Mark Ravenhill Books

Shoot/Get treasure/Repeat: A collection of short plays that explore the personal and political effect of war on modern life. | Over there: When Franz's mother escaped to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, twenty-five years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. | A life in three acts: With honesty, humour and occasional anger, performer Bette Bourne tells the playwright Mark Ravenhill about his life. The story moves from a post-war childhood, to the Gay Liberation Front, life in a drag commune and on to the creation of the ground-breaking Bloolips company and beyond. The piece, in three parts, marks a different series of events in Bette's life to reveal a portrait of an amazing individual and celebration of the momentous struggles and achievements of gay liberation. | Ten plagues: London is infected. The dead fall in the streets. As the plague pits fill, the people of London struggle to maintain a society in the face of overwhelming mortality. Based on eye-witness accounts from 1665 and drawing poetic parallels with modern epidemics, Ten Plagues relates one man's journey through a city in crisis. | Ghost story: A satire of the positive-thinking movement and a moving story of a woman's battle with illness, set in a world where time is fluid and we can talk to the dead. | The experiment: Evokes a vortex of atrocity from fairytales to Mengele and Medea

Exploring themes of identity and loss, the story follows a young man who uncovers the truth about his origins, revealing that the parents he has known all his life are not his biological ones. Drawing parallels to Oedipus and the historical context of Chile under Pinochet, this narrative delves into the emotional turmoil of discovering one’s true lineage amidst a backdrop of political upheaval and personal betrayal.

Mark Ravenhill's autobiographical radio play explores the way culture, high and low, impacted both his mother's and his family's lives. Starting an adult ballet class as the only male in the group sparks a memory of life through the eyes of Ravenhill, the playwright. As time intertwines through alternating perspectives we see his family at different stages of their life. From childhood dreams of being a dancer and performer through to the creativity that brings his parents together for the first time and into their old age, this is a deeply personal and resonate drama about the intersects of life and culture. Commissioned by Sound Stage, a new immersive audio theatre, designed by theatre-makers and leading technologists, giving audiences a unique and engrossing online theatre experience of new plays from the best in British theatre.

Tells about the author's brave and flamboyant life. This work reminisces and replays scenes from his life from a postwar childhood, a stint as a classical actor in the late 60s, to living in a drag commune in Notting Hill and being an active member of the Gay Liberation Front.

The story centers on the emotional journey of twin brothers separated at birth due to their mother's escape to the West. After twenty-five years, Karl embarks on a quest to find his twin, Franz, who has remained behind. As they navigate the complexities of their past and the challenges of reuniting, the narrative explores themes of identity, family bonds, and the impact of historical events on personal lives. Their struggle to reconnect highlights the deep connections that persist despite years of separation.

Five recent hit plays by one of the most talented writers to emerge from the 1990s who made his mark with the seminal Shopping and Fing.

Candide is an optimist. A dreamer. He believes that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. But that belief is about to be tested as Candide's comfortable life is overtaken by an endless barrage of misfortune. As his world collapses around him, the story travels across the centuries to new locations and parallel universes. How will Candide's optimism fare when it collides with life in the 21st century? The play is structured around two parallel narratives: one tells the story of Candide's attempts to reunite with his love Cunegonde; the other follows a woman who experiences a hugely traumatic event as she attempts to find a way back to happiness.

Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat is an epic cycle of plays exploring the personal and political effect of war on modern life. The plays that make up Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat began life at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe as Ravenhill for Breakfast (produced by Paines Plough), winning a Fringe First award, and the Jack Tinker Spirit of the Fringe award. They form a collage of very different scenes, with each taking its title from a classic work. The plays were presented in April 2008 in various venues across London, from Notting Hill to a Victorian warehouse in Shoreditch, via Sloane Square and the South Bank. Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat was originally developed in association with the National Theatre Studio and Paines Plough, and was first produced as Ravenhill for Breakfast at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in August 2007 by Paines Plough, with the support of David Johnson.

Authoritative yet accessible, this work will enable readers to better grasp how sails, keels and hulls work together to keep sailboats moving--and will sharpen their skills with a more subtle and thorough appreciation of why various boat design features are present and why certain tactics work in certain situations. schovat popis

The first collected volume of plays from the most important playwright of the last decade. Ravenhill's work is dark, disturbing, explicit and gripping.