The Playwrights Database
STEPHEN SHARKEY
(1967 - )
Nationality:
British
email:
Click here to contact
Website:
Click here
Literary Agent:
Alan Brodie Representation Ltd
Stephen Sharkey has translated and adapted a wide variety of classic and classical stories for the stage, including works by Euripides, Aristophanes, Wilde, Defoe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Dickens and Goncharov. His most recent work includes a version of Tolstoys THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH for one actor, and INKHEART, adapted with Walter Meierjohann from the childrens novel by Cornelia Funke for Home, Manchester. His new translation of Brechts THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI was commissioned and co-produced by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse and his adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL was directed by Erica Whyman at Northern Stage, Newcastle, and is published by Josef Weinberger. Stephen has written three further Christmas shows for Northern Stage: HANSEL AND GRETEL, PETER PAN, and THE GLASS SLIPPER. Other translations include ION by Euripides for Gate Theatre, London; THE BIRDS by Aristophanes, reworked as a musical comedy for children called CLOUDCUCKOOLAND; and SEX AND THE THREE-DAY WEEK adapted from a Feydeau farce for Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. Publications include THE MAY QUEEN (Methuen) originally produced by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and an adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY (Methuen) originally produced by Blackeyed Theatre. Stephen has also written several plays for BBC Radio 4: the first of these, ALL OF YOU ON THE GOOD EARTH, won the Society of Authors Richard Imison prize for best radio debut. In autumn 2018, Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle) will produce the world premiere of Stephens adaptation of WHITE TEETH, Zadie Smiths modern classic novel, in a major production by artistic director Indhu Rubasingham.
Buy Plays with Doollee
Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk
AbeBooks.com
Stageplays.com
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template
Chemotherapy
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 43 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Christmas Carol, A
Synopsis:
Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year . . .Well it is for everyone except the miserable miserly Scrooge. He has no time for friends or fun , celebrating Christmas with misery and meaness rather than mistletoe and merriment. Bah, humbug! But one dark, cold Christmas Eve, Scrooge is paid a visit by the ghost of Marley, his former business partner, who tells him he will be called upon by Three Spirits, each of whom will take him on a magical and mysterious journey to reveal the error of his ways . . .
Notes:
Stephen Sharkey from Charles Dickens
1st Produced:
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Josef Weinberger
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: 4 Other: doubling and chorus
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Cloudcuckooland
Synopsis:
Swift and McFly want to build a new city in the sky away from the pollution on their one on Earth. the birds want revenge on mankind for ruining the environment. A bombardment of bird poo starts
Notes:
Music by Alex Silverman; lyrics And book by Stephen Sharkey. Based on "the Birds" by Aristophanes
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:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Everything Must Go
Synopsis:
A Southwark couple in their sixties, on the verge of splitting up, create a storm as they sell their house, gamble away their savings and auction off their keepsakes on the internet. Breaking up is hard to do but Billy and Margaret are giving it a go. A comedy about love and family, and what happens next after you think it's all over
Notes:
Commissioned to mark Southwark Playhouse's departure from 62 Southwark Bridge Road
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:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
From Bombay To Santa Fe
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 7 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Gambler, The
Synopsis:
Resourceful, vibrant version. . . Lucid and audacious - the Independent. "the material is first class - wonderfully inventive - This is a sure winner" - the Scotsman
Notes:
Adaptation of Dostoyevsky
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Glass Slipper, The
Synopsis:
A lovely anti-panto. It often soars, in the manner of the balloon which lifts its bold heroine to the ball - Susannah Clapp, the Observer. "Sharkey's variation on the cinderElla story combines charm with such keen intelligence that the result is a really delightful piece of theatre you can't help falling for" - Lyn Gardner, the Guardian. "Intelligent, baroque humour, colourful characters and touching romanticism" - Time Out
Notes:
A new telling of the CinderElla story
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Great Gatsby, The
Synopsis:
Immersing you in the decadence of America's 'Jazz Age', The Great Gatsby is brought to life in this sizzling new stage adaptation from nationally acclaimed Blackeyed Theatre. Recreating the sights, sounds and feel of America's 'Roaring Twenties' as seen through the eyes of Nick Carraway, F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece is a brilliant evocation of a society obsessed with wealth and status.
Notes:
adapted from novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Blackeyed Theatre
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 120 min
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Hansel & Gretel
Synopsis:
the idea of Hansel and Gretel running away from their home on the edge of Kielder Forest to Scotland
Notes:
Brothers Grimm fairytale
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:
Christmas Show
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Hell And High Water
Synopsis:
Round the world yachtswoman meets Judas Iscariot on a rocky island in the Southern Ocean.
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 1 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Inkheart
Synopsis:
This Christmas, prepare to be transported into the enchanted world of Inkheart, where nothing is what it seems and magic hides behind every page. . . Meggie loves books. they are her best friends in the world but her father Mo hasn't read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared many years ago. Mo is hiding a mysterious secret from Meggie - when he reads aloud, stories come alive and characters burst from the pages into the real world. Suddenly, Meggie is thrust into a perilous and thrilling adventure that catapults her into a cat and mouse chase with dastardly storybook villain Capricorn. Ably assisted by her father, her eccentric aunt, and the fire-breather Dustfinger, will Meggie be able to stay one step ahead and stop Capricorn's fiendish plans to destroy them all? And what will happen when she reads from a book. . .? Inkheart is a play about the magic of reading and the beauty and meaning stories have in our lives. This magical tale of Meggie, a spirited heroine who meets her literary idols from Treasure Island, Arabian Nights and Peter Pan in real-life, will captivate the whole family this Christmas.
Notes:
Adapted from Book by Cornelia Funke. Adapted by Stephen Sharkey. Adapted by Walter Meierjohann. Music Nikola Kodjabashia
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:
TYA
Parts:
Male: 7 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Interval
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 40 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Ion
Synopsis:
A compelling revival - Michael Billington, the Guardian. "Effective, stripped-back storytelling -puffs away at the classical cobwebs" - Brian Logan, Evening Standard. "the genius of his re-rendering is that it is witty, light and realistic - poetic but modern " Jonathan Myerson, the Independent
Notes:
Original Playwright - Euripides
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Jig
Synopsis:
about Will Kemp and Will Shakespeare
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 20 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Mahler's Unfinished
Synopsis:
Gustav Mahler coming to terms with the afterlife
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
May Queen, The
"It's not just what he's done that makes me want to kill him. It's everything about him that makes me want to kill him. Listen to me. And me a May Queen an' all". Frank Donohue is dead. Murdered. And as the culprits bury his death in the chaos of the Blitz, Theresa Donohue prays for revenge. Revenge for her father, her brother and herself. But if vengeance is the Lord's then who will pull the trigger? the May Queen is a dark and brutal thriller set against the backdrop of wartime Merseyside.
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:
revenge tragedy Tragedy
Parts:
Male: 5 Female: 3 Other: doubling
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Night-Light
Synopsis:
An impossibly proportioned bed, a rope, one women in pyjamas and another in oddly insectile get-up with a mischievous glint in her eye. A surreally suggestive foray into the unblinking world of the insomniac.
Lucy Powell, Time Out London
Notes:
created And performed by Sinead Rushie And Camille Litalien
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Out of Inc
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
Parts:
Male: - Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Oblomov
Synopsis:
the most challenging offering at the Pleasance - a highly original re-working of Oblomov - the strength of Sharkey's adaptation is its effortless command of many different Dramatic tones; the script slips elegantly between sharp, sly satire and gently generated joy - Independent on Sunday. "Stephen Sharkey's updating of the classic Goncharov novel. . .tackles big issues in a sensitive way" - the Stage . "Sharkey's witty and shrewdly written [script]. . .is full of fine little observations about twenty-something London disaffection. . .one can't help thinking of 'Withnail & I' or George Orwell's 'Keep the Aspidistra Flying' - What's On
Notes:
1990s London Adaptation of Russian classic
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Old Curiosity Shop, The
Synopsis:
Solid, old-fashioned storytelling, episodes of comic exuberance - Independent on Sunday. "the literary equivalent of conquering Everest. . . adaptor Stephen Sharkey not only manages this feat, but also does it with some finesse, deserves great credit" - the Stage. "Culturally forward-looking but true to the ghosts of its locale" - Time Out
Notes:
A new Adaptation of Dickens
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Peter Pan
Synopsis:
goes back to Barrie's original story away from Disneyfication
Notes:
adapted from the original novel by J .M. Barrie
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Picture of Dorian Gray, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Adaptation of Wilde
1st Produced:
Lindsay Rooms, Oxford
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
Booksellers:
Genre:
Adaptation
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Porno Girl
Synopsis:
New Yorker new mom self-medicates for post-natal depression by visiting peep shows
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 3 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today. Adapted from A story by Merin Wexler
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Resistable Rise Of Arturo Ui
Synopsis:
1930s Chicago. Small time crime boss Arturo and his men offer protection. Protection for workers, jobs, businesses. As the Great Depression hits the City's fortunes, Arturo strikes a deal and makes a killing until soon his shadow looms from the markets to the docks. But whether you're with him or against him, you can't ignore the resistible rise of Arturo Ui.
Notes:
Original Playwright - Bertolt Brecht
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:
translation
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
Sex and the Three Day Week
Britain in the 1970s: a time of strikes, blackouts, and free love. But Philip's frustrated. While his wife Angela thinks he's past it, he wants to share a whole lotta love with Catherine from next door. When the naughty neighbours check in at the Paradise Hotel, it's a night to remember - for all the wrong reasons. The lights go out, the corridors see more action than the beds, and to cap it all, the place could be haunted. . . Throw in Fanny the French maid, Detective Inspector Connors of the Vice Squad, a snake called Cecil and Tom the mynah bird, and it all makes for a chaotic cocktail of confusion leaving the would-be lovebirds not even halfway to Paradise.
Notes:
Original Playwright - Georges Feydeau based on L'hotel Du Libre Echange
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of Page
This Night Forward
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 25 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today
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:
short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Tomorrow Is A Lovely Day
Synopsis:
A homage to Dennis Potter, produced in a double bill with his 'Blue Remembered Hills'.
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: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Trojan Women
Synopsis:
Verse translation of Euripides
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Courtyard Drama School, London
1992
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:
Translation
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Venus Avenger
Synopsis:
One-woman show, with the goddess Venus relating her dethronement by Psyche, and her meeting with Christ in the desert
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:
Solo Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Voyager
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
the Miniaturists is a growing group of playwrights and other theatre workers interested in the possibilities of the short play.
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Miniaturists 40
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:
-
Top of Page
All of the People All of the Time
Synopsis:
-
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:
comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page