Skip to main content

Bloomsbury Home

New British Drama in 15 Scenes

Adventures in Theatre Criticism

New British Drama in 15 Scenes cover

New British Drama in 15 Scenes

Adventures in Theatre Criticism

Quantity
Pre-order. Available 24 Feb 2026
$25.19 RRP $31.49 Website price saving $6.30 (20%)

Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available

Description

This is a wide-ranging account of new writing in British theatre during the 2010s, written in a boldly experimental style. A guide to the key plays and dramatic innovations, it enlightens, amuses and provokes in equal measure.

Across 15 chapters, each written in a different form, it takes the reader on an engaging tour of new drama in British theatre from 2010 until the arrival of COVID -19. It features mega hits such as Fleabag and Matilda the Musical, as well as accounts of some 250 completely new plays which premiered in those years, all arranged in sections that speak to to some of the big concerns of the decade. Subjects covered by the plays include social issues, politics, Brexit, dystopias, experimental theatre, family, gender, race, history, adaptations and the West End.

Bold and experimental in format, each chapter assumes a different voice and literary style to bring a decade of drama into sharp relief: these include dialogues, monologues, a diary, a listings magazine, an experimental A to Z, informal notes, quotations from real-life interviews, a documentary script and a memoir. The variety of perspectives mirrors the richness of our contemporary culture and the innovations in theatre form that are a hallmark of current creativity.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Scene 1: Overview
Scene 2: Social Issue Plays
Scene 3: Political Plays
Scene 4: Brexit Plays
Scene 5: Dystopian Plays
Scene 6: Experiments
Scene 7: Monologues
Scene 8: Plays About Family
Scene 9: Plays About Gender
Scene 10: Plays About Race
Scene 11: Plays About White Privilege
Scene 12: History Plays
Scene 13: Adaptations
Scene 14: Valediction
Scene 15: Conclusion
Book List
Play List
Notes on Sources
Acknowledgements
Index

Product details

Explore Methuen Drama
Published 24 Feb 2026
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 208
ISBN 9781350567931
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Aleks Sierz

Aleks Sierz is the theatre critic of Tribune and a…

Related Titles

Get 30% off in the May sale - for one week only

Environment: Staging