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Helen Edmundson

HELEN EDMUNDSON

  (1964 - )
Nationality:    English
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  represented by Julia Kreitman

Helen edmundson (born 1964) is a British playwright particularly well known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage. Her original plays include Flying (National Theatre Studio), the Clearing (Bush Theatre  John Whiting award for Best New Play) and Mother Teresa is Dead (Royal Court Theatre). She has adapted works that include the Mill on the Floss, anna Karenina, Orestes  Blood and Light, Gone to earth and War and Peace (Shared experience), Coram Boy (National Theatre), Zorro the Musical (Garrick Theatre), Life is a Dream (Donmar Warehouse) and currently Sorjuana (RSC) and Mephisto (MJe Productions). Her film and television work includes Malombra, the Clearing, the Spire and estellA.

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below is a list of Helen Edmundson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Anna Karenina         Clearing, The         Coram Boy         Coventry Carol         Flying         Gone To Earth         Heresy Of Love, The         In the Night, A Promise         Ladies In the Lift         Life Is A Dream         Mary Shelley         Mill On the Floss, The         Mother Teresa Is Dead         Orestes         Pilate Workshop, The         Queen Anne         Swallows And Amazons         Therese Raquin         War And Peace         War And Peace         Zorro: the Musical

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina
Helen edmundson's hugely successful stage adaptation for Shared experience theatre Company of the classic novel by Tolstoy, which won the Time Out award for the Outstanding theatrical event of 1992. anna is beautiful and admired but empty - until a chance meeting throws her into emotional turmoil and a scandalous affair. Contrasting with this tale of destructive love is the story of Levin, an idealistic man striving to find meaning in life - and a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself.

Notes:
From novel by Leo Tolstoy

1st Produced:
Winchester: Theatre Royal     30 Jan 1992

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 0289; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XIII (1993) Page 0196; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XV (1995) Page 1461; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XVIII (1998) Page 1211; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXXI (2011) Page 0303

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Clearing, The

Clearing, The
Shows the devastating effects of Cromwell's racial persecution on a small farming community in 17 century Ireland

Notes:
won the John Whiting And Time Out theatre Awards. Peer-reviewed Article published on the play, listed by the MLa international bibliography by K. Sarah-Jane Murray - http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/30162.pdf

1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London >>>     22 Nov 1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Historical Play

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XIII (1993) Page 1383; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XVIII (1998) Page 0384; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XIX (1999) Page 1401http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXII (2002) Page 0524

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Coram Boy

Coram Boy
Set in the 18th century, Coram Boy is a tale of two cities - Gloucester and London - and a tale of two boys: Toby, saved from an African slave ship, and aaron, the illegitimate heir to a great estate. It is also a tale of fathers and sons: slave-trader, Otis, and his son Meshak; and landowner Sir William ashbrook and the son he disinherits.

Notes:
from A novel by Jamila Gavin. This play was originally written to be performed on the National theatre's Olivier stage; however, there is no reason At All why it cannot be fully realised in smaller, simpler spaces. We did make use of the Olivier's revolv

1st Produced:

Organisations:
NT

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London >>>, 2005   978-1854598943

Music:
-

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  10            Other:  3 boys, doubling

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXV (2005) Page 1512; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXVI (2006) Page 1477

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Coventry Carol

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part of Bearing Fruit: short plays by five women playwrights

1st Produced:
Hampstead Theatre, London >>>     15 Feb 1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XV (1995) Page 0200

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Flying

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Rnt Studio, London     1990

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gone To Earth

Gone To Earth
Incorporating traditional dances and folk songs, Gone to earth tells the story of Hazel, an innocent and free-spirited 17-year old child of nature living in rural Shropshire. But when both the black-hearted squire and the idealistic minister fall in love with her she is drawn into a world of earthly passions which threatens to destroy her.

Notes:
from novel by Mary Webb

1st Produced:
Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton     25 Mar 2004

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  1 musician

Further Reference:

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Heresy Of Love, The

Heresy Of Love, The
a powerful Drama based on the extraordinary life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a poet, nun and major literary figure of Mexico. In a convent in seventeenth-century Mexico, Sister Juana strives to reconcile her love for God with her desire for a life of the mind. Her gift for writing plays and poems is celebrated by the Court, but her success creates alarm within the Church. Persecuted by a zealous archbishop, Sister Juana's world threatens to crumble around her as everything she holds dear is jeopardised by dangerous ambitions and illicit desires.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In the Night, A Promise

In the Night, A Promise
the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) is a foundation stone of the english language. the KJV was composed as a collective project and written to be spoken. Sixty-Six Books has been created, in the spirit of the original, in the same way. Pulpit to print; stage to page; mediated through many forms oral and written, the KJV has, since its inception, been a fundamental part of written and spoken english.This is a work that has travelled to every continent of the globe. It has been shared as a melodic instrument of inspiration, illumination and mutual understanding; and it has also been wielded as a tool of colonial oppression. Sixty-Six Books is a fresh interpretation of the KJV for the new millennium, celebrating and challenging the traditions and achievements of this great work on the occasion of its 400th anniversary. the curators of this project have gathered together a formidable and inspiring line-up of the best established and emerging writing talent to produce a new version of the KJV for thetwenty-first century. each writer has created anew a book of the KJV - as prose, poetry, Drama, performance, song, or ground-breaking digital form. each writer has spoken back to the KJV with untrammeled inventiveness of the imagination. the voices of Sixty-Six Books, drawn from across five continents, innovate, transmute, transpose, reinvent and talk back to four hundredyears of history. all the works that make up Sixty-Six Books are written to be spoken. Culminating in major performance events at the Bush theatre and Westminster abbey in 2011 in London, Sixty-Six Books is a contribution towards the mutual curiosity, tolerance, and force of collective enterprise and shared humanity that characterizes the international and ancient Arts of writing and spoken performance

Notes:
Part of Sixty-Six Books: 21st-century writers speak to the King James Bible. Play is A response to the King James Bible book of Zephaniah

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Oberon Books (2011) >>>    978-1849432276

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ladies In the Lift

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Soho Poly, London     22 Mar 1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol IX (1989) Page 0362

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Life Is A Dream

Life Is A Dream
To protect the country from the horrors prophesied, Segismundo is condemned for all eternity. Banished to a secret world high in the mountains and cut off from the sun, he can only dream of a life reversed: of palaces, empires, freedom and revenge. Helen edmundson's new version of Calderon's richly poetic, epic masterpiece explores illusion, reality, fate and destiny against the backdrop of a mythical kingdom.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Pedro Calderon De La Barca

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXIX (2009) Page 1092

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Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley
Losing her mother at the age of 11, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin finds comfort in reading the family memoir written by her philosophical Father William Godwin. However his honest account of her mother's suicide attempt, extra-marital affair and the birth of their illegitimate elder daughter are regarded by society as shocking. Sharing her father's controversially liberal outlook, Mary is herself drawn into scandal when she falls in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley, a married writer, and elopes - becoming Mary Shelley. Delving into the writer's turbulent personal history, this production sheds light on the personal background of a bold young woman who came to write a novel so radical in its ideology that she changed the literary landscape forever.

Notes:
Mary Shelley: daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft; lover of Shelley; Author of Frankenstein. . .

1st Produced:

Organisations:
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Shared experience and Nottingham Playhouse co-production

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
biographical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mill On the Floss, The

Mill On the Floss, The
an intensely moving Dramatisation of George eliot's feminist novel which 'not only reinvents the book, but pushes the boat of theatricality way beyond its usual moorings. . . the central concept is having three Maggies - a conceit that is thrillingly effective in performance.' Guardian

Notes:
from George eliot

1st Produced:
Tricycle Theatre, London >>>     11 May 1994

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XIV (1994) Page 0578, http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XV (1995) Page 0477; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXI (2001) Page 0426

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Mother Teresa Is Dead

Mother Teresa Is Dead
Marl arrives in a village near Madras to try and find his wife. He does not understand what has driven her to abandon her young son. Jane cannot explain why she needed to escape or how she ended up looking after children in India or what is in the bag she's been holding on to. India is hot, dusty and poor, and a long way from their comfortable life in London

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXII (2002) Page 0854

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Orestes

Orestes
Helen edmundson's free version of the play, with its brooding meditation on matricide and guilt, revenge and justice. proves almost liberated to escapism's point. This Orestes is only "based" on the original, omits the chorus and several characters, while Helen of Troy's daughter, Hermione, is infantilised.
Nicholas de Jongh, evening Standard

Notes:
Original Playwright - euripides

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXVI (2006) Page 1344

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Pilate Workshop, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
devised by the company with Michael Boyd, Helen edmundson, Liz Ranken, Paul Sirett And Janet Sonneberg. Inspired by Pilate, the biography of An invented man by Ann Wroe

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Devised Piece

Parts:
Male:  13            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXIV (2004) Page 1365

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Queen Anne

Queen Anne
1702. William III is on the throne and England is on the verge of war. Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, a close friend with whom Anne has an intensely personal relationship, begins to exert increasing pressure as she pursues her own designs on power. Contending with deceit and blackmail, Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country.

Notes:
Helen Edmundson's (The Heresy of Love, 2012) gripping new play exploring the little known story of a monarch caught between friendship and duty is directed by Natalie Abrahami (Happy Days, Young Vic 2014).

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London   978-1848425231

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
biographical drama

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Swallows And Amazons

Swallows And Amazons
all aboard the Swallow! Follow Captain John and his able crew as they set sail to Wildcat Island on an exotic adventure to encounter savages, capture dastardly pirates and defeat mortal enemies. a new musical for the whole family written especially for Bristol Old Vic, Swallows and amazons is a story of an idyllic era, of endless summer evenings and the beauty of youthful imagination.

Notes:
adapted by Helen edmundson from the book by Arthur Ransome. Music And Lyrics by Neil Hannon Aka the Divine Comedy. Published in 1930, Swallows And Amazons was the first in A series of twelve books by Arthur Ransome (1884-1967). Set in 1929 in the Lake District, it tells of the school holiday exploits of the Walker And Blackett children And their sailing dinghies  the Swallow And the Amazon.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:

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Therese Raquin

Synopsis:
Written in 1867, Zola's Therese Raquin is a story of lust, madness and destruction set within the backstreets of Paris. The beautiful but doomed heroine is married off according to her aunt's wishes, trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille. Every Thursday evening she watches her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin, play dominos. . .until one day her husband brings along an old friend, the alluring and athletic Laurent. As the two embark on an illicit affair, a turbulent passion is unleashed that drives them ultimately to violence and murder.

Notes:
based on novel by Emile Zola

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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War And Peace

Synopsis:
the ghosts of 1805 swirl into view and the present gives way to the past with a Dramatic fluency

Notes:
From novel by Leo Tolstoy

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
255 min adaptation

Parts:
Male:  13            Female:  9            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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War And Peace

War And Peace
One of the longest novels in Western literature, Tolstoy's War and Peace intertwines its epic account of Napoleon's invasion of Russia with the tale of three aristocratic families. Painted on a vast canvas of locations, characters and experiences, Helen edmundson's stirring adaptation is an intricate saga of families, love and friendship against a backdrop of war.

Notes:
From novel by Leo Tolstoy

1st Produced:
Uk Tour     14 Apr 2008

Organisations:
Shared experience

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
two-part version adaptation

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  5            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXVIII (2008) Page 0414

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Zorro: the Musical

Zorro: the Musical
retelling of the story of the caped and masked Crusader and his fight for justice in early 19th century California

Notes:
Book And lyrics Stephen Clark, music by the Gypsy Kings, original story by Stephen Clark And Helen edmundson, music Adaptations by John Cameron

1st Produced:
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne     04 Mar 2008

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: aDa 2008

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:

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