The Playwrights Database
CRAIG STEPHENS
Nationality: British
email: n/a Website: n/a
Literary Agent: n/a
Craig Stephens's plays including biography, theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production and published dates
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below is a list of Craig Stephens's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Anatomy Of Melancholy, The Be Proud Of Me Cardinals, The Cleansing Of Constance Brown, The Good And True Home Of the Wriggler Intimate History Just Price Of Flowers, The Translation Of Shadows, AAnatomy Of Melancholy, The
Synopsis:
the Anatomy of Melancholy has been described as the greatest book ever written . Nearly 400 years old, it is a vast, 1500 page attempt to identify the causes, symptoms and cures for all kinds of melancholy. Written by vicar and librarian Robert Burton it contains all the wisdom of its age arcane, outlandish and hilarious. Yet, amidst all the wild stories and suppositions, much of its advice remains as urgent and profound now as it did then. Ten years ago a Serbian festival director challenged Stans Cafe to adapt this, his favourite book, for the stage, stating that they were the only company he could imagine pulling it off. So this is their attempt to bring the Anatomy Of Melancholy, perhaps the worlds most extraordinary self-help manual, to the stage.
Notes:
Devised and Performed by Gerard Bell, Rochi Rampal, Graeme Rose,Craig Stephens
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Devised Piece
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageBe Proud Of Me
Synopsis:
scenes from a thriller play out in the blurred brain of an amateur hitman. He seems to be recalling how he tracked down a research chemist in some European City but can't distinguish his real and covert identities, his genuine and fake memories
Notes:
Devised by Amanda Hadingue, Craig Stephens, James Yarker
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
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:
Devised Piece
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of PageCardinals, The
Synopsis:
Three Cardinals in crimson robes are on a mission of evAngelism. they are on tour with a puppet show they have made that sets out their abbreviated and extrapolated reading of the bible. the reading is abbreviated as it stages only a relatively small number of scenes key to their message of redemption; it is extrapolated as its reading of the book of Acts and Revelation include elements of contemporary history. Our theatre show is slightly bigger than the Cardinal's own puppet show our real audience (as opposed to their fictional audience), can see what is happening in the wings, how they collaborate and argue, how they are both aided by and in conflict with their young female Muslim stage manager. the Cardinals is essentially a visual show performed without words. the Cardinals have no puppets to speak of so enter the puppet stage themselves. the sincerity of the Cardinals, the seriousness of their intent and their theatrical naivete makes the show simultaniously very funny and strangely touching. the show has many themes with Belief chief amongst them. the Cardinals ask us to 'believe' whilst classically the theatre asks us to 'suspend our disbelief'. the show is in essence very simple, it tells well-known Bible stories in a simple, beautiful and compelling way. We have been asked if the show is 'controversial' which is an impossible question to answer definitively because we cannot answer for other people's personal instincts. We hope the show is provocative but not controversial. We are not seeking to argue for or against religion but hoping to prompt people to consider their relationship to religious faith. - Stan's cafe
Notes:
devised by Alia Alzougbi, Gerard Bell, Graeme Rose, Craig Stephens for Stan's Cafe
1st Produced:
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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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:
piece
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of PageCleansing Of Constance Brown, The
Synopsis:
Co-commissioned by Wiener Festwochen, the Cleansing of Constance Brown looks likely to enhance the company's international reputation even further. Performed in a long and narrow constructed corridor -a device that creates a startling sense of dynamism and intensity -the show is a poetic, episodic piece of visual theatre that explores ideas of power, the site of decision-making and the place of women in the world; and investigates the concept of 'cleansing' - be it a religious, psychic or medical imperative, a domestic chore, a personal ablution or a fragment of a genocide.
Notes:
written by Craig Stephens
1st Produced:
Fierce Festival, Birmingham 2007
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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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:
Piece
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: 7 performers
Further Reference:
Top of PageGood And True
Synopsis:
Good and True is an ambitious theatre show; a metaphysical epic full of angels and prophets, tempters and devils in disguise. It is set round a table that may once have been in an American cop show. Someone has had a vision. There are interrogators and their consciences. It's about how memory and moralities warp with perspective, so obviously its packed full of gags.
Notes:
Devised by Sarah Archdeacon, Amanda Hadingue, Craig Stephens, Nick Walker
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
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:
Devised 70 min Piece
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of PageHome Of the Wriggler
Synopsis:
Imagine living in a very differnet age from our own gas-guzzlinfg era. Perhaps a time after some eco-catastrophe? How could someone explain to you what the West Midlands was like from the late late 1950s onwards? Stan's Cafe has a go with this strange, compelling show, powered by the stories of those who have lived in Birmingham and worked in the motor industry - and also by cycling (which is generated by the cast's often exaustive peddling.
- Lyn Gardner, Guardian.
- Lyn Gardner, Guardian.
Notes:
devised by Heather Burton, Amanda Hadingue, Bernadette Russell, Craig Stephens And james Yarker. Text by James Yarker
1st Produced:
Birmingham, A E Harris Factory 2009
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe 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:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
Top of PageIntimate History
Synopsis:
Inspired by theodore Zeldin's book, Intimate History is a singular experience in every way. Experienced one at a time, each person chooses from a menu of stories and is then treated to a recreation of that story, woven around them using found objects and tiny models and accompanied by an extremely fine pianist. You could be hearing the sorry tale of Tom and his wayward entrails, or eating Turkish delight while watching a minute camel cross the desert. But, whichever story you choose, these are five-minute epics of astonishing sweetness and emotional depth. Resembling a series of beautifully animated cartoons that are somehow happening around you, Intimate History works perfectly in the context of a festival where the word of each audience member's private experience can spread and accumulate.
Notes:
by Craig Stephens And Jake Oldershaw
1st Produced:
BAC , London >>> 2005
Organisations:
Burst 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:
Piece
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageJust Price Of Flowers, The
Synopsis:
A play about the 2008 financial collapse, set in 17th Century Netherlands, looking like a Rembrandt, featuring origami and paying homage to the great theatre maker Bertolt Brecht.Tulips were imported into Europe in the early 17th Century at a time when merchants were generating wealth through trade. Collecting exotic items was a fashion. A passion developed for tulips, their price rose rapidly and created the possibility of making profit through speculative buying. For a brief time certain tulip bulbs were sold for prices equivalent to those of a house, or three years of a craftsmans wage. In 1637 this financial bubble burst. Using Tulipmania as its inspiration, the Just Price of Flowers finds the Van Leasings buying a tulip from Van Eek, using money borrowed from Van Hire. It follows them as they chase their dream of wealth through the growing complexities of futures trading, credit ratings, sub-primes, credit default swaps, and the horror of short selling. This is a simple, playful production, which explains the complexities of high finance with great humour, in a remarkably straightforward way, whilst steadily setting you up for the inevitable heartbreaking finale. there are also two songs and an origami peacock.
Notes:
an off site production by Birmingham Rep. the play is written And directed by James Yarker, with lyrics by Craig Stephens And music And origami by Brian Duffy.
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
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 PageTranslation Of Shadows, A
Synopsis:
Have you ever fallen in love someone in a film? It's easily done. When silent film first arrived in Japan, a narrator called a Benshi was employed to explain the movie and you would fall in love with them. They were the stars and they guided you through their interpretation of the screen images. Though once mighty and numerous, the dominance of the Benshi was short-lived. 'The talkies' eventually killed them off. But now the Benshi is back, in all his glory! Stan's Cafe have been to Tokyo with film-maker Oliver Clark and shot Shadows, a beautiful and mysterious silent movie about a young couple in love, all that remains is for the Benshi to tell us what every shot and symbol means, who the actors are, why he loves them, why the director is terrible, when and why we should cry and laugh, what will happen in the end, why he is the greatest, most indispensable Benshi in history and why we should fall in love with him. If only it was as simple as that. . .
Notes:
written by Craig Stephens and james Yarker
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Stan's Cafe
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: 4 Female: 2 including film cast Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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