I, Shakespeare : four of Shakespeare's better-known plays re-told for young audiences by their lesser-known characters : I, Malvolio ; I, Banquo ; I, Caliban ; I, Peaseblossom

'Since your daughter's death I've not been much of a hypnotist.' A man loses his daughter to a car. Nothing now is what it is. It's like he's in a play ' but he doesn't know the words or the moves. The man who was driving the car is a stage hypnotist. Since the accident, he's lost the power of suggestion. His act's a disaster. For him, everything now is exactly what it is. For the first time since the accident, these two men meet. They meet when the Father volunteers for the Hypnotist's act. And, this time, he really doesn't know the words or the moves' An Oak Tree is a remarkable play for two actors. The Father, however, is played by a different actor ' male or female ' at each performance. They walk on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they're in'until they're in it. This is a breath-taking projection of a performance, given from one actor to another, from a hypnotist to their subject, from an audience to the stage. An Oak Tree is a bold and absurdly comic play about loss, suggestion and the power of the mind. Winner of a Village Voice Obie for its autumn 2006 Off-Broadway run A collection of self contained one-man shows which brilliantly re-imagine four of Shakespeare's well known plays through the eyes of the bit parts. I, Malvolio re-imagines Twelfth Night from the point of view of Shakespeare's pent-up notoriously wronged steward. A story of lost dignity, prudery, practical, jokes and bullying that draws us deep into the madness of Shakespeare's classic comedy. I, Banquo: A blood-shot, story-telling journey into the heart of Shakespeare's Macbeth, told through the eyes of his murdered best friend. Classic theatre and modern story-telling combined, accompanied by a heavy-metal-guitar-playing thirteen-year-old Fleance, a severed head and 32 litres of blood. I, Caliban: Events on Prospero's island as viewed by Caliban, a puppy-headed monster alone on the island at the end of The Tempest, alone with his memories, his magic tricks and one last bottle of wine. I, Caliban is a sweet and sorry tale about injustice, inebriation and missing your mum. I, Peaseblossom: The story of A Midsummer Night's Dream as re-lived through the fevered nightmares of Shakespeare's most neglected fairy. Funny, heart-breaking and ever-so-slightly crazed, I Peaseblossom is a gloriously anarchic dream of a dream, perfect for children and adults alike.“This brilliant collection of re-imagined stories is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for students of all ages. They are funny, fresh, intriguing and poignant, and use a supreme storyteller's skill to bring us into the worlds of some of Shakespeare's best-loved characters and plays. A must for all teachers who want to excite and inspire their students about Shakespeare's work and the possibilities of theatre.” - Jacqui O'Hanlon,Director of Education, Royal Shakespeare Company Winner of the 2010 Whiting Award for best new play.Winner of the 2010 Total Theatre Award for Innovation.Nominated in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010.Settle back into the warmth of the theatre. Relax as the story unfolds. For you. With you. Of you. A story of hope, violence and exploitation. Laugh with the actors, tap your feet to the music, turn to your neighbour. You're here.The Author tells the story of another play: a violent, shocking and abusive play written by a playwright called Tim Crouch and performed at the Royal Court Theatre. It charts the effect that play had on the two actors who acted in it and an audience member who watched it. The Author explores our responsibilities to what we choose to look at in the world and how we choose to act accordingly. Performed within its audience, it is a brilliantly inventive and theatrical study of what we deem acceptable in the name of Art.‘A bold, brave, playful piece, a devastating riff on ways of seeing and turning a blind eye to our own moral choices 4 stars... a dazzling theatrical experience that lets nobody off the hook'- Lyn Gardner, The Guardian‘At once sharply satirical and coolly thought-provoking. 4 stars'- Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph‘The Author is by turns funny, twee, exciting, unnerving and dull, and I don't think I'll ever forget it.'The Times ‘The writing is subtly brilliant, the sense of moral responsibility and exploration even greater. And because of its unusual form, it doesn't let the audience off the hook either.'The Scotsman ‘The four Tim Crouch plays contained in this volume make up one of the most important bodies of English-language playwriting to have emerged so far in the twenty-first century. Of course, we're less than a dozen years into it, so the statement is still a little on the cautious side, but I can think of no other contemporary playwright who has asked such a compelling set of questions about theatrical form, narrative content, and spectatorial engagement.'- Stephen Bottoms, University of LeedsIncludes the plays The Author, England,An Oak Tree and My Arm. My Arm‘...he is actually exploring on stage the nature of art and performance itself, taking risks in the process... At these moments, Crouch is armed and dangerous.'- GuardianAn Oak Tree‘Pirandello for a modern audience and better. It's philosophy in action, playful and seriously thought-provoking.'- Independent on SundayENGLAND‘...created with rigorous, poetic economy... ENGLAND belongs to that wonderful genre of thoughtful plays that could be discussed for hours without exhausting its ideas.'- New York TimesThe Author‘This is not audience participation; it is the audience at once being the theatre and interrogating it.'- Financial Times Adler & Gibb: The children swing their legs on the chairs. The student delivers the presentation. The older woman stands with the gun. The young couple arrives at the house. The house is returning to nature. A movie is being made. The truth is being plundered. But the house is still lived in and the spirit to resist is strong. Adler & Gibb tells the story of a raid - on a house, a life, a reality and a legacy. The play takes Tim Crouch's fascination with form and marries it to a thrilling story of misappropriation. Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb were conceptual artists working in New York at the end of the last century. They were described by art critic Dave Hickey as the 'most ferociously uncompromising voice of their generation'. With Adler's death in 2004, however, the compromise began. ; What happens to the hope at the end of the evening: Your friend is late. The meal is spoiled. A shadow has fallen. The story of this evening, one evening and any evening. The story of a reunion, a reiteration and an act of betrayal. A journey into the space between opposing beliefs; between action and inaction; between forms; between friends 'Since your daughter's death I've not been much of a hypnotist.' A man loses his daughter to a car accident. Nothing now is what it seems. It's like he's in a play - but he doesn't know the words or the moves. The man who was driving the car is a stage hypnotist. Since the accident he's lost the power of suggestion. His act's a disaster. For him, everything now is exactly what it is. For the first time since the accident, these two men meet. They meet when the Father volunteers for the Hypnotist's act. And, this time, he really doesn't know the words or the moves... An Oak Tree is a remarkable play for two actors. The Father, however, is played by a different actor - male or female - at each performance. They walk on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they're in...until they're in it. This is a breath-taking projection of a performance, given from one actor to another, from a hypnotist to their subject, from an audience to a person. An Oak Tree is a bold and absurdly comic play about loss, suggestion and the power of the mind. An Oak Tree premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in August 2005. 'Youd like that, would you, your most private, pinkest, tenderest small bird, small bird, small fragile stolen from you, slammed down onto the slab, the block, poked at and paraded. The children swing their legs on the chairs. The student delivers the presentation. The older woman stands with the gun. The young couple arrives at the house. The house is returning to nature. A movie is being made. The truth is being plundered. But the house is still lived in and the spirit to resist is strong. Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb were conceptual artists working in New York at the end of the last century. They were described by art critic Dave Hickey as the most ferociously uncompromising voice of their generation. With Adlers death in 2004, however, the compromise began. Adler & Gibb tells the story of a raid on a house, a life, a reality and a legacy. The play takes Tim Crouchs fascination with form and marries it to a thrilling story of misappropriation. Also includes what happens to the hope at the end of the evening by Tim Crouch and Andy Smith, a facsimile of the text as used in performance. This brilliant collection of re-imagined stories is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for students of all ages. They are funny, fresh, intriguing and poignant, and use a supreme storytellers skill to bring us into the worlds of some of Shakespeares best-loved characters and plays. A must for all teachers who want to excite and inspire their students about Shakespeares work and the possibilities of theatre. Jacqui OHanlon, Director of Education Royal Shakespeare Company I, Shakespeare brings together Tim Crouchs take on four Shakespeare Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream. These solo pieces are written for younger audiences but their originality and strength make them suitablefor any age. Each play in this collection combines the need to tell Shakespeares primary story with an opportunity for the secondary characters to finally have their say Malvolio, Banquo, Caliban and Peaseblossom. Each play is different but all display a formal inventiveness and a philosophical playfulness that make them stand alone as brilliant examples of contemporary theatre. ‘The patients like to look at the paintings. It helps them to feel better about their illnesses.'The grateful recipient of a heart transplant travels 4000 miles to thank the widow of the donor and to present her with a very special gift. But much more than a life has been lost. Written and performed in art galleries, ENGLAND tells a compelling story for our times - a disturbing tale of transactions and translations, of culture and commerce, of one thing being placed inside another without thought for the consequences. Presented by two guides, it is a tour to the end of the world.ENGLAND was first performed at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, in August 2007.'Tim Crouch, Britain's best mannered theatrical subversive, is at it again.ENGLAND cunningly lures the audience into examining the unspoken advantages of its position in the world and the way in which courtesy and cultural refinement can be a convenient cover for exploitation. This is a compact piece, but once again Crouch has shown that small-scale originality can provoke large-scale conversations.'LA Times “You'd like that, would you, your most private, pinkest, tenderest – small bird, small bird, small fragile – stolen from you, slammed down onto the slab, the block, poked at and paraded.” The children swing their legs on the chairs. The student delivers the presentation. The older woman stands with the gun. The young couple arrives at the house. The house is returning to nature. A movie is being made. The truth is being plundered. But the house is still lived in and the spirit to resist is strong. Adler & Gibb tells the story of a raid – on a house, a life, a reality and a legacy. The play takes Tim Crouch's fascination with form and marries it to a thrilling story of misappropriation. Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb were conceptual artists working in New York at the end of the last century. They were described by art critic Dave Hickey as the ‘most ferociously uncompromising voice of their generation'. With Adler's death in 2004, however, the compromise began. Winner of the 2010 Whiting Award for best new play. Winner of the 2010 Total Theatre Award for Innovation. Nominated in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010. Settle back into the warmth of the theatre. Relax as the story unfolds. For you. With you. Of you. A story of hope, violence and exploitation. Laugh with the actors, tap your feet to the music, turn to your neighbour. Youre here. The Author tells the story of another a violent, shocking and abusive play written by a playwright called Tim Crouch and performed at the Royal Court Theatre. It charts the effect that play had on the two actors who acted in it and an audience member who watched it. The Author explores our responsibilities to what we choose to look at in the world and how we choose to act accordingly. Performed within its audience, it is a brilliantly inventive and theatrical study of what we deem acceptable in the name of Art. "The children swing their legs on the chairs. The student delivers the presentation. The older woman stands with the gun. The young couple arrives at the house. The house is returning to nature. A movie is being made. The truth is being plundered. But the house is still lived in and the spirit to resist is strong. Adler & Gibb tells the story of a raid -- on a house, a life, a reality and a legacy. The play takes Tim Crouch's fascination with form and marries it to a thrilling story of misappropriation. Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb were conceptual artists working in New York at the end of the last century. They were described by art critic Dave Hickey as the 'most ferociously uncompromising voice of their generation'. With Adler's death in 2004, however, the compromise began."--Page 4 of cover I, Cinna (The Poet) has one short scene in Shakespeares Julius Caesar where he is mistaken for someone else and killed by the mob. Now, in a new play by Tim Crouch, this unlucky man is given a chance to tell his story. Written for ages 11+, I, Cinna (The Poet) is a fusion of theatre, multimedia and creative writing tasks. Cinna asks his young audience to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society. During the performance he asks us to write alongside a small poem on a big theme. Originally commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival which is produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for London 2012 Festival. Shortlisted for the Writers' Guild Award for Theatre Play for Young People 2013. "The patients like to look at the paintings. It helps them to feel better about their illnesses." The grateful recipient of a heart transplant travels 4000 miles to thank the widow of the donor and to present her with a very special gift. But much more than a life has been lost. Written and performed in art galleries, England tells a compelling story for our times - a disturbing tale of transactions and translations, of culture and commerce, of one thing being placed inside another without thought for the consequences. Presented by two guides, it is a tour to the end of the world. England was first performed at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, in August 2007. "The grateful recipient of a heart transplant travels 4000 miles to thank the widow of the donor and to present her with a very special gift. But much more than a life has been lost." "Written to be performed in art galleries, ENGLAND tells a compelling story for our times - a disturbing tale of transactions and translations, of culture and commerce, of one thing being placed inside another without thought for the consequences. Presented by two guides, it is a tour to the end of the world."--Jacket The story of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar told through the eyes of a jiggling fool, a lowly poet having bad dreams, a man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time... with the wrong name... while history thunders past. Forming part of Tim Crouch's series of solo shows inspired by Shakespeare's lesser characters, I, Cinna is written for ages 11+ and engages a young audience to think and write, to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society.

"It's a very powerful piece indeed."—The Stage

The latest installment in Tim Crouch's acclaimed family-friendly series of William Shakespeare plays explored through the eyes of minor characters. Here, it's Julius Caesar from the perspective of a lowly poet, a man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong name, while history thunders past.

This new collection pulls together, for the first time, the finest work from award-winning English dramatist Tim Crouch. Includes The Author, joint winner of the 2010 John Whiting Award and winner of a Total Theatre award for innovation; England; An Oak Tree, winner of a Village Voice Obie; and My Arm

Conceptual Artist Janet Adler And Political Science Graduate Margaret Gibb Fell In Love And Retreated To Live In Isolation Until Adler’s Mysterious Death In 2003. Adler & Gibb -- What Happens To The Hope At The End Of The Evening. By Tim Crouch And Andy Smith. Includes Final Draft Of What Happens To The Hope At The End Of The Evening. A comic play about how we fill the gaps in life. This is a story about loss, suggestion and the power of the mind. It is a sequel to Tim Crouch's first play "My Arm", which was a major hit at the Traverse in 2003. This new collection pulls together for the first time, the finest work from controversial, award-winning, English dramatist Tim Crouch. Contains the story of a search for a new heart, about a life saved and an illness overcome at any cost.