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JOHN ARDEN   (1930 - )


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   Nationality:
British
   Literary Agent: *:
   Email:
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   Website:
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Plays by John Arden

JOHN ARDEN
All Fall Down
1st Produced:
Edinburgh
1955
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Set in the Victorian period about building a railway.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Armstrong's Last Goodnight
1st Produced:
Glasgow
1964
Company:
-
1st Published:
1965
To Buy This Play:
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(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Exercise in Diplomacy
-
Parts:
Male
23
Female
7
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
16th century Scottish border chieftain and his feuds with the King of England over border peace.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Ars Longa, Vita Brevis
1st Produced:
Kirkbymoorside
1964
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Eight Plays I", Cassell, London
1965
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Theme for Variations
-
Parts:
Male
5
Female
1
Parts Other:
extras inc children
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
improvisation on an art master shot in a wood whilst taking part in a Territorial Army exercise
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JOHN ARDEN
Awkward Corners
1st Produced:
-
-
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Bagman Or The Impromptu Of Muswell Hill, The
1st Produced:
BBC Radio
1970
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 2"
1994
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Witty Fable
-
Parts:
Male
6
Female
6
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
modern version of Moliere's Versailles Impromptu
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Ballygombeen Bequest, The
1st Produced:
Belfast
1972
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Scripts 9", New York, September
1972
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Anglo-Irish Melodrama
-
Parts:
Male
11
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy, aka The Little Gray Home In The West
Synopsis:
English absentee landlord's attempts to evict his Irish tenants.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Blow-In Chorus For Liam Cosgrave
1st Produced:
Galway
1977
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Business Of Good Government, The: A Christmas Play
1st Produced:
Brent Knoll, Somerset
1960
Company:
-
1st Published:
1963
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Nativity
-
Parts:
Male
13
Female
4
Parts Other:
or unisex
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy; aka A Christmas Play
Synopsis:
King Herod's realisation that the child Jesus must be killed in order to preserve the government
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Conscience And Desire, And Dear Liz
1st Produced:
London
1954
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Crown Strike Play, The
1st Produced:
Galway
1974
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Death Of A Cowboy
1st Produced:
-
-
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
6
Female
-
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Devil And The Parish Pump, The
1st Produced:
Galway
1974
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London
1991
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
20 min play
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
5 characters
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
pressing issue was the new piped water scheme
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Fidelio
1st Produced:
London
1965
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
Libretto
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Friday's Hiding
1st Produced:
Edinburgh
1966
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Soldier, Soldier and Other Plays", Methuen, London
1967
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
3
Female
1
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Experiment In The Laconic as Scottish farmer hides to avoid paying his men
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Granny Welfare And The Wolf
1st Produced:
London
1971
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Happy Haven, The
1st Produced:
Bristol
1960
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "New English Dramatists 4", Penguin, London
1962
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
8
Female
6
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Basic conflicts between the doctors and patients at a geriatric hospital
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Harold Muggins Is A Martyr
1st Produced:
London
1968
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy and Cartoon Archetypical Slogan Theatre
Synopsis:
a battle finally seals the fate of Muggin's cafe after it has been taken over by the establishment
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Hero Rises Up, The
1st Produced:
London
1968
Company:
-
1st Published:
1969
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Romantic Melodrama
-
Parts:
Male
16
Female
9
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
The amorous relationship between Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson is shown with excerpts from his naval victories.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Hunting Of The Mongrel Fox, The
1st Produced:
Galway
1976
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London
1991
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
short play
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
protest at a decision to hang a young couple in Dublin
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Ironhand
1st Produced:
Bristol
1963
Company:
-
1st Published:
1965
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Adaptation
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
from Goethe's "Goetz von Berlichingen
Synopsis:
Ironhand is Goetz who lost his hand in battle and replaced it with an iron gauntlet, "I stood by myself and I took no head of nobody. All I said was freedom"
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Island Of The Mighty, The: A Play On A Traditional British Theme
1st Produced:
London
1972
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays & Players" London, feb/Mar
1973
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Drama, Music
-
Parts:
Male
25
Female
9
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy; aka Handful of Watercress
Synopsis:
A long and complex re-telling of the Arthur and Merlin myth.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Left-Handed Liberty
1st Produced:
Mermaid Theatre, London
1965
Company:
-
1st Published:
1965
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Play about Magna Carta
-
Parts:
Male
14
Female
5
Parts Other:
extras
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
King John and his barons struggle over the implications of the Magna Carta
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Little Gray Home In The West, The
1st Produced:
rehearsed reading at Sugawn Theatre, London
1978
Company:
-
1st Published:
Pluto Press, London
1980
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Sat MeloDrama
-
Parts:
Male
11
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
English absentee landlord's attempts to evict his Irish tenants. (But after libel suit cuts and changed emphases from original "The Ballygombeen Bequest")
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Live Like Pigs
1st Produced:
1958
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "New English Dramatists 3", Penguin, London
1961
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
7
Female
7
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Conflict between a band of vagrants and the middle class in an industrial country.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Making Of Muswell Hill, The
1st Produced:
London
1984
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Mary's Name
1st Produced:
Galway
1977
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London
1991
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Modern Drama
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
women's right to keep their own name after marriage
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Menace Of Ireland. . ..?, The
1st Produced:
Bradford
1979
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Mongrel Fox, The
1st Produced:
Galway
1976
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Mother, The
1st Produced:
London
1984
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
My Old Man's A Tory
1st Produced:
London
1971
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
New Communion - For Freaks, Prophets And Witches, A
1st Produced:
Edinburgh
1971
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Expression of "women's rage" made real
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
No Room At The Inn
1st Produced:
Galway
1976
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London
1991
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Modern Drama
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
concern for the Travelling population of Galway
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Non-Stop Connolly Show, The: A Dramatic Cycle Of Continuous Struggle In Six Parts
1st Produced:
Liberty Hall, Dublin
1975
Company:
-
1st Published:
Pluto Press, 5 vols.
1977
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
26 hour epic
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
41
Female
4
Parts Other:
or 12m4f
Notes:
written with Margaretta D'Arcy
Synopsis:
Life and career of James Connolly martyr of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Party, The
1st Produced:
London
1958
Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1958
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
3
Female
3
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
Adolescent conflicts convincingly explored
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Pearl
1st Produced:
-
-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Methuen Modern Play, London
1979
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Radio
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes:
-
Synopsis:
A Play about a Play within the Play
Top of Page
JOHN ARDEN
Pinprick Of History, A
1st Produced:
Almost Free Theatre, London
1977
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London
1991
To Buy This Play:
If the Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased direct, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies