Wesker Plays: 2: Annie Wobbler; Yardsale; Four Portraits of Mothers; Betty Lemon?; The Mistress; Letter to a Daughter

Description

This second volume of Wesker's Collected Plays contains his One-Woman Plays: "Wesker is that rarity, a playwright who writes good, gritty parts for women" (Time Out) Yardsdale and Whatever Happened to Betty Lemon?: 'From his earliest plays, Wesker has always delineated women with understanding and sympathy. Both these qualities are present here ... each character convinces one equally of the depth of her suffering and of the resilience of her spirit' Sunday Telegraph; The Mistress: 'Women as victims ... traditional Wesker themes ... wrapped up marvellously here and re-presented ... a fascinating evening in the theatre' Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4; Letter to a Daughter: 'Wesker breaks new ground ... a moving depiction of a doubt-ridden single mother ... a finely crafted piece of theatre' Jewish Chronicle; Annie Wobbler: 'All three different characters are shown with an intensity of personal involvement which is where Wesker flourishes best' Sunday Telegraph; Four Portraits - of Mothers with Yardsdale won the GBP10,000 Georges Bresson prize. "Arnold Wesker - the unique outsider in the British theatre" Observer

Arnold Wesker F.R.S.L was knighted in 2006 for 'services to drama'. He has written over forty-three plays, two opera libretti, various mechanical adaptations; four volumes of short stories, a children's book, and a novel; two volumes of essays, an autobiography, a diary,and a book on journalism; and recently his first volume of poetry. His plays have been produced in cities from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, from Paris to Moscow, from Montreal to Zurich, and The Kitchen - his most performed play has been performed yearly somewhere or other around the world for the last fifty years, and recently was revived by The National Theatre in 2011. Arnold Wesker was the recently featured in the Guardian ahead of revivals of his plays Chicken Soup With Barley (The Royal Court) and The Kitchen (The National Theatre): Guardian interview | Arnold Wesker