· 2024
"[A] big, brave, compassionate play about grief, revenge, forgiveness and bearing the unbearable." --The Guardian One evening, ten-year-old Rhona goes missing. Her mother, Nancy, retreats into a state of frozen hope. Agnetha, an academic, comes to England to research a thesis entitled "Serial Killings: A Forgivable Act?" Then there's Ralph, a loner with a bit of a record who's looking for some distraction . . . Drawn together by horrific circumstances, these three embark upon a long, dark journey that finally curves upward into the light.
Nothing's new Everything's old. I'm exactly the same as ever Only more lazy More aimless More curmudgeonly...' One of the high points of world drama, Chekhov's bittersweet tale of frustrated lives and unrequited loves - by turns witty, playful, nostalgic and tragic - is captured in all its complexity by Bryony Lavery's spirited, sharply-written adaptation, first produced at Birmingham Rep in 2007.
· 2014
Not one of us must breathe a word of what we've found. It's a dark and stormy night. Jim, the inn-keeper's granddaughter, opens the door to a terrifying stranger. At the old sailor's feet sits a huge sea-chest, full of secrets. Jim invites him in - and her dangerous voyage begins. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story of murder, money and mutiny, premiered at the National Theatre, London, in December 2014, in a thrilling adaptation by Bryony Lavery.
· 2016
My theme is memory, that winged host? that soared about me one grey morning of wartime. Billeted to Brideshead during the Second World War, Captain Charles Ryder is overwhelmed by memories of his Oxford days and holidays spent in the fine stately home under the privileged spell of the dazzling Marchmains. As past and present blur, Charles recalls his enchantment with the beguiling Sebastian, his beautiful sister Julia and the doomed Catholic family, and considers how they would change his life for ever. Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, reimagined for the stage by Bryony Lavery, was co-produced by English Touring Theatre and York Theatre Royal. The show premiered at York Theatre Royal in April 2016 and then toured the UK.
· 1998
For the first time, this volume contains Bryony Lavery's most popular plays.
· 2010
Keep your guard up. Protect yourself at all times. Protect your boy. Keep him safe. Keep him close. That is all that matters. Cameron is going places. He's going to see lights. He's going to make the world take notice and kneel at his feet. He's fighting for his club, his mum, his place in the world. And this boy is a natural. He has an affinity with the violence, the balance, the ritual, the grace and the power. He is indestructible. Beautiful Burnout is about the soul-sapping three-minutes when men become gods and gods, mere men. It's about the second when the guard drops, that moment when the eyes blink and miss the incoming hammer blow. Beautiful Burnout premiered at the Pleasance Forth as part of the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2010 before touring the UK in a co-production between Frantic Assembly and the National Theatre of Scotland.
· 2018
Susie Salmon is just like any other young American girl. She wants to be beautiful, adores her charm bracelet and has a crush on a boy from school. There's one big difference though – Susie is dead. Add: Now she can only observe while her family manage their grief in their different ways. Susie is desperate to help them and there might be a way of reaching them... Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones is a unique coming-of-age tale that captured the hearts of readers throughout the world. Award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery has adapted it for this unforgettable play about life after loss.
· 2004
One evening, ten-year-old Rhona goes missing. Her mother, Nancy, retreats into a state of frozen hope. Agnetha, an academic, comes to England to research a thesis entitled "Serial Killings: A Forgivable Act?" Then there's Ralph, a loner with a bit of a record who's looking for some distraction . . . Drawn together by horrific circumstances, these three embark upon a long, dark journey that finally curves upward into the light.
· 2004
Nora loves her husband above everything. But when she risks her reputation in order to save him, the consequences force her to examine her devotion, and she finds herself struggling for her own life. Henrik Ibsen's ground-breaking play created a huge sensation at its premiere in 1879 and is as fresh and pertinent as ever, with an unfading capacity to shock.
· 2007
This collection of plays from the pen of Bryony Lavery contains 'A Wedding Story', 'Frozen', 'Illyria', and 'More Light'.