The Making Mischief Festival features work from some of today’s most exciting playwrights who are challenging and questioning our society. The Festival runs from 24 May to 17 June from The Other Place Studio Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. THE EARTHWORKS: “The universe doesn’t care if we know how it works.” On the eve of the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, two strangers – a journalist and a scientist – share their experiences of loss and hope in a funny but deeply touching one-act play. MYTH:“I can only see wrong choices. Things that will make everything worse.” In one wine-fuelled evening, two couples debate their materialistic lifestyle. As their dinner party descends into chaos, their friendship and their lives are irreparably changed. A play about those things we don’t want to see or say.

This guide examines how schools and universities can work together with their local communities to promote democracy in society based on the principles of Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC), a concept developed by the Council of Europe. Partnerships based on this idea foster civic skills and values in citizens and build the civic capacity of communities through the pursuit of collective solutions to local problems. The guide explores the mechanics of such partnerships in practice, describing how they are built and sustained, and what makes them work. Drawing on examples from Europe and the United States of America, the guide is intended for policy makers and practitioners in schools and universities, civil society and community groups, and representatives of public authorities and government bodies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Drawing together the work of ten leading playwrights - a mixture of established and emerging writers - this National Theatre Connections anthology is published to coincide with the 2014 festival, which takes place across the UK and finishes up at the National Theatre in London. It offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study. Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department with the young performer in mind. The plays are performed by approximately 200 schools and youth theatre companies across the UK and Ireland, in partnership with multiple professional regional theatres where the works are showcased. As with previous anthologies, the volume will feature an introduction by Anthony Banks, Associate Director of the National Theatre Discover Programme, and each play includes notes from the writer and director addressing the themes and ideas behind the play, as well as production notes and exercises. The National Theatre Connections series has been running for nineteen years and the anthology that accompanies it, published for the last three years by Methuen Drama, is gaining a greater profile by the year. Some iconic plays have grown out of the Connections programme including Citizenship by Mark Ravenhill, Burn by Deborah Gearing, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, Baby Girl by Roy Williams, DNA by Dennis Kelly, and The Miracle by Lin Coghlan. The series has a recognisable brand and the anthologies continue to be an extremely useful resource, their value extending well beyond their year of publication. This year's anthology includes plays by Sabrina Mahfouz, Simon Vinnicombe, Catherine Johnson, Pauline McLynn, Dafydd James, Luke Norris and Sam Holcroft.

'I'd rather be buried by my worse enemy than a stranger.' 1665. As the plague runs rife through London, Reverend William Mompesson arrives in Eyam, Derbyshire, to lead the parish. But Eyam is no sleepy backwater; it is a village at war with itself. The community has dissolved, and neighbour feuds with neighbour under the watchful eye of a ruthless landowner bent on maintaining his grip on the village. When the plague arrives in Eyam, the villagers are tasked with examining their civil responsibility, as they must decide whether to stay quarantined, or flee and risk spreading the deadly disease. Matt Hartley's Eyam is a play about the importance of community, which premiered at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in September 2018.

Chloé, 15 ans, vient de perdre son frère Luke, 18 ans, dans un accident de voiture. La communauté du lycée et de la petite ville où ils vivent s'empare du tragique événement en créant un site Internet en souvenir du défunt. Tout à son chagrin, Chloé est confrontée à ces amitiés autant virtuelles que fugaces, jusqu'à une rencontre plus tangible... mais toujours sur le net et ses réseaux sociaux. Le jeune auteur anglais Matt Hartley traite du thème très contemporain des échanges adolescents sur Internet, mais grâce à une langue poétique et une structure en flash-back et en fondus enchaînés, il décolle de ce réel virtuel pour tendre vers l'universel de la perte d'un être cher.

Par une maîtrise de l’agencement dramatique tout anglo-saxonne, Matt Hartley force la porte de trois appartements et fait peu à peu monter la pression au sein de trois groupes d’individus : de jeunes parents désemparés ; des amis au retour d’une soirée arrosée et tendue ; un couple cimenté par la passion et la méfiance mutuelle. Ces trois actes, se déroulant en temps réel sur une heure trente, pourraient constituer trois pièces courtes indépendantes, si ce n’était le brio avec lequel l’auteur enchevêtre les divers éléments du puzzle. Car dans ce portrait d’une classe moyenne qui vise la maîtrise de soi et craint le scandale, il introduit un événement grave qui révélera la mesquinerie ordinaire, les compromissions quotidiennes et obligera les protagonistes à se regarder en face et tenter de retrouver leur dignité humaine... ou ce qu’il en reste. Grâce à une langue effilée et efficace, Hartley livre un texte virtuose, véritable boîte à jeu pour les acteurs : ces trois huis clos confirment que l’enfer, c’est bien les autres.

A lively and topical new play.

In The Wife of Cyncoed, Jayne is newly retired and disappointed with her life. She's in danger of becoming her daughter's babysitting service and is desperate to make a change. When she meets a handsome stranger in the park - and an opportunity to do something for herself arises - can Jayne allow herself a second chance at happiness? This charming and open-hearted play premiered at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, in 2024, and provides gloriously entertaining opportunities for a mature solo performer. In Idyll, tempers are fraying in the scorching heat as a rural village is overwhelmed by noise, cars and day trippers... Scratch the surface and you'll find danger bubbling away. This captivating short play was first presented as an open-air production by Pentabus Theatre Company in 2021.