To paraphrase Alistair Beaton's Caledonia - the first play in this collection - 'The English have anthologies, the Spanish have anthologies, the French have anthologies . . . why should not Scotland have its anthology?'

Scotland is entering a crucial period in its history, where its identity is being debated daily, from everyday conversation to the national and international press. At the same time, its theatre is resurgent, with key Scottish playwrights, theatres and theatre companies expanding their performance vocabularies while coming to prominence in national and international...

Recent years have seen an explosion of new Welsh writing for the stage. With the advent of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru in 2003 and the launch of National Theatre Wales in 2009, there has been a tectonic shift in Welsh theatre and its perception.

Wales has famously celebrated its poets and novelists, but in the twenty-first century, it is the playwright asking the crucial questions. Never before have there been so many playwrights of all ages, from across Wales, finding the stage to be the home for their stories.

This collection is the first to officially recognise this new...

Contemporary Irish Plays showcases the new drama that has emerged since 2008. Featuring a blend of established and emerging writers, the anthology shows how Irish writers are embracing new methods of theatre-making to explore exciting new themes - while also finding new ways to come to terms with the legacies of the Troubles and the Celtic Tiger.

Freefall is a sharp, humorous and exhilarating look at the fragility of a human life, blending impressionistic beauty, poignancy and comedy.

Forgotten features the interconnecting stories of four elderly people...

For the first time, there is an anthology of monologues for young people available, taken from plays commissioned as part of the National Theatre Connections over the past 20 years.

Always drawing together the work of 10 leading playwrights - a mixture of established and current writers - the annual National Theatre Connections anthologies offer young performers between the ages of 13 and 19 an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study. Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department and reflects the past year's programming at the...