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Nick Payne

NICK PAYNE

  
Nationality:    British
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Curtis Brown Group Ltd  

Nick Payne is a playwright who won the prestigious George Devine Award in 2009 with his play If there Is I Haven't Found It Yet. This was produced at the Bush Theatre in October 2009, directed by Josie Rourke and starring Rafe Spall. Nick studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of York. He made his debut at the Royal Court Theatre in September 2010 with his comedy Wanderlust and is currently under commission at Paines Plough, the Royal Court and Manhattan Theatre Club/Alfred P Sloan Foundation writing a new play about Nobel prize winning mathematician, Paul Dirac. In January 2012, Nick's play, Constellations, opened at the Royal Court Upstairs starring Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins directed by Michael Longhurst. Constellations transferred to the West End in November 2012. It received universally glowing reviews and won the Evening Standard Best Play Award and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play.

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

         Adam Lives in theory         Art Of Dying, The         Blurred Lines         Bytes         Constellations         Electra         Elegy         Fugitive Motel         If there Is I Haven't Found It Yet         Ignition 1         In the Beginning         Incognito         Internet Shorts         Lay Down Your Cross         Lost Mariner, The         My Thoughts on Leaving You         One Day When We Were Young         Peter Pan         Same Deep Water As Me, The         Starlings         Stops, The         Switzerland         Symphony         Wanderlust

Adam Lives in theory

Synopsis:
Harry's son, Adam, disappeared six months ago. A group of middle aged men now think they know exactly where he has gone. A play about faith, grief and UFOs.

Notes:
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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:
70 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Art Of Dying, The

Synopsis:
I ask her what's happening, what's going on; he doesn't seem to be getting any better? Yes, your father is extremely poorly.' The word poorly' strikes me as an odd choice. A cat with a cold is poorly; I was under the impression my dad was dying. A funny and heart-breaking new play about death, dying and the deceased. A mix of fact and fiction.

Notes:
Nick Payne first performed The Art of Dying, as part of The Big Idea Death in Open Court  a six week festival of plays, ideas and events chosen by a group of over 140 writers in Vicky Featherstone's first summer at the Royal Court Theatre.

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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:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Blurred Lines

Synopsis:
A journey through the minefield of contemporary gender politics. An all female cast dissect what it means to be a woman today: in the workplace, in cyberspace, on screen, on stage and in relationships. This new piece explores the reality of equality in Britain today, where feminism is a dirty word and pornography is inescapable. Blurred Lines is a fast-paced, razor sharp glimpse of a culture which promised liberation and delivered Robin Thicke. With songs.

Notes:
written by Carrie Cracknell and Nick Payne. Devised by the company with poetry by Michaela Coel. The play draws inspiration from Kat Baynard's book "The Equality Illusion, 2010).

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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:  -            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Bytes

Synopsis:
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Notes:
part of Rough Cuts. Four new short plays by Alia Bano, DC Moore, Nick Payne and Penelope Skinner examining and exploring our relationship to the internet. With multiple platforms on which to share our thoughts and say what we think, what is freedom of speech on the internet?

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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Constellations

Constellations
Let's go for a drink. I don't know what I'm doing here anyway. One drink. And if you never want to see me again you never have to see me again. One relationship. Infinite possibilities. Quantum multiverse theory, love and honey. An explosive new play about free will and friendship.

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1st Published:
Faber and Faber Ltd, London (2012) >>>
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2015)   978-0571289073

Music:
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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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Electra

Electra
When young Electra's Father is murdered by her mother, her world changes irrevocably. Ten years on, bound by grief and unwilling to forgive, Electra surrenders to an all-consuming desire for revenge that propels her toward a bloody and terrifying conclusion.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Sophocles

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Oberon Books (2011) >>>    978-1849430616

Music:
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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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Elegy

Elegy
What if every neuron in the human brain could be mapped and decoded? Every act of human behaviour catalogued and wholly understood? Elegy imagines a very-near future in which radical and unprecedented advances in medical science mean that its now possible to augment and extend life. Through the beautiful and moving story of three women whove made the choice between love and survival, Elegy explores a world in which the brain is no longer a mystery to us. But at what cost?

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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

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Fugitive Motel

Fugitive Motel
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 Hosea

1st Produced:

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

Music:
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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:
piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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If there Is I Haven't Found It Yet

If there Is I Haven't Found It Yet
Surviving school as a fat kid is tough enough. When your mum's a teacher, it's hell. What's more, Anna's dad is obsessed with saving the world and her mavErick uncle Terry is dossing on the couch. When Anna hits back at the bullies, she suspended from school and stuck at home with hapless Terry trying to save her. But Terry needs saving himself and, as the bond between the two deepens, Anna is swept up in a friendship she can't live without.

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1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London, Eur >>>     22 Oct 2009

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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:

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Ignition 1

Synopsis:
Your chance to see sparks fly between actors and writers and new work fired up by their dynamic collaborations. Last year we piloted a brand-new formula for kickstarting new work by asking writers which actors they most wanted to write for and then giving them time and space to see what happened when those partnerships were realised. The artists who took part ranged from established playwrights and star actors to breakthrough talent in an amazing array of combinations. This year Ignition is back, bigger and better, following a season at the Royal Court, with a special buzz around its unique potential to make the unexpected happen. Three separate Ignitions every night for a week: some will be mad gambles, some will be brilliant improvisations, every one of them will be an event.

Notes:
written by Matthew Dunster, Jeremy Swift, Nirjay Mahindru, Paul Charlton, Nick Payne, David Dipper, Katie Douglas and Anders Lustgarten

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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:
collaborative piece

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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In the Beginning

Synopsis:
Exactly four hundred years ago, in 1611, a group of scholars gathered together in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey to finalise their translation of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). To celebrate the publication of this remarkable text, Westminster Abbey has teamed up with the Bush theatre to create a unique, intimate and highly theatrical event. In the Beginning will see audience members taken, in intimate groups, on an extraordinary journey round the Abbey - accessing areas that are rarely open to the public and at a time when it is usually closed to visitors. As you travel round the building, an ensemble of performers will read carefully chosen extracts from the KJV which will cast a fresh and surprising light on the Abbey itself.

Notes:
with extracts from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) selected by the Revd Dr James Hawkey

1st Produced:
Westminster Abbey, London     24 Mar 2011

Organisations:
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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:
piece site specific

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Incognito

Incognito
The brain builds a narrative to steady us from moment to moment, but it is absolutely an illusion. There is no me, there is no you, and there is certainly no self. Princeton, New Jersey. 1955. Thomas Stoltz Harvey performs the autopsy on Albert Einstein - and then steals his brain. Bath, England. 1953. Henry undergoes pioneering brain surgery. The surgery changes Henry's life, and the history of neuroscience. London, England. The Present. Martha is a clinical neuropsychologist. When her marriage breaks down she starts to make radically different choices. Three interwoven stories exploring the nature of identity and how we are defined by what we remember, Incognito is an exhilarating exploration of what it means to be human.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
Live Theatre & nabokov

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 90 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Internet Shorts

Synopsis:
examining and exploring our relationship to the internet

Notes:
four new short plays by Alia Bano, DC Moore, Nick Payne and Penelope Skinner. A regular mini season of short plays, experimental readings and works in progress continue, taking over the Wilson rehearsal studio

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Rough Cuts 2013

1st Published:
-   978-0571317073

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:
short plays

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Lay Down Your Cross

Synopsis:
You left! You left. You made it clear how you felt, and you left. And that speaks volumes' In a house in Luton, boxes are stacked high, the paint is out and Tony is ready for a spring clean. Amidst the dust and clutter lie photos and memories of family fun; reminders of what used to be. As the funeral of his son looms, and his aloof daughter and ex-wife return, will the regrets of the past and the sorrows of the present prove too much for Tony and his kin?

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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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Lost Mariner, The

Synopsis:
Life without memory is no life at all. Chef Jimmy thinks it's 1995. Whilst his psychiatrist Burroughs diagnoses his condition, his wife and children become increasingly desperate in their efforts to get Jimmy to remember. A work in progress about family and forgetting.

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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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Thoughts on Leaving You

Synopsis:
My Thoughts On Leaving You by Nick Payne dives into the labyrinth and confusion of relationships and rarely comes up for air. Struggles, betrayals and disappointments become the natural state of two people coming together, not just these people but any two people in the history of relationships. It would have been sad if it wasn't funny and full of hope.

Notes:
part of "Symphony"

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Nabokov Theatre Company

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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One Day When We Were Young

Synopsis:
When Leonard and Violet embark on their first night together, they know it also might be their last. It's 1942 and in a small hotel room in Bath, the couple prepare for Leonard's departure to war, and dream of what the future may bring. As the V1 bombs begin to fall, they know their world won't ever be the same again.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
Paines Plough

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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Peter Pan

Synopsis:
When you and your friend's faces are ninety per cent braces, life is cruel, bullies are bigger than Bieber and school is scarier than Geordie Shore. For fifteen-year-old Beverly, Carmel, Daphne and Pam, life is about to take a handsome twist in the form of Peter; a poster boy who swiftly begins to resemble each girls ideal of love, hope and happiness. But it soon seems that Peter might just be too good to be true.

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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:
one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Same Deep Water As Me, The

Same Deep Water As Me, The
Had an accident at work? Tripped on a paving slab? Cut yourself shaving? You could be entitled to compensation. Andrew and Barry at Scorpion Claims, Luton's finest personal injury lawyers, are the men for you. When Kevin, Andrew's high school nemesis, appears in his office the opportunity for a quick win arises. But just how fast does a lie have to spin before it gets out of control?

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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:  5            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Starlings

Synopsis:
Melissa wants to get on with her life but never knows when her Father is going to turn up next. Over 30 years she struggles to overcome her past while her family, torn apart by alcohol, try to repair the damage. Nick Payne's new play about history and hope is a poignant, unflinching reflection on the ties that bind us.

Notes:
part of Young Writers Festival Readings 2009

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Stops, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 32 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Switzerland

Synopsis:
where a woman journeys to Zurich to finally escape her Motor Neurone Disease

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New Cut Arts, Halesworth, Suffolk     2008

Organisations:
HighTide Theatre Festival

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Symphony

Synopsis:
Theatre meets live gig as 3 of the UK's hottest and most successful young writers collaborate with the award winning new writing company nabokov to present an eclectic mix of stories told through the innovative use of music and spoken word.

Notes:
written by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne & Tom Wells; music by Ed Gaughan

1st Produced:
The Vault Festival, London     18 Feb 2014

Organisations:
nabokov

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:
piece 60 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Wanderlust

Wanderlust
Joy is a married woman, a GP, and struggling to remain interested in sex. Her husband Alan, however, thinks of little else. And their teenage son Tim is ready to burst.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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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:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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