Mrs Sarah Siddons, acclaimed as the greatest actress of all time, holds complete sway over audiences and critics alike. Sick of being cast as tragic, wounded mothers, Siddons decides it's time to harness her star power and become the leading lady of her own life.
But Emma doesn't want to be somebody's muse, she wants to be the somebody. With rumours of Nelson's imminent arrival swirling around Naples, Emma knows exactly which pose to strike to catch his attention and leave her mark on history.
April de Angelis's second collection covers six plays written between 2011 and 2021, including the previously unpublished short play Rune and her first musical, Gin Craze!Jumpy'The funniest new play the West End has seen in ages. It's not only funny, it's painfully acute; and its wit is of a piece with its insight.' - Daily TelegraphThe Village'A great piece of storytelling . . . flat-out wonderful.' - The TimesA Laughing Matter'De Angelis's writing is even funnier than it is stimulating. . Comedy needn't be soft and comforting. It can be mischievous and subversive. You see the bind in which Garrick finds himself, trapped as he is by the economic, social and moral pressures. It's a bind his descendants know even today. I haven't seen it dramatised before with such infectious brio.' - The TimesRune'A gorgeous little nugget of a show in which a bored teenager on a school trip to see the hoard at the Potteries Museum suddenly discovers a power within her when she gets to hold a piece of it.' - GuardianExtinct'Builds its drama with its own gripping truth ... Necessary and urgent.' - GuardianGin Craze!'It's terrifically vivid and exciting. . A Brechtian message delivered with the most glorious, full-throated an intoxicating show that leaves your head spinning, your spirit soaring and a fire in your belly.' - The Times
So what have you got against gobby women running restaurants?El Barco is the newest tapas restaurant in fashionable Walthamstow Village, and it's Kerry Jackson's pride and joy.Wearing her working-class roots as a badge of honour, Kerry must navigate the local characters in a bid to make the business a success, without losing herself in the process.This biting comedy from April De Angelis premiered at the National Theatre, London, in November 2022.
There have been spontaneous outbreaks of fires round the country the closest to us in Epping forest, a monster conflagration which raged for 3 weeks. A woman stands alone on stage. She'll give everything she has. Addressing the climate emergency head on, Extinct includes testimony from environmental activists.
Village life for Jyoti is simple: the people work hard, sing and live off the earth. She would rather devour a delicious meal than think about a suitable partner. But when the Inspector and his men arrive in town, things begin to sour. The Inspector's reign of terror sees him commit unspeakable acts against the village with young Jyoti in his sights, pushing everyone to breaking point. De Vega's Fuenteovejuna is transported to contemporary India and set against a backdrop of political unrest in this adaptation by April De Angelis. The Village premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, in September 2018.
It's Virgie's eighty-fourth birthday and she is bucking convention. But, always more committed as an artist than a mother, Virgie has not reckoned on her family and friends' determination to thwart her plans. This is a moving black comedy that reimagines the meaning of family.
-You're having some kind of crisis.-It's called being fifty. A frank and funny family drama questioning parental anxieties and life after fifty, Jumpy by April De Angelis premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in October 2011.
Journalist Lara, and her ex-MP and crime-writer husband Richard, are happy and successful. When the security system fails, the food is delivered by a stranger and the dinner party takes quite a different turn. April De Angelis's darkly comic social satire Amongst Friends premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in May 2009.
It's 1773 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Caught between financial pressures and artistic ambition, Garrick must decide if he can risk staging a play that could make or break his career.A Laughing Matter was produced by Out of Joint and the National Theatre, London.