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Book Cover for: The Magna Carta Plays, Timberlake Wertenbaker

The Magna Carta Plays

Timberlake Wertenbaker

Four new short plays inspired by the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta by internationally renowned playwrights Howard Brenton, Anders Lustgarten, Timberlake Wertenbaker and Sally Woodcock.


RANSOMED by Howard Brenton
In the sleepy Cathedral City of Melchester, a crime has been committed. The Cathedral's prize possession, a copy of the original Magna Carta, has been stolen in a daring heist. Who is responsible and what price will the British Government be prepared to pay for the document's safe return? As the plot thickens, Detective Inspector Ellie Baxter seeks to find the truth in this brilliant new Magna Carta comedy.


KINGMAKERS by Anders Lustgarten
Ten years after the signing of Magna Carta, the barons' takeover isn't quite going to plan. With the peasants grumbling about enormous castles and broken promises, the threat of rebellion hangs in the air. Perhaps the solution is to distract and deflect by bringing the confused and humbled king back into the fold? What about a royal wedding? A royal baby? All at the common man's expense, of course... A fictional story from the 13th century that may just be about now.


WE SELL RIGHT by Timberlake Wertenbaker
In 1215, when the King of England abuses his extraordinary power, the barons' take action. In 2015, when the kings of global business and finance abuse their extraordinary power, who will take action and what will confrontation look like? In the decades that follow, what will remain of the values we hold most dear? A gripping drama about the consequences of confronting power on a global scale.


PINK GIN by Sally Woodcock
In 21st century Africa, a visionary President stands on the cusp of greatness. With international investors poised to develop large tracks of land, the financial future looks bright. But why has it been raining for 97 days, and who is leading the angry mob in the streets outside? A compelling contemporary allegory throwing light on the oft overlooked companion to Magna Carta, The Charter of the Forest.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Oberon Books
  • Publish Date: Sep 27th, 2016
  • Pages: 136
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.10in - 5.00in - 0.20in - 0.25lb
  • EAN: 9781783192939
  • Categories: European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

About the Author

Wertenbaker, Timberlake: - Timberlake Wertenbaker is herself an eminent playwright. In 1985 The Royal Court staged her 'The Grace of Mary Traverse' which won her the Plays and Players Most Promising Playwright Award. She also received the 1988 Olivier Award for Play of the Year for 'Our Country's Good'.
Lustgarten, Anders: - Anders Lustgarten is Pearson Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre, where his first two plays, The Insurgents (2007) and Enduring Freedom (2008), were produced. Other work includes The Punishment Stories, (shortlisted for the 2007 Verity Bargate Award), an adaptation of Slawomir Mrozek's The Police (BAC 2007), The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (2010) for the National Theatre Studio and If You Don't Let Us Dream Then We Won't Let You Sleep (Royal Court, 2013). Anders is a political activist, has taught on Death Row, been arrested by the Turkish secret police, and holds a PhD in Chinese politics from the University of California. He also won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwrights Award with a commission from the Royal Court in 2011.
Brenton, Howard: - Howard Brenton is one of the UK's most respected dramatists. His acclaimed plays include The Romans In Britain, Bloody Poetry, Weapons of Happiness, Pravda with David Hare and, more recently, In Extremis, Anne Boleyn and Doctor Scroggy's War for Shakespeare's Globe, Paul and Never So Good for the National Theatre, and 55 Days, The Arrest of Ai Weiwei, Drawing the Line and Lawrence After Arabia for Hampstead Theatre. He also wrote fourteen episodes of BBC spy drama Spooks.