Contemporary Dramatists
3 total works
Butler Plays: 1 brings together into one volume four of the major plays by this award-winning author. Praised for the gritty detail and realism of his work, Leo Butler has quietly established a reputation in recent years as a potent and skilfull documenter of contemporary social and moral issues. Made of Stone produced in the Royal Court Young Writers' Festival 2000, was praised for its 'rock-hard characterisation with buzzing dialogue' (Evening Standard). In Redundant 'Butler boldly creates a psychologically complex female lead, surrounding her with unjudged dead-beats, each distinctively vocalising caustic Sheffield Vernacular.' (Evening Standard) Lucky Dog is a startlingly sensitive depiction of one couple's relationship. Michael Billington commented, 'I am still astonished by Butler's profound understanding of marital solitude. Nothing much happens on the surface, yet underneath a lot goes on as Sue and Eddie, a Sheffield couple in their late fifties, share a solitary Christmas.' (Guardian) The Early Bird taps into the darkest fears of any parent - the disappearance of their child - to brilliantly capture the nightmare of recrimination and loss.
It premiered at the Belfast Theatre Festival in October 2006.
It premiered at the Belfast Theatre Festival in October 2006.
Butler Plays: Two brings together a selection of Leo Butler's work, currently both published and previously unpublished, covering the years 2007 to 2013. It showcases his incredible variety in style and tone, and brings together some of his best-loved works alongside some of his lesser known pieces.
Airbag (Royal Court, Rough Cuts, 2007) an old woman is lying on her death bed, imagining that she is being terrorised by gorillas. Butler's play is an exploration of death and the dying.
I'll Be The Devil (RSC/Tricycle Theatre, 2008): With a poetic fearlessness, Leo Butler looks at what happens when a brutal foreign power is in intimate and callous contact with the primitive heart of an ancient society.
Faces in the Crowd (Royal Court Theatre, 2008): Faces in the Crowd is a darkly comic play that offers a unique insight into twenty-first century London and the debts we accrue in the wake of seeking out our ambitions.
Juicy Fruits (Paines Plough and Oran Mor, 2011): a one-act comedy set in a coffee shop in which two old friends from university meet again after many years.
69 (Natural Shocks Theatre Company; Pleasance, 2012): a series of 69 short vignettes, all on the subject of sex, offering a glimpse on a whole range of issues surrounding sexuality.
Do It! (Royal Court, Open Court Season, 2013) is an unsettling journey through the secrets and innermost thoughts of a group of pedestrians, unwittingly watched over by a violent force.
The volume includes an introduction by the playwright.
Airbag (Royal Court, Rough Cuts, 2007) an old woman is lying on her death bed, imagining that she is being terrorised by gorillas. Butler's play is an exploration of death and the dying.
I'll Be The Devil (RSC/Tricycle Theatre, 2008): With a poetic fearlessness, Leo Butler looks at what happens when a brutal foreign power is in intimate and callous contact with the primitive heart of an ancient society.
Faces in the Crowd (Royal Court Theatre, 2008): Faces in the Crowd is a darkly comic play that offers a unique insight into twenty-first century London and the debts we accrue in the wake of seeking out our ambitions.
Juicy Fruits (Paines Plough and Oran Mor, 2011): a one-act comedy set in a coffee shop in which two old friends from university meet again after many years.
69 (Natural Shocks Theatre Company; Pleasance, 2012): a series of 69 short vignettes, all on the subject of sex, offering a glimpse on a whole range of issues surrounding sexuality.
Do It! (Royal Court, Open Court Season, 2013) is an unsettling journey through the secrets and innermost thoughts of a group of pedestrians, unwittingly watched over by a violent force.
The volume includes an introduction by the playwright.