Surprise Playtexts
17:09
One of my favourite things about the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square is that instead of programmes they sell the play text with cast lists inside, all for the grand price of £3. Considering the average price of a play text is £10, despite quite often only being 100 pages long, this is an absolute bargain. About a month ago I started wondering if all their texts stay at £3 or if the price goes up after the show so I paid a visit to their online shop. Lo and behold they had quite a few on there for £3 but what really caught my eye was something labelled 'Surprise Playtexts'. For £10 you can get a lucky dip bag of 5 random plays. I immediately ordered and selected collect from box office to save me even more.
The bookshop is a small section downstairs in the bar, it's tiny in comparison to the National Theatre's bookshop. I've yet to have a drink there but it seems really nice. We were greeted by a very friendly man with magnificent glasses, who told me he didn't have any surprise bags already put together at the moment but he would go and pick some out now from his magical cupboard. As he left he asked if I was reading or writing so I felt like he was putting some thought into my "random" section.
The bookseller returned from his magical cupboard with a selection in his hand and stuck them in a white paper bag. "I don't know why, but I got you four female writers," he told me, "These are going to change your life." "Excellent!" I replied. Once outside I sat in the sun and had a look at what I got.
Fresh Kills - Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
A new one to me. It was staged in 2004 as part of their Young Playwright's season and starred a young Matt Smith making his professional debut on stage. The story follows Eddie, a married man who discovers Arnold, a teenager, online. They meet and Eddie realises there's more to Arnold's interest in him than meets the eye. Sounds like a interesting and slightly sinister read.
Circle Mirror Transformation - Annie Baker
Another one I'd not heard of before but it boasts that it was voted one of the top ten plays of 2009 by the New York Times, Time Out and the New Yorker as well as winning other awards. The back cover describes it as tender and funny, five people try to find some meaning in their lives at a community centre class.
The Weir - Conor McPherson
I had heard of this one but don't actually know anything about the story. The only one by a male writer in my selection, The Weir is set in Ireland, where a group of lads tell scary stories to a new young lady from Dublin to impress her but she turns the tables on them.
Liberian Girl - Diana Nneka Atuona
Not Librarian Girl, as I kept reading on all the posters when this was on at the start of the year. This play is set during the first Liberian Civil War where a 14 year old girl has to flee her invaded village and ends up forced to join the rebel unit.
Jumpy - April De Angelis
My friend was very excited by this one when I pulled it out the bag. She had wanted to see it when it was on because Tamsin Greg was in it. The back says it's about parental crisis and life after 50. It certainly looks like it's going to be a funny one.
All in all I got a really good section. It's a great way to get some new plays for a really good price and I can't wait to start reading them.
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http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/shop
Royal Court Theatre is in Sloane Square next door to Sloane Square tube station.
The bookshop is open Monday to Friday 4pm – 8pm Saturday 2pm – 8pm.
Most productions do £10 tickets for Mondays which you can book on Monday the week before.
*If you wanna see a lamb being scared by a pigeon click here
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