From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power and female revenge. There is something about Demi. When this boy is angry, rain clouds gather. When he cries, rivers burst their banks and the first time he takes a shot on a basketball court, the deities of the land take note. His mother, Modupe, looks on with a mixture of pride and worry. From close encounters, she knows Gods often act like men: the same fragile egos, the same unpredictable fury and the same sense of entitlement to the bodies of mortals. She will sacrifice everything to protect her son, but she knows the Gods will one day tire of sports fans, their fickle allegiances and misdirected prayers. When that moment comes, it won't matter how special he is. Only the women in Demi's life, the mothers, daughters and Goddesses, will stand between him and a lightning bolt.

The Half-God of Rainfall

Ellams, Inua

Religion & Spirituality

Fourth Estate

From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power and female revenge. There is something about Demi. When this boy is angry, rain clouds gather. When he cries, rivers burst their banks and the first time he takes a shot on a basketball court, the deities of the land take note. His mother, Modupe, looks on with a mixture of pride and worry. From close encounters, she knows Gods often act like men: the same fragile egos, the same unpredictable fury and the same sense of entitlement to the bodies of mortals. She will sacrifice everything to protect her son, but she knows the Gods will one day tire of sports fans, their fickle allegiances and misdirected prayers. When that moment comes, it won't matter how special he is. Only the women in Demi's life, the mothers, daughters and Goddesses, will stand between him and a lightning bolt.

The Half-God of Rainfall: A world-beating exploration of mythology, power and sport

Theatre has a complex history of responding to crises, long before they happen. Through stage plays, contemporary challenges can be presented, explored and even foreshadowed in ways that help audiences understand the world around them. Since the theatre of the Greeks, audiences have turned to live theatre in order to find answers in uncertain political, social and economic times, and through this unique collection questions about This anthology brings together a collection of 20 scenes from 20 playwrights that each respond to the world in crisis. Twenty of the world's most prolific playwrights were asked to select one scene from across their published work that speaks to the current world situation in 2020. As COVID-19 continues to challenge every aspect of global life, contemporary theatre has long predicted a world on the edge. Through these 20 scenes from plays spanning from 1980 to 2020, we see how theatre and art has the capacity to respond, comment on and grapple with global challenges that in turn speak to the current time in which we are living. Each scene, chosen by the writer, is prefaced by an interview in which they discuss their process, their reason for selection and how their work reflects both the past and the present. From the political plays of Lucy Prebble and James Graham to the polemics of Philip Ridley and Tim Crouch. From bold works by Inua Ellams, Morgan Lloyd Malcom and Tanika Gupta to the social relevance of Hannah Khalil, Zoe Cooper and Simon Stephens this anthology looks at theatre in the present and asks the question: "how can theatre respond to a world in crisis?" The collection is prefaced by an introduction from Edward Bond, one of contemporary theatre's most prolific dramatists.

Theatre in Times of Crisis: 20 Scenes for the Stage in Troubled Times (Methuen Drama Play Collections, 39)

Literature & Fiction

Washburn, Anne

McDowall, Alistair

Ya-Chu Cowhig, Frances

Stephens, Simon

Wade, Laura

Thorpe, Chris

Bhatti, Gurpreet Kaur

Bond, Edward

Gupta, Tanika

Crouch, Tim

Adebayo, Mojisola

Ridley, Philip

Graham, James

Shinn, Christopher

Prebble, Lucy

Malcolm, Morgan Lloyd

Patel, Vinay

Khalil, Hannah

Bhuchar, Sudha

Cooper, Zoe

Dramas & Plays

Methuen Drama

Barber Shop Chronicles (Student Editions)

It's a simple idea, really. 1. Wear a uniform; 2. Protect who you love, what you care about; 3. Let nothing get in your way.Someone mugged Bruce's mum and he is not having it. The shock is still visible in her trembling fingers, rippling out across the calm waters of their lives. He grabs his hoodie, his uniform, his cape and goes out to find the culprit. Smithy wants everyone to stay inside, Uhuru wants everyone out. Tanya thinks it's boyish fun and games until, very suddenly, it isn't.Inua Ellams's play questions the boundaries between our right to self-defense and taking the law into our own hands. Told with five roles spanning from young people to adults, it deals with themes that young people face today: the role of boundaries and what happens when someone 'crosses the line'; fear and the use of self-defense; and examining different perspectives on a situation.Originally commissioned by Synergy Theatre Project Cape premiered at London's Unicorn Theatre in 2013 and went on to tour schools, prisons and a young offender institution. This new edition, published within Methuen Drama's Plays For Young People series features notes for teachers and exercises for students for practical use in the classroom.

Cape (Plays for Young People)

Barber Shop Chronicles (Modern Plays)

Antigone (Modern Plays)

Are you angry with policing or Polyneices? Them, we can change. He, is dead. Speak to Creon... Ask him to release Polyneices... we will bury him quietly, peacefully, together. A torn family. A hostile state. One heroic brother. One misguided son. One conflicted sister, and the second is on the run. This is a blistering retelling of Sophocles' epic story from the writer of Barber Shop Chronicles, Inua Ellams. Antigone first premiered at Regent Park's Open Air Theatre in September 2022. This revised edition was published in June 2023.

It’s a simple idea, really. 1. Wear a uniform. 2. Protect who you love, what you care about. 3. Let nothing get in your way. Someone mugged Bruce’s mum and he is not having it. The shock is still visible in her trembling fingers, rippling out across the calm waters of their lives. He grabs his hoodie, his uniform, his cape and goes out to find the culprit. Smithy wants everyone to stay inside, Uhuru wants everyone out. Tanya thinks it’s boyish fun and games until, very suddenly, it isn’t. Inua Ellams was born in Nigeria and now lives and works in London. He is a poet, a graphic artist and designer. His debut play The 14th Tale won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival 2009, toured and ran at the National Theatre in spring 2010. His second play, Untitled, was commissioned by Soho Theatre. His poetry collections include Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, Night Knuckles and Not Writing, Waterfront , Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars and The ScapeGallow. His other plays include Knight Watch and Black T-Shirt Collection.

Cape (Oberon Modern Plays)

Oberon Books

Inspired in part by the story of a Leeds barber, the play invites the audience into a unique environment where the banter may be barbed, but the truth always telling. The barbers of these tales are sages, role models and father figures who keep the men together and the stories alive.

Barber Shop Chronicles (Oberon Modern Plays)

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