource for scholars, students and audiences alike Complete with pedagogical tools including resources and strategies for approaching the play in the classroom, this Critical Reader is an essential collection of scholarship on one of Shakespeare’s most audacious experiments
COLLECTIONS
UK June 2026 • US May 2026
352 Pages • 75 bw illus
PB 9781493091324 • £19 99 / $26 95
ePDF 9798765165416 • £17 99 / $24 25
ePub 9781493091331 • £17 99 / $24 25
Bloomsbury Academic
Shakespeare's World
Seeing the Plays through Elizabethan Eyes
Dennis Krausnick, Josh Lubarr & Rebecca Goodheart
It goes nearly without saying that Elizabethan England, the society that produced William Shakespeare, was dramatically different than the modern world of today This is true not only in the most obvious ways language, technology, living standards, politics but in the ideas and beliefs that shaped Elizabethans’ understanding of themselves and the world around them Just as audiences 400 years from now will need guidance to understand concepts like “the American dream” or “wokeness,” so too does an understanding of the Elizabethan worldview illuminate Shakespeare’s plays in new and surprising ways
For decades, Dennis Krausnick (1942-2018), a beloved teacher of classical acting, brought Shakespeare’s world and worldview to life for professional actors as Director of Training at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts As part of the company’s world-renowned actor-training program its “Month-Long Intensive” Dennis created a full-day immersive experience that helped actors experience, understand, and embody the philosophies and beliefs underlying the Elizabethan world
A fascinating and readable distillation of the insights developed by Dennis Krausnick and Shakespeare & Company, Shakespeare’s World gives performers and directors an engaging tour of the Elizabethan worldview, unpacking such alien concepts as the four elements, the bodily humors, and “the great chain of being ” It includes detailed notes for each Shakespeare play showing how this worldview permeates the text it will enrich the experience of anyone looking to understand and engage with Shakespeare’s writing in a practical, personal, and active way
COLLECTIONS
Performance and Digital Cultures
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
144 Pages • 8 bw illus
PB 9781350557031 • £21 99 / $29 95
HB 9781350556997 • £50 00 / $68 00
ePDF 9781350557017 • £45 00 / $61 20
ePub 9781350557000 • £45 00 / $61 20
Methuen Drama
Surveillance Technologies in Performance and Migration
Sidonie Carey-Green, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK
Reflecting on the violent impact of digital border systems and surveillance practices that dehumanises migrating bodies, this book draws parallels to similar harmful acts of identity marking in relation to performance and migration
Performance practice creates an opportunity for bodies reduced to data at digital border zones to reject the numerical label forced upon them, making a more human and multifaceted counternarrative Leading with the original concept of ‘choreographing evidence’, the book applies Practice as Research methods to performance works created with artist and refugee Tom Tegento: Uninvited (2021) and Contagion (2021) This work disrupts surveillance technologies and their violence towards bodies at borders as well as using them in alternative ways within performance practice It considers how choreography which utilises both overt optical tracking technologies and GPS methods embedded in smart devices can enable othered bodies to redraw borders, reclaim narratives and resituate the self
Alongside this PaR work, the book analyses contemporary performance which uses the body and/or technology to explore narratives of migration It offers examples of UK and European works which critique the way migrating bodies are represented within performance, including Flight Pattern (2019), A Place to Sit (2021), The Walk (Little Amal) (2021) and Now is the Time to Say Nothing (2019) The insights gained offer a richer understanding of the power dynamics at digital borders, how they function, how they can be resisted and how they are felt and lived
COLLECTIONS
Forms of Drama
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
216 Pages
• 15 bw illus
PB 9781350526044
• £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350526006 • £65 00 / $90 00
ePDF 9781350526020 • £58 50 / $81 00
ePub 9781350526013 • £58 50 / $81 00
Methuen Drama
COLLECTIONS
Forms of Drama
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
224 Pages • 10 bw illus
HB 9781350296725 • £65 00 / $90 00
PB 9781350296763 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350296749 • £58 50 / $81 00
ePub 9781350296732 • £58 50 / $81 00
Methuen Drama
COLLECTIONS
Methuen Drama Agitations: Text, Politics and Performances
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
240 Pages
HB 9781350445635 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350445673 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350445659 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350445642 • £76 50 / $103 50
Methuen Drama
Kabuki Japan’s Mega-Theater
Laurence R Kominz, Portland State University, USA
This volume provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the history of kabuki, Japan's 'music-dancedrama'. It traces the development of the form from its ribald, burlesque beginnings in the early 1600s, through to the 21st century experimental fusions with pop culture that are on-going today and examines five popular works drawn from the 18th to the 20th centuries
Along the way, it examines the development of star-driven commercial theater with blockbuster plays; the 250 year running conflict with the ruling samurai regime; the invention of horror theater; and classicization and Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries
Within this historical framework the author analyses in detail five of the most frequently performed kabuki plays, focusing on play writing and inter-textuality, stage presentation (costuming/direction /acting/stage effects), and audience reception from first performances until today, both in Japan and abroad Drawing on his directorial experience, Kominz explores how fine acting and dance are used alongside exciting staging are used to facilitate intense audience engagement with both the story they are witnessing and the stage actors themselves
NEW IN PB
Nautanki
The Musical Theatre of North India
Devendra Sharma, California State University, USA
Drawing on more than 4 decades of experience working in Nautanki as a writer, director, singer, and actor, Sharma’s book is the first major study to analyse Nautanki not only through its literary bases, but also through live performances, considering it both in a historical vein and as contemporary theatre on the ground
In this book, renowned theatre scholar and 7th-generation Nautanki artist Devendra Sharma examines the theatrical form of Nautanki its history, organisational structure, narratives, poetics, musical structures, artists, and performance spaces which flourished in North India in the 19th and the 20th centuries, and is still popular now In a concise format, Sharma explores how this socially and politically relevant theatre, full of beautiful music, swashbuckling heroes, magic, romance, and contemporary themes, once charmed audiences throughout India’s cities and countryside towns and served as the continuation of elements of ancient Indian theatre This book unravels a critical shift in the history of Indian theatre, the move from unbounded performance spaces to proscenium stages in big cities, and how this changed the meaning of theatre in India It examines how forces of globalization and modernization have profoundly changed India’s theatrical landscape, arguably side-lining one of its most robust theatre forms of the 19th and 20th centuries It also discusses the future of Nautanki, and how it is now being performed globally
Staging Change
Toward a Theatrical Theory of Activist Performance
Victoria L Scrimer, University of Maryland, USA, and the University of Mary Washington, USA
Exploring a wide variety of examples of activist performances, such as David Buckel’s self-immolation, and the January 6th capitol insurrection, this book analyses activist performance through the lens of postdramatic theatre theory
Staging Change poses the provocative question: are activists addicted to drama? Scrimer examines the ways in which the performance and reception of protest is informed by the logic of dramatic theatre, and argues that such performative arrangements are so naturalized that they can limit the ability of activists and their audiences to imagine different ways of precipitating change By combining performance analysis, interviews with artists and activists, and autoethnographic accounts of the author ’s own experiences as an environmental activist, the book illustrates the limitations and alternatives to dramatic representation in activist performance The last decade has seen an increase in political demonstrations worldwide In response, scholars, artists, and activists from diverse disciplines have produced an exciting array of practical and theoretical approaches for talking about and thinking through activism Utilizing these interdisciplinary approaches, Scrimer offers us a theoretical inquiry into the possible applications of Hans-Thies Lehmann’s postdramatic theatre theory in the context of political activism, and subsequently extends an alternative conceptual model for activist performance beyond the dramatic paradigm
COLLECTIONS 2ND EDITION
UK August 2026 US August 2026
296 Pages
HB 9781350575868 £75 00 / $100 00
PB 9781350575851 • £26 99 / $36 95
ePDF 9781350575875
ePub 9781350575882
Methuen Drama
£24 29 / $33 25
• £24 29 / $33 25
COLLECTIONS
Musical Theatre Critical Companions
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
232 Pages
HB 9781350524354
• £65 00 / $90 00
PB 9781350524347 • £21 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9781350524378 • £19 79 / $26 95
ePub 9781350524361 • £19 79 / $26 95
Methuen Drama
COLLECTIONS
Topics in Musical Theatre
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
128 Pages
PB 9781350514584 • £10 99 / $14 95
ePDF 9781350514607 • £9 89 / $13 45
ePub 9781350514591 • £9 89 / $13 45
Methuen Drama
American Musicals in Historical Context
From the American Revolution to the 21st Century
Thomas A Greenfield, College of Arts and Sciences, Bellarmine College, USA
American Musicals in Historical Context: From the American Revolution to the 21st Century gives students a fresh look at history-based musicals, helping readers to understand the American story through one of the country's most celebrated art forms: the musical.
This book offers insight into an array of musicals that explore U S history The work provides a synopsis, overview of critical and audience reception, and historical context and analysis for each of 20 musicals selected for the unique and illuminating way they present the American story on the stage From the signing of the Declaration of Independence (1776) through to the movement against the Vietnam War (Hair); the newsboys strike (Newsies) and the first 'populist' President (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), musical theatre has been no stranger to placing historical events on stage
This volume explores musicals that have centered their themes, characters, and plots on some aspect of America's complex and ever-changing history Each helps us rediscover pivotal national crises, key political decisions, defining moral choices, unspeakable and unresolved injustices, important and untold stories, defeats suffered, victories won in the face of monumental adversity, and the sacrifices borne in the process of creating the American narrative, one story at a time
Andy Blankenbuehler
A Critical Companion
Amanda Jane Olmstead, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
"There are very few times when I really want the audience to look at dance Dance is just meant to be a framing device that matches emotionally what I want the audience to feel " - Andy Blankenbuehler
Three-time Tony Award-winner Andy Blankenbuehler is one of the most recognizable choreographers working on Broadway today Known particularly for his work on the hit musical Hamilton, collaborating once again with Lin-Manuel Miranda following their work on In The Heights, his distinct style and method of working is unique and distinguishable This first critical study of both his style and extraordinary body of work explores everything from his background and training through to his rehearsal process and collaborative style Told chronologically through his major shows, alongside interludes and reflections, this critical companion includes analysis alongside interviews with collaborators and Blankenbuehler himself
As well as guiding readers through specific shows, this book explores Blankenbuehler ’s philosophies with regards to storytelling through the body It argues how his prioritization of the ensemble as crucial to understanding the action within a show consequently positions the ensemble body as an indispensable element through which the audience gains vital (sub)text As a result of this decision his choreography has become distinctly different from his predecessors and peers
Fandom in Musical Theatre
Jessica Hillman-McCord, State University of New York, Fredonia, USA
What does it mean to be a 'fan' of musical theatre? And how does 'fandom' continue to shape the genre?
From listening to Original Cast Albums on repeat in the basement, to camping in line overnight for first row tickets to Rent, to crowdsourcing new musicals and interacting with performers on TikTok, the activities a musical theatre fan engages in have changed significantly over time, but the love and passion at the heart of the experience has remained the same
Fandom in Musical Theatre delves into the universe of musical theatre fandom, investigating its dynamic communities This book traces the historical context of fandom and then examines what it currently means to be a musical theatre fan, as fan culture shifts towards the digital Including case studies on the 'diva worship' of Barbra Streisand, as well as Rent and Hamilton, this accessible introduction presents a multifaceted view of a passionate subculture often overlooked in academic discourse
Published in Methuen Drama's Topics in Musical Theatre series, this book will appeal to anyone interested in exploring the intersections of musical theatre culture, fan engagement and community formation
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 US September 2026
128 Pages
HB 9781350578807
£65 00 / $90 00
PB 9781350578791 • £21 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9781350578814 £19 79 / $26 95
ePub 9781350578821 • £19 79 / $26 95
Methuen Drama
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
224 Pages • 40 bw illus
HB 9781350195202
• £90 00 / $110 00
PB 9781350195240
• £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350195226 • £81 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781350195219 £81 00 / $99 00
Methuen Drama
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
216 Pages
HB 9781350443563 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350443570 £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350443587 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350443594 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
The Journey to Associate Director and Choreographer… and Beyond An Industry Guide for Practitioners and Creatives
Richard J Hinds
For every West End and Broadway musical that’s running in London and New York, as well as shows across the world and on tour, a team of associate creatives is behind the scenes keeping them alive But how does someone become this multi-faceted role, and what skills do they need in order to succeed?
Being an Associate Director or Choreographer is an all-encompassing role that requires diplomacy, creativity, organisation, tact and efficiency; this book is the first all-inclusive guide written to help aspiring and practising creatives find their way into this vital part of the theatre industry ecosystem Learn from an industry professional with years of experience in the field, and gain insight into every aspect of the associate role Whether you are a young creative looking to work in the field or a seasoned professional looking to make the transition, this book will be accessible and relevant to all
Addressing the skills necessary to succeed in the role, this book takes you through what it is like ‘on the job’, from the rehearsal room, to opening night and beyond Discover how to make working tables, charts and diagrams to help maintain a show, handle cast changes, work with understudies and swings as well as replicate the work in different circumstances time after time, within a specific professional brief
NEW IN PB
Louise Lecavalier
Dance, Labor, Culture
MJ Thompson, Concordia University, Canada
As principal dancer with Montréal-based company La La La Human Steps, Louise Lecavalier was among the most iconic dancers of her generation: strong, muscled, androgynous, punk Moving with spectacular speed, precision and an athletic physicality, her commitment to dancing would ultimately transform the potential of what bodies within Western concert dance could do
Drawing on extensive oral history accounts and archival material, the book follows Lecavalier ’s impact on the evolving aesthetic of La La La Human Steps, via the development of its early repertoire, and offers the first sustained account of her 1982 solo Non, Non, Non, je ne suis pas Mary Poppins More, it tracks diverse influences and sources for the repertoire, complicating understandings of nationalism in Québec, while marking the significance of the collective in generating new aesthetics What emerges is a portrait of the dancer as artist, icon, labourer and mover of cultural discourse
Featuring an expansive set of photos and ephemera, including performance documentation by photographer/activist Linda Dawn Hammond, production images by choreographer Édouard Lock and street photography by key players in the 1980s Montréal scene, this study offers a critical and celebratory appraisal of Lecavalier ’s unique contribution and the role of the dancer more broadly as a producer of culture
NEW
Straight White Men Can’t Dance
American Masculinity in Film and Popular Culture
Addie Tsai, William & Mary, USA
Straight White Men Can’t Dance: American Masculinity in Film and Popular Culture investigates a trope proliferating throughout popular American media over the last half-century: that straight white men can’t dance
Addie Tsai traces this reiterative moving image of vaudevillian buffoonery in film, television, and video from the mid-1980s to present-day During the height of homophobic hysteria in response to the AIDS epidemic, dance began to be used as a marker to scrutinize white men’s position within homosexuality and masculinity Therefore, white men could misperform good dancing to more securely sit within hegemonic masculinity
Tsai establishes how ethnic mimicry within American popular media, even that of white masculinity, is produced and reiterated from the 19th-century theatrical practice of blackface minstrelsy This history resurfaces in one of the exceptions to the trope: when white men use the hip currency of blackness to affirm their (dancing) masculinity through theft and positionality By revealing how dance in American popular media reifies and problematizes gendered and racialized economies, Straight White Men Can’t Dance demonstrates how the image of the buffoonish white male dancer operates as a smokescreen for the more violent manipulative forces of the reigning figure of white supremacy
COLLECTIONS
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
256 Pages • 25 bw illus
HB 9781350236882 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350236929 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350236899 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350236905 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
NEW IN PB
Text as Dance
Walter Benjamin, Louis Marin and Choreographies of the Baroque
Mark Franko, Temple University, USA
This book offers a groundbreaking investigation into issues of gender, power and the representation of sovereignty in French Baroque court ballet – and in today’s performances that recall them
Mark Franko uses powerful interpretive tools derived from historiography and critical theory, especially the work of GermanJewish philosopher Walter Benjamin, to offer the reader both a historical and a theoretical interpretation of this genre of dance in France (c 1615–1654), as well as its aftermath and legacy today Through doing so, he reaches conclusions about how sovereignty and power were both perceived by viewers at the time and how they were represented through dance, given that it was the noble class who devised and performed court ballets He enquires into the role of choreography and theatricality as potentially critical forces operating at the heart of sovereignty
Franko places the work of Louis Marin on power, representation and movement in French Baroque painting and performance in juxtaposition to that of Benjamin on theater Other historians whose work is prominent in this study are Ernst Kantorowicz, Michel Foucault and José Antonio Maravall
With wide breadth in the work of historians, philosophers, political scientists, critical theorists, musicologists and dance historians, this is the culmination of a career ’s-worth of scholarship and research in the field
NEW
COLLECTIONS
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
224 Pages • 3 bw illus
HB 9781350371392 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350371439 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350371415 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350371408 • £76 50 / $103 50
Methuen Drama
Applied Theatre Voice Performance and Social Justice
Edited by Sarah Weston, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Applied Theatre: Voice is a unique exploration of the conceptual and practical understandings of voice in relation to applied theatre
Voice is fundamental to much practice that takes place in applied and community performance and is regularly the go-to word to articulate community involvement and engagement, be that in terms of creativity, or social, cultural and political activity Yet often in these references, the preciseness of what we mean by voice is lost Is voice in applied theatre simply another word for representation, as in ‘finding’ or ‘giving’ voice? Or is voice also referring to the material, sonic and embodied phenomenon of human communication, when we consider the relationship between voice, performance and social justice?
In this book, voice in applied theatre is critically examined in a range of practical case studies, discussing both its symbolic and material function, demonstrating the necessity of considering both when working in applied and community spaces In Part One, voice as a concept is introduced, discussing recent theorizations of voice and why they are significant to applied theatre Part Two introduces the case studies, exploring divergent understandings of why the voice matters in community practice
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
Plays for Young People
UK March 2026 • US March 2026
128 Pages
PB 9781350632035 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350632042 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350632059 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
My Brother's a Genius
Debris Stevenson
Accessible Edition using Helvetica Neue LT Std (light, bold) font with black ink on cream paper
In real life, her actual brother is a genius Title aside, everything in this show is fiction – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true
Poetry, grime and movement unite in Debris Stevenson’s explosive new play about learning to fall, fail and find our own ways to fly
Daisy and Luke are twins navigating life in a high-rise council estate, where ambition and self-doubt collide Both twins have labels thrust upon them: Daisy the “idiot” and Luke the “genius” But will their bond and shared dream of flying launch them up together or crash them apart?
This edition was published to coincide with the Theatre Centre, Sheffield Theatres and National Youth Theatre co-production in January 2026
Contemporary Dramatists
UK April 2026 • US April 2026
384 Pages
PB 9781350595491 • £21 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9781350595507 • £19 79 / $26 95
ePub 9781350595514 • £19 79 / $26 95
Methuen Drama
Gina Gionfriddo Plays 1
Gina Gionfriddo
“Sick, ugly, and brilliantly funny and wise In Gionfriddo’s plays, as in all great plays, no one is wrong, everyone is right.” The Brooklyn Rail
The first play collection of celebrated American dramatist Gina Gionfriddo, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama Across five plays, her wit, pungent dialogue and sharp contemporary voice explores a wide range of themes about American life: U S Drag; After Ashley; Becky Shaw; Rapture, Blister, Burn and Can You
Forgive Her?
Contemporary Dramatists
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
304 Pages
PB 9781350633216 • £24 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9781350633223 • £22 49 / $26 95
ePub 9781350633230 • £22 49 / $26 95
Methuen Drama
Peter Quilter Plays 1
End of the Rainbow; Glorious!; Moviestar; Marilyn & Me
Peter Quilter
‘I want these plays to touch people, to have heart. And if you desire that in a comedy, or tragi-comedy, you need to introduce themes that people can respond to – love, relationships, death, heartbreak, failure, ambition, dreams, etc Plus whatever theme I’m writing about, I always want to find the humour in it I’ve never analysed why I want to do that, but I do know that some of the richest and loudest laughs come from the combination of tragedy with comedy ’ - Peter Quilter in Breaking Character
Peter Quilter ’s plays have captivated audiences around the world with their wit, warmth, and emotional depth With productions staged in over 50 countries and translated into dozens of languages, this debut collection brings together a selection of his most celebrated works Best known for End of the Rainbow, which earned Olivier and Toney nominations, Quilter's writing spans comedy, drama, and musical theatre, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness This collection showcases his gift for crafting stories that blend humour with heartache, and glamour with grit
This debut collection includes an introduction from the author
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
Methuen Drama Play Collections
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
224 Pages
HB 9781350620926 • £70 00 / $95 00
PB 9781350620933 • £22 99 / $30 95
ePDF 9781350620940 • £20 69 / $27 85
ePub 9781350620957 • £20 69 / $27 85
Methuen Drama
The Future is Short Contemporary Short Plays for High School and College Students
Edited by Mitchell Thomas, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
Have you struggled to find short plays that challenge actors and directors for class and production. Do you require plays that are 10 minutes in length for competitions or class work? Are you interested in reading plays from some of the most exciting contemporary American writers?
This anthology solves the above problems for theatre teachers and their students, offering excellent, contemporary material written for high school and college age actors within the last ten years Each play selected features a distinct and unique voice in this eclectic and diverse volume targeted toward college and high school age actors, directors, and audiences In these pages, you’ll find a delightful mix of plays created in the last few years
The 20 plays all feature no more than 5 characters, with a mix of gender roles for actors of different ages Written by some of the most exciting contemporary voices in American theatre, they draw on themes that resonate with young people today and offer challenging roles that push and develop actors and directors Each play is formally inventive and expands the boundaries of traditional drama to offer scope for different styles of performance, meaning there is a range of material to suit different student needs Expertly crafted to run under 15 minutes, these plays offer concrete teaching tools that can be enjoyed by performers of different abilities as well as audiences
Methuen Drama Play Collections
UK September 2026 • US August 2026
520 Pages
HB 9781350514546 • £75 00 / $100 00
PB 9781350514539 • £24 99 / $34 95
ePDF 9781350514560 • £22 49 / $31 45
ePub 9781350514553 • £22 49 / $31 45
Methuen Drama
The Methuen Drama Anthology of Native American Plays Indigenous Spaces
Edited by Courtney Elkin Mohler, Boston College, USA & Christy Stanlake, United States Naval Academy, USA
Leading scholars collect, introduce, and contextualize a diverse array of newly-published contemporary Native American plays.
Featuring works that engage with the major themes, artists, and plays of Native American theatre, Indigenous Spaces places a special emphasis on the aesthetics, cultural meanings, and political goals of the genre as it interacts with the changing needs of Native North American peoples
The first collection of plays from multiple Native American playwrights to be published in over a decade, this anthology presents new plays by key Indigenous theatre-makers across Native North America who are currently writing and producing a range of theatrical works From a reimagining of Peter Pan in Madeline Sayet’s The Neverland, to the true story of a 900mile odyssey in And So We Walked by DeLanna Studi, these plays pay homage to the wide breadth of Native Theatre
Each chapter opens with critical commentary written by the editors, who weave the play’s dramaturgy into broader discussions of Native storytelling and performative movements Individually, these pieces offer exciting opportunities for performance and study; when collected together, the plays elicit an even more nuanced socio-historical, philosophical understanding of Native Theatre across the 21st century The volume directly compliments Methuen Drama's Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance: Indigenous Spaces
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
Modern Plays
UK April 2026 • US April 2026
96 Pages
PB 9781350641891 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350641907 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350641914 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Manic Street Creature
Maimuna Memon
There’s this unspoken thing right? I dunno I guess, this resistance to admitting that someone else’s trauma can be traumatising
Ria is a singer-songwriter She’s talented She’s ambitious And she’s drivenquite literally- all the way from Lancashire to London, to start afresh in Camden Town
Charting the rise and fall of a rollercoaster relationship, Ria is recording her debut album with her band But the more the tracks progress, the more music and memory collide
This soaring piece of gig theatre from Olivier Award winner Maimuna Memon brings a raw and powerful insight into first love, co-dependence and mental health care – but most of all, how music has the power to help us start again
This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the critically acclaimed, multi award-winning return of Manic Street Creature at Kiln Theatre in March 2026
Top Gs Like Me
Samson Hawkins
Modern Plays
UK April 2026 US April 2026
96 Pages
PB 9781350640344 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350640351 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350640368 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
I reckon, believe in yourself needs to have some, what d’you call it, caveats attached, you know what I mean? Because if you’re someone who’s like me, like, in general, a bit rubbish, the motto should be, ‘Believe in yourself within reason’
Aidan’s lost His best mate’s starting uni, his mum can’t get out of bed, and his new side hustle has questionable legality Meanwhile, he’s stacking shelves at the supermarket wondering if this is all he’s cut out for He’s got hobbies –hanging out at the skate park and doom scrolling his days away As he’s lapping up the algorithm ‘Hugo Bang’ appears with the promise to help Aidan become the alpha he was born to be Will Hugo Bang help Aidan get his life back on track, or will he lead Aidan to a darker, more dangerous place?
This new play by playwright Samson Hawkins (author of the critically acclaimed Village Idiot) crackles with dry humour and a modern-day wit
This edition was published to coincide with the production at Royal & Derngate, Northampton in February 2026
The Last Picture
Catherine Dyson
Modern Plays
UK March 2026 • US March 2026
80 Pages
PB 9781350623002 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350623019 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350623026 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Because it seems these days
You’re feeling somewhat shaky
You feel the sands shift beneath your feet
And outside your door
A storm rages
The Last Picture is a thought-provoking exploration of empathy, imagination, and collective memory – a play about what connects us across time, place, and experience
On a school trip in 2026, a group of Year 9 students – with Sam, their emotional support dog – are drawn into the story of 1939 Europe As past and present blur, the play asks what it means to care, to remember, and connect across time
This edition was published to coincide with the UK tour of the York Theatre
Royal, ETT and An Tobar and Mull Theatre Production in February 2026
Modern Plays
UK January 2026 US January 2026
96 Pages
PB 9781350624832 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350624856 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350624849 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
The Playboy of the Western World
John Millington Synge
At the edge of the earth, you could be anyone
Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when, on a normal day, a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father
Instead of being shunned, the killer Christy Mahon becomes a local hero The welcome murderer wins hearts and races as he beds himself into village life That is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene
John Millington Synge’s riveting story of youth and self-discovery has been celebrated for decades This new edition was published to coincide with the National Theatre's 2025 production with a cast that included Nicola Coughlan as Pegeen Flaherty, Éanna Hardwicke as Christy Mahon and Siobhán McSweeney as Widow Quin
Features notes by Christopher Collins, University of Nottingham, UK
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
All Is But Fantasy
Whitney White
Modern Plays
UK April 2026 • US April 2026
320 Pages
PB 9781350639287 • £14 99 / $19 95
ePDF 9781350639300 • £13 49 / $17 95
ePub 9781350639294 • £13 49 / $17 95
Methuen Drama
'Shakespeare’s most iconic characters take the mic, and centre stage, like never before '
Lady Macbeth, Juliet, Emilia, and Richard III step into the spotlight, challenging the stories that shaped them, in this high-voltage fusion of rock, pop, soul, and gospel, created by award-winning artist, writer, and composer Whitney White
With a live band and a stellar ensemble, this is Shakespeare turned all the way up A ground-breaking theatrical event of two high-energy gig-theatre performances that revisit the stories of four of Shakespeare’s most famous characters catalysed by a red-hot soundtrack
All plays are published together in one volume to coincide with the world premiere of both parts at the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon in January 2026
An Ark
Simon Stephens
Don’t panic
Don’t be scared
Modern Plays
UK February 2026 • US February 2026
48 Pages
PB 9781350632431 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350632462 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350632455 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
This must feel strange to you It felt strange to me
From quiet sorrows to breathtaking beauty, the mystery of human experience unfolds before you In An Ark, four guides shepherd you into an understanding of the human condition, encompassing the joy of first love and the inevitability of death
The first play created for mixed reality, this genre-defying collaboration between Tony Award–winning writer Simon Stephens (Vanya, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), critically acclaimed director Sarah Frankcom (UK Theatre Award for Our Town), and mixed reality pioneer Todd Eckert, An Ark explores the elemental meaning of life with the energy and humanity that are the hallmarks of their work
This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production by Tin Drum at The Shed, New York, featuring the ensemble cast of Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel, Arinzé Kene, and Rosie Sheehy
Modern Plays
UK February 2026 US February 2026
96 Pages
PB 9781350615076 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350615083 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350615090 • £9 89 / $14 35 Methuen Drama
Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
Henry Lewis, Henry Shields & Jonathan Sayer A NEW 'GOES WRONG' PLAY FROM MISCHIEF
The Cornley Amateur Drama Society are back with tidings of chaos and joy, ready to tackle Charles Dickens’s classic, A Christmas Carol Do not miss another Christmas catastrophe from Mischief, the multi award-winning company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery
The Cornley crew battle miscommunication, delays to their set, actors missing in action and a growing feud over who will play the lead It’s sure to be a disastrous take on the much-loved classic Christmas story of Ebenezer Scrooge Will Cornley finally change their ways, or will their misfortunes wreak havoc yet again Enjoy a festive slice of pure escapism at the worst production in Christmas past, present and yet to come!
This edition was published to coincide with the UK Tour and West End run in November 2025
Modern Plays UK April 2026 US April 2026
96 Pages
PB 9781350618763 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350618770 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350618787 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Evening All Afternoon
Anna Ziegler
“The thing is, I’m not sure if I dislike people or just dislike that they seem to dislike me ”
Jennifer is about to become Delilah's stepmother She wants so badly to connect, but they couldn't be further apart
In a world that’s shifting under their feet, both women have to summon the quiet courage it takes to open their hearts again
Witty and heartbreakingly human, Evening All Afternoon is a story about things lost and things remembered and how sometimes, in order to live, you have to face what’s no longer there
This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London's Donmar Warehouse which starred Anastasia Hille and Erin Kellyman
KENREX
Modern Plays
UK February 2026 • US February 2026
80 Pages
PB 9781350613126 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350613133 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350613140 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Jack Holden & Ed Stambollouian
Nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2026
Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026
'911, what’s your emergency?’
‘My husband... they shot him... they all did.’
July 10th, 1981, Missouri Smalltown bully, Ken Rex McElroy rules Skidmore with an iron fist His ten-year reign of terror has involved theft, intimidation, assault, abduction and attempted murder but, thanks to his slippery defence attorney and the rusty cogs of the American justice system, Ken has never spent a night behind bars But, when Ken shoots pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp, and leaves him for dead, the good folk of Skidmore decide that enough is enough If the courts won’t bring Ken to heel, they will
KENREX is the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack
After a premiere at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024, KENREX later transferred to the Southwark Playhouse in February 2025 This updated edition was published to coincide with the 2025/26 London run at The Other Palace
Crown of Blood
Modern Plays
UK April 2026 US March 2026
112 Pages
PB 9781350626874 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350626881 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350626898 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
A Yoruba Adaptation of Macbeth Oladipo Agboluaje, University of East London, UK
Of what use is a good man without ambition?
Set during the civil wars of 19th-century Yorubaland, Crown of Blood is a powerful retelling of the classic Macbeth, adapted by Oladipo Agboluaje
Crown of Blood follows the story of General Aderemi Fresh from saving the kingdom from invaders, he is promoted to Field Marshall, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the oracle When the oracle says he will become King, Aderemi and his wife Oyebisi go on a bloody mission to ensure he sits on the throne
This edition was published to coincide with the co-production between Utopia Theatre and Sheffield Theatres at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in February 2026
DRAMA & PERFORMANCE STUDIES
You Got Older
Clare Barron
Modern Plays
UK March 2026 • US March 2026
144 Pages
PB 9781350638747 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350638761 • £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350638754 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Winner of the 2015 Obie Award for Playwriting, nominee for the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play, and a finalist for the 2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
After losing both her job and her boyfriend, an unmoored and unsettled Mae returns to her small Washington hometown to take care of her ailing father
When she meets a mysterious stranger, she has the startling realization that maybe the intimacy she’s been craving is easier with the unknown, rather than with her own family
Blending reality and fantasy, You Got Older is Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron's tender and darkly comic play about family, illness, and cowboys and how to remain standing when everything you know comes crashing down around you
This revised edition was published to coincide with the off-Broadway revival at the Cherry Lane Theatre directed by Anne Kauffman and starring Alia Shawkat in February 2026
Sweetmeats
Karim Khan
Modern Plays
UK March 2026 US March 2026
112 Pages
PB 9781350603356 • £10 99 / $15 95
ePDF 9781350603370 £9 89 / $14 35
ePub 9781350603363 • £9 89 / $14 35
Methuen Drama
Their souls are on fire because after all these lonely days, they finally found their own
Hema hasn’t indulged in sweet treats for years She wants to be healthier and hopes the Type 2 diabetes course she’s been attending will help
Everything seems on track Then Liaquat shows up Unapologetic and unafraid to break rules, Liaquat influences Hema to enjoy all the world has to offer and, in return, Hema helps Liaquat get his health under control As the unlikely pair grow closer, they face the aching pull of romance they’d long thought they had outgrown
This edition was published to coincide with the world-premiere of the Bush Theatre and Tara Theatre co-production in February 2026
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BLOOMSBURY OPEN COLLECTIONS?
A progressive open access model for books
BLOOMSBURY OPEN COLLECTIONS is a collective-action approach to funding open access (OA) books. Through this model, we aim to make OA publication available to a wider range of authors by spreading the cost across multiple organisations, while providing additional benefits to participating libraries. By prioritising authors that are often underrepresented in scholarly publishing, including early-career and unaffiliated researchers and those based in/writing about low- and lower-middle- income countries, we hope to engage a more diverse author base, bringing their work to a wider global audience.
THE BOOKS
Following the success of the previous three years, in 2026-27 we will continue to offer three collections of 20 titles each in:
• African Studies & International Development
• Environment & Climate Change
• Gender & Sexuality
BENEFITS TO LIBRARIES
• Contribute to a progressive OA funding model that aims to make 60 research titles available open access immediately on publication at no cost to the authors
• Receive guaranteed perpetual access to the 20 titles in each Open Collection you participate in
• Receive 1 year’s access to ~150 backlist titles in related areas for each Open Collection you participate in
• Be publicly acknowledged on our website
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
For more information and to discuss participating in the 2026-27 programme, contact our Online Sales team:
In the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia: OnlineSalesUK@bloomsbury.com
In the Americas: OnlineSalesUS@bloomsbury.com
Australia and New Zealand: OnlineSalesANZ@bloomsbury.com
