Where can you find the best places to buy theatre books from? What are the best theatre bookshops in London? Well, look no further. We’re completely addicted to theatre at A Younger Theatre and when it comes to getting our hands on the latest plays and theatre related books in London we suggest the following places.

1. National Theatre Bookshop – ££
National Theatre, Southbank,

An integral part to the National Theatre, the NT Bookshop (which is soon to relocated further inside the building) boasts one of the largest collections of plays, theory and general theatre books in London. Not only are the staff extremely helpful and knowledgeable, they play good music, have fun displays which tie in with their main house productions, and of course, have a heck load of theatre books. Entry Pass members also receive 10% off books!

2. Foyles – £££
113-119 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0EB
www.foyles.co.uk

There may be a lack of comfortable reading places but Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road is a theatre lover’s dream. Accommodating a whole corner on the ground floor, Foyles have an extensive collection of playtexts and theory books. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare you’ll be lost for hours.

3. Royal Court Theatre Bookshop – ££
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS
www.royalcourttheatre.com

If new writing is your thing then the bookshop at the Royal Court Theatre will be of use to you. It’s very small, but the real gem is being able to get hold of play-texts for £3 to £5, especially Royal Court Theatre productions. The only downside is the opening hours. Monday-Friday 4-8pm and Sundays 2-8pm.

4. Waterstones – Gower Street – £££
82 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6EQ
www.waterstones.com

This may not be your most obvious spot for browsing theatre books, but due to the throng of students at local universities, Gower Street Waterstones is full to the brim of theatre books. There’s a good mix of play-texts with theory based books to draw you in, plus the theatre section is normally quiet during the week for optimum browsing.

5. Samuel French Bookshop – ££
52 Fitzroy Street, London, W1T 5JR
www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk

Known for their publishing of plays across the world, the Samuel French Bookshop is quite a hidden when it comes to theatre bookshops in London. They naturally stock most of their own publications with a focus on play-texts and musicals. It often feels like a quiet bookshop but don’t let that put you off. Make sure you try and scout out the bargains in their regular sales.

6. Southbank Centre Book Stalls – £
Under Waterloo Bridge, London
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Come rain or shine you’ll find these book sellers under Waterloo Bridge on the Southbank. They may not have an extensive collection but it feels good to rummage in their theatre and poetry sections for second hand books. They’re open everyday too!

Some other suggestions for theatre bookshops and places that sell theatre books:

Any Amount of Books – ££
56 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0QA
www.anyamountofbooks.com

Calder Bookshop Theatre – ££
51 The Cut, London, SE1 8LF
www.calderbookshop.com 

Skoob Books – £
66 The Brunswick, off Marchmont Street, London, WC1N 1AE
www.skoob.com

Have we missed your favourite bookshop? Do you know a hidden gem to grab plays from? Leave a comment and let us and A Younger Theatre’s readers know.

Image credits to Oberon Books, Royal Court Theatre and The Londonist.

Here is double roundup of the top theatre videos from February and March. You can also see all the videos on our YouTube playlist on the A Younger Theatre Youtube Channel where you’ll also find some exclusive videos from The Book of Mormon creators.

1. The Royal Shakespeare Company: Hamlet Video Trailer

At just 36 seconds long this video for David Farr’s Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company is intense. Directed by Farr himself and produced by Dust House (who are becoming a regular feature in these video round ups), the focus of the trailer is the setting of a fencing tournament. It’s simplistic in presentation, but very effective as a short trailer, including some slightly Star Wars inspired text for the show title (or is that just us?).

2. West Yorkshire Playhouse: Doctor Faustus

The West Yorkshire Playhouse and Citizen Theatre have created a creepy video trailer for their joint production of Doctor Faustus. With clown-like features you might mistake this video for The Joker in Batman. What menacing face paint. A recurring theme in this roundup of videos is slow motion which features in this trailer. Is it overused? Perhaps. But does it work? Oh yes.

3. The Unicorn Theatre: 1001 Nights

This trailer for the Unicorn Theatre’s production of 1001 Nights in association with Transport is full of mesmerising images and beauty, but it also has some faults. The voiceover and music is unquestionably good, taking you into the world of the play and when the footage shows more visual elements (the sheet blowing up for example) I tingle with joy. Some of the footage is weaker, scenes from the play playing against the narration don’t quite work, but otherwise what a wonderful video.

4. The Royal Court Theatre and Fuel: The Victorian in the Wall

How important is narrative in a video trailer for a show? In the case of The Royal Court and Fuel’s The Victorian in the Wall the narrative of the play, cleverly delivered by an actor in character, is central to the video. It’s funny and features three men singing with a piano (what’s not to love?) with some amusing lyrics about knocking down a wall. It also throws into question the purpose of video trailers and the limitations of theatre. Can you always show everything you want to in a video? One of the cast is missing so they pop a photo of her in the corner of the video, it’s cheap, but funny.

5. English National Ballet: Branding relaunching

The English National Ballet have a new artistic leader and a fresh and edgy new brand thanks to the folk at Brand New Meme. Launching the new brand came with a collaboration with fashion extraordinaire Vivienne Westwood. Talk about bringing ballet into the contemporary world. Despite being uploaded in January, we just can’t get enough of this behind the scenes look at the photo shoot with Westwood and some of ENB’s principle dancers. It’s gorgeous.

6. Bryony Kimmings: The Fanny Song

Warning: This video contains strong language and comedy related to the female genitalia and some readers may find it slightly offence and utterly hilarious. You have been suitably warned!

How many different words are there for the bits and pieces down below on our female readers? Quite a few according to Bryony Kimmings with her new song The Fanny Song. Featuring participants, vaginas and some brilliant descriptions, this video may not be for everyone, but it certainly shows that sometimes we don’t have to be serious. With 15,000 views in less than a month, I think it’s safe to say Kimmings has a hit!

7. National Theatre: NT Future – Transforming the National Theatre

When you watch this video from the National Theatre on how they’re shaping the future of the building, with new facilities and open access to audiences I challenge you not to feel a little bit excited or moved. Using footage from well known productions, with a brilliant voice over and artworks from the new developments; it feels inspiring. Which is almost what the National Theatre want you to feel, that and empowered to invest in their future which will surely be our future too.

8. Pants On Fire: Theatrical Advertising Space

From funding the National Theatre to getting a unique advertising slot in a theatre company’s production, this video from Pants On Fire is intriguing to say the least. We’re featuring this video, not for the content but rather the idea behind the video creation. Pants On Fire are offering a business the chance to have their own advert, devised by the company, inserted into their next show as an ad break. Using the companies talent of music, physical theatre, puppetry and fun they want businesses to invest in their show and receive a live advert mid-performance. It’s a neat idea, will it work? Who knows.

What are your highlights of videos the past few months? Leave a comment and make sure you look at the other videos featured in our round up of Best Theatre Videos from December.

Playwright E V Crowe is probably best known for her Royal Court debut, Kin. Dealing with the pre-adolescent trials of growing up at boarding school, Kin was a adult play full of children; now, Crowe is turning her hand to writing for younger audiences with Liar Liar. Currently playing at the Unicorn Theatre and originally commissioned as a prequel to King Lear, Crowe tells Laura Turner about how the play has developed, working with and for young audiences, and creating a play that, when you watch it, feels like eating a Haribo sour.

How did Liar Liar come about?
I ran some youth classes for a Unicorn project called ‘text generation’ which encouraged young people to write their own play. And I was also commissioned to write a new play, originally as a sort of prequel to King Lear, which became Liar, Liar.

Liar, Liar is a story about a girl called Grace who has been out all night and everyone wants to know where she was. She tells them what she thinks they want to hear, until the end when she tells the truth to her Dad, which turns out to be a lot harder than lying. She has the kind of energy and imagination that I experienced when working with young people. And she’s fighting for a sort of inner self: the right to be her own person.

You’ve written for young characters before – was this a similar process?
I haven’t written a play for a youth audience before. I wanted to honour how they presented their experience of the world to me when I spent time with them. I wanted the play to be on their side, or at least to ask questions that are relevant to them, even if these aren’t normally considered important details. For example, how young people sometimes internalise how they are perceived by adults, and then sort of become that person without even noticing. And the power of friendship, which is a strange relationship never really mentioned in law or in the history books, but a friend can save your life, I think. Texting can be like an epic poem of emotional commitment.

There must be challenges as well as positives?
I think a youth audience has the potential not to play by the rules of theatre – as in I don’t think they will sit politely and tell everyone they had a marvellous time at the theatre. I think they will react if it’s boring and react if it’s not representing them in a way that feels honest. I like it; I like knowing how an audience feels right away. That said, I haven’t written something that just seeks to ‘entertain’; I’ve taken them seriously and written something that I hope is about big ideas in terms of how the world works, not just about a kid who fibs.

Do you enjoying exploring adolescent expereince in your writing?
I’m drawn to people who tell the truth and whose emotional lives are important to them. I think teenagers respond to their emotions and spend a lot of time navigating relationships and power dynamics and versions of themselves. I think there’s good drama in all that. And it’s exciting to play a part in giving it a voice in ‘art’. If theatre is art. Which I think it is. But of course young people should respond to what I’ve written by writing their own play. That would be brilliant.

What would be your advice to aspiring playwrights?
Don’t give up. If your play is rubbish, write another one. Nurture your interests and idiosyncrasies. If there’s a metaphorical bruise, push it, don’t worry about three act structure. Try and join a writers’ group connected to a theatre.

Are inspiration and influences important too?
I think I’m inspired by other writers of my generation who work really hard and are fearless in their responses to the world. It feels important to not always be wishing you were Arthur Miller (I kind of do) but to take responsibility for the now, and know that what we say as writers now matters. And that theatre matters now more than ever. That said, I really like Edward Albee, Caryl Churchill, Anthony Neilson, Christopher Shinn…

And what can audiences expect from Liar Liar?
There’s a line in a play where Grace says it’s like “falling asleep in a bag of Haribo sours”.

Liar Liar plays at the Unicorn Theatre until 6 March. For tickets and more information, visit http://unicorntheatre.com/liar-liar.

Image credit: Danusia Samal as Grace in Liar Liar by Manuel Harlan

South London and Shakespeare. Historical bedfellows of course, given the Globe’s south-of-the-river patch of land, but now the Peckham Theatre Company is bringing Othello, Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and betrayal, right up to date with a modern South London resetting. Director Anthony Green has been overwhelmed by “a barrage of positive feedback, both verbally and online,” as audiences express their fascination with this project. But what is it about Peckham that makes for the perfect performance of this age old classic?

For regular theatregoers, the concept of resetting Shakespeare isn’t exactly a novel one. So what prompted Green to set his version in a mysterious world of Western military security companies and private armies? Put simply, his determination to find and focus on the narrative’s optimistic fight for love, rather than dwelling on the loss of it. In this sense Green likens the project to the London 2012 Olympic Games with their shared spirit of positive opportunity. Speaking personal, Green talks of how there was “no outlet for theatre in [his] hometown of Blackburn” and coming from that background, “this Olympics-inspired project means creating a legacy and a voice for young people”. Indeed, Green’s production is performed by a cast of young actors in the intimate 120 seater CLF Cafe of the Bussey Building in Peckham, which has already played host to the Royal Court’s Theatre Local.

An actor with 16 years’ experience, Green is embracing directing “as an additional expression of [his] art” and with this production, his art is finding expression through posing the question: “‘can love win?’” This is in fact so potent and “a question so integral to [his] Othello that it is even the tagline on the flyer”. Green has focused specifically on Desdemona’s attempt to win Othello’s love back amongst the traditionally male-dominated cast, yet Desdemona continually faces Othello’s struggles against his insecurities. Green is striving to give Shakespeare’s writing a tangible relevance for modern audiences through the eternal concept of love prevailing. After all, more of us than will readily admit have tried to secure love again after separation or loss. Her desperate emotional plight paves the way for the extreme physical fights which ensue between the male characters. Clearly, the testosterone is in full force at these moments and whilst it wasn’t Green’s intention to incite this energy, he admits that “it is inevitable with male cast of eight, and only an additional three females”.

Marcello Marascalchi’s work as Othello’s fight director has sculpted and choreographed this energy into something more finely crafted and arresting for the stage. Having previously gained experience working for the Royal Opera House and the Royal Court, Marascalchi has enhanced the fight scenes with knives and actors are dragged across the stage, “in order to create a very real sense of violence”. Tension, violence, love: these opposing themes and strands of the narrative coexist, each providing context for the others and highlighting the violent edge of Desdemona’s – and Othello’s – passion. Green and Marascalchi have created a man’s world for a modern audience, one in which women’s power is of sexual intrigue and challenging relationships. “Focusing on the relationships woven between the characters of Othello, [Green aims] to steer audiences away from the interpretive notion of domestic prey” and instead towards the very human yearning for love, in direct contrast to – but fully justifying – the violent fighting that precedes and surrounds it.

These fights have all the more impact in the CLF Cafe’s narrow performing space. Up close and personal to the action, audiences have nowhere to hide. “A traverse setting additionally aided the lighting of the production from a low roof, and complemented the minimal set,” Green adds, his focus attuned to the emotive. A production which particularly explores the localised battle of Othello against his own demons, the staging of Iago’s famous soliloquies was another result of the unusual performance space. Iago, desperate for revenge and having destroyed Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, directs soliloquies to individual audience members, inviting them to consider both their natural empathy for Othello’s loss of love and the invitingly horrific charisma of Iago. An intriguing study in the complexity of character, Green is obviously keen to offer more than meets the eye in this production.

A directorial debut full of violence, emotion and challenges, Green speaks of his young cast with pride. The company grew out of the spirit of the Royal Court’s Theatre Local and is clearly inspired and enhanced by this legacy, rather than beholden to it. As for Green himself, from a young man growing up “stifled by the lack of local theatre company”, there’s a clear exhilaration inherent in the opportunity to “direct his artistic expression through an additional channel”. So for an Othello that’s as violent, vengeful and vexing as you could hope for, Peckham is the place.

Othello plays at the CLF Cafe at The Bussey Building, Peckham until 22nd February. For tickets and more information, visit http://www.othellopeckham.com.

Image credit: Adam Levy