"I believe that open markets and free enterprise are the best imaginable force for improving human wealth and happiness. And I would go further: where they work properly, they can actually promote morality." David Cameron, January 2012 Anders Lustgarten's play is an exploration of our current government's politics of austerity and a look at possible alternatives. If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep was supported by the Harold Pinter Playwright's Award which is given annually by Pinter's widow Lady Antonia Fraser.

The first play collection from Anders Lustgarten, "perhaps Britain's most visible and visibly engaged political playwright" (Time Out London), containing plays from the start of his career up to 2015 with the most recent play in the collection, Shrapnel, and one previously unpublished play. The volume includes an introduction by the playwright. A Day at the Racists (2010, Finborough Theatre) is a devastatingly timely examination of the rise of the BNP in London, which attempts to understand why people might be drawn to the BNP and diagnoses the deeper cause of that attraction: the political abandonment and betrayal of the working class by New Labour. If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep (Royal Court Theatre, 2013) offers an exploration of our current government's politics of austerity and a look at possible alternatives. Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre, 2013) unpicks the political complexities of Zimbabwe through the devastating personal journeys of two very different people, both scarred by one of Africa's most notorious dictatorships. Shrapnel (Arcola Theatre, 2015) takes as its subject The Roboski massacre is one of the most controversial episodes in the 'war on terror'. Piecing together the fragments of the tragedy, Anders Lustgarten's startling new play dares to ask what a massacre is made of. Kingmakers (Salisbury Playhouse, 2015) imagines ten years after the signing of Magna Carta when 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. This play has not previously been published. The Insurgents (Finborough Theatre, 2007) is Anders Lustgarten's look at contemporary London and its class divide. Private equity has turned the city into a high-fenced playground for a tax-exempt, big business elite. This play has not previously been published.

There is no such thing as a happy colonised people. Never has been and never will be. That is our basic delusion. December 2011. Watching video footage from a drone, Pentagon officials see a huddle of people – unarmed smugglers, with mules – treading their familiar path across the Turkish-Iraqi border. Hours later, Turkish Armed Forces drop bombs on the group. 34 civilians are killed. The Roboski massacre is one of the most controversial episodes in the 'war on terror'. Piecing together the fragments of the tragedy, Anders Lustgarten's startling new play dares to ask what a massacre is made of. Shrapnel is a story of malicious commands and mournful commemorations; an urgent, powerful insight into the state of modern warfare. This edition was published to coincide with the UK premiere at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 11 March 2015.

Tricky things, memories. Not always the way you remember them. When Ben, a successful London lawyer, returns home for his father's funeral after thirteen years away, he is confronted with uncomfortable truths about the community and family he left behind. Anders Lustgarten, one of Britain's bravest and toughest writers of political fiction, produces an unflinching, insightful and utterly hilarious look at sibling rivalry, small town blues and exactly where the new British fascism comes from. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere of The City and the Town in February 2023.

And do you know why I was called by that name? Because I decided who would be saved and who would be condemned. I took that responsibility for others and now I take it for myself. I am Black Jesus. I do not crawl. Zimbabwe. 2015. The Mugabe Government has fallen and investigations into its abuses have begun. Eunice Ncube, working for the new Truth and Justice Commission, begins the interviewing of Gabriel Chibamu, one of the most infamous perpetrators of the horrors of the Mugabe regime. As Gabriel's trial and inevitable prosecution approach, Eunice begins to sift through the past – only to find that right and wrong, and guilt and innocence, are far less clear than she first thought . . . This stunning new play by Finborough Theatre Playwright-in-Residence, and one of the UK's leading political playwrights, Anders Lustgarten, is more urgent than ever. Black Jesus unpicks the political complexities of Zimbabwe through the devastating personal journeys of two very different people, both scarred by one of Africa's most notorious dictatorships.

Our China is now the worst of all worlds. Communist politics controlled by greedy capitalists, raw capitalist economics controlled by corrupt Communists. Because they're all the same people! At least under me, the people knew what they were tightening their belts for. Anders Lustgarten's epic play covers the years 1949 when Chairman Mao founded the Communist Party of China to the present day when investors swoop in to make money off the land. Following a number of characters and generations through these years, it portrays the foundation of modern China. The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie, from award-winning playwright Anders Lustgarten, received its world premiere on at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 6 April 2016, in a co-production between the Arcola Theatre and HighTide Festival.

'It's not enough that men are watched; they must think themselves watched, even when they are not' Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham oversees a vast surveillance network from the heart of Elizabeth I's court. As the nation's relationship with Europe deteriorates and civil unrest grows, Walsingham adopts ever more extreme tactics to keep his queen and country safe. But does he risk losing control of the apparatus he has created and destroying the lives of those closest to him? And can such safety ever be achieved? The Secret Theatre asks what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to ensure our safety. Shot through with moments of the blackest humour, this smart, tense thriller has been published to coincide with the world premiere at the Sam Wanamker Playhouse in November 2017 directed by Matthew Dunster.

'A Day at the Racists' is a brave piece of political theatre. It both attempts to understand why people might be drawn to the BNP and diagnoses a deeper cause of that attraction: the political abandonment and betrayal of the working class by New Labour. The play's timely premiere was at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2010.

Edited and introduced by leading cultural and theatre critic Aleks Sierz, this bold and urgent collection of contemporary plays by England's newest and most relevant young writers explores the various cultures and identities of a nation that is at once traditional, nationalistic and multicultural. Eden's Empire, by James Graham is an uncompromising political thriller exploring the events of the Suez Crisis, and the tragic story of its flawed hero – Churchill's golden boy and heir apparent, Anthony Eden. Alaska, by D. C. Moore features Frank, an ordinary bloke who likes smoking, history and playing House of the Dead 3. He can put up with his job on a cinema kiosk until a new supervisor arrives who is younger than him. And Asian. A Day at the Racists, by Anders Lustgarten is a timely examination of the rise of the BNP which attempts to understand why people might be drawn to the BNP and diagnoses the deeper cause of that attraction. Shades, by Alia Bano shows Sabrina, a single girl-about-town, who is seeking Mr Right in a world where traditional and liberal values sit side-by-side, but rarely see eye-to-eye. The Westbridge, by Rachel De-lahay begins with the accusation of a black teenager which sparks riots on South London streets. Among it all, a couple from very different backgrounds navigate the minefield between them and their disparate but coexisting neighbourhood.

HighTide Theatre Festival was founded in 2006 and has since become one of the most prolific homes of new writing. It has been described by the Telegraph as "one of the little gems of the artistic calendar in Britain" and by the Daily Mail as "famous for championing emerging playwrights and contemporary theatre". 2016 marks ten years of HighTide, during which time numerous emerging playwrights and new plays have shot to prominence. This anniversary volume brings together four of the key plays that have come out of HighTide Theatre Festival's programme during this time: Ditch by Beth Steel is a clear-eyed look at how we might behave when the conveniences of our civilisation are taken away, and a frightening vision of a future that could all too easily be ours. peddling by Harry Melling is a poetic monologue about a young homeless man, which confronts whether it's a good thing to turn a blind eye and let people get on with their lives, or whether that's exactly how people fall through the cracks. The Big Meal by American writer Dan LeFranc is a deeply comic and touching drama that looks at love, marriage, raising children and the general onslaught of life. Lampedusa by Anders Lustgarten follows the day-to-day life of those whose job it is to enforce our harsh new rules on immigration: an Italian coastguard and a payday lender from Leeds. All now established in their own right, these four plays demonstrate HighTide's extraordinary role in identifying and nurturing writers tackling some of the biggest issues of today. The volume was published to coincide with HighTide's 10th annual festival in September 2016 and features an introduction by HighTide Artistic Director, Steven Atkinson.