National Theatre Connections 2023

Simon Longman is a playwright from the West Midlands.Lisa McGee, an award-winning screenwriter and playwright from Derry, is the creator, writer and executive producer of the acclaimed Derry Girls.Leo Butler is an award-winning playwright.Jordan Tannahill is a novelist, playwright, and director of film and theatre.Avaes Mohammad's scripts have chronicled post 9/11 multicultural Britain and represented the challenges of young people in the UK.Jon Brittain is a playwright, television writer and director.Molly Taylor is a writer & theatre-maker from Liverpool.Shamser Sinha writes about people at the wrong end of money, fortune and the wars we fight.Ed Harris is an award-winning, dyslexic playwright, poet and comedy writer based in Brighton.Alison Carr is a playwright and radio dramatist.

National Theatre Connections 2023 draws together ten new plays for young people to perform, from some of the UK's most exciting and popular playwrights. These are plays for a generation of theatre-makers who want to ask questions, challenge assertions and test the boundaries, and for those who love to invent and imagine a world of possibilities.The plays offer young performers an engaging and diverse range of material to perform, read or study. Touching on themes like climate change, politics, toxic masculinity and gang culture, the collection provides topical, pressing subject matter for students to explore in their performance.This 2023 anthology represents the full set of ten plays offered by the National Theatre 2023 Festival, as well as comprehensive workshop notes that give insights and inspiration for building characters, running rehearsals and staging a production.

Includes notes from directors with help and advice on how to stage each play

Connections Producer IntroductionIntroduction by Ola AnimashawunConnections 2023 Synopses(Circle Dreams Around) The Terrible, Terrible Past by Simon LongmanCast size: flexible, with a suggested minimum cast size of eight; Recommended for ages 14+Innocent Creatures by Leo ButlerCast size: minimum of eight; Recommended for ages 15+Is My Microphone On? by Jordan TannahillCast size: minimum of seven, no maximum; Recommended for ages 13+Is This Good Enough? by Avaes MohammadCast size: Flexible cast size, with 30 named characters; Recommended for ages 13+Model Behaviour by Jon BrittainCast size: nine; Suitable for all agesOld Times by Molly TaylorCast size: 14; Recommended for ages 14+Samphire by Shamser SinhaCast size: twenty-one characters, recommended minimum cast size of twelve; Recommended for ages 16+Strangers Like Me by Ed HarrisCast size: minimum of 15; Recommended for ages 14+The Heights by Lisa McGeeCast size: 14 named characters, minimum cast size of eight; Recommended for ages 13+Tuesday by Alison CarrCast size: 9 - 50, any gender; Suitable for all ages.