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Tim Crouch

TIM CROUCH

  
Nationality:    British
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    United Agents  represented by Giles Smart

Tim Crouch has rightfully established a reputation as one of this country's most progressive and thought-provoking writer/performers. He is interested not just in the felicitous placing of words but how their impact can be manipulated. His plays combine emotionally-charged subject matter with structures that constantly remind the audience of their position outside of the action and their ability to be objective about what they are seeing. His last piece, an Oak Tree, used actors completely unfamiliar with the script to deliver the lines and 'not act' beside him. an Oak Tree has had successful runs Off-Broadway and in London and, like Crouch's previous piece, My Arm, has been translated and performed in several different languages.

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below is a list of Tim Crouch's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Adler & Gibb         Author, The         Beginners         Cadavre Exquis - Kassys         England         Fairy Monster Ghost         Host / An Act of Union         I, Banquo         I, Caliban         I, Cinna (the Poet)         I, Malvolio         I, Peaseblossom         John, Antonio And nancy         Kaspar The Wild         King Lear - Young People's Shakespeare         May         My Arm         Oak Tree, An         Rough Cuts - Hung Over - 10 Playwrights Respond to the 2010 Election         Shopping For Shoes         Taming of the Shrew, The         What Happens To the Hope At the End Of the Evening
Adler & Gibb

Adler & Gibb
The children swing their legs on the chairs. The student delivers the presentation. The older woman stands with the gun. The young couple arrives at the house. The house is returning to nature. A movie is being made. The truth is being plundered. But the house is still lived in and the spirit to resist is strong. Adler & Gibb tells the story of a raid - on a house, a life, a reality and a legacy. The play takes Tim Crouch's fascination with form and marries it to a thrilling story of misappropriation. Janet Adler and Margaret Gibb were conceptual artists working in New York at the end of the last century. They were described by art critic Dave Hickey as the 'most ferociously uncompromising voice of their generation'. With Adler's death in 2004, however, the compromise began.

Notes:
Adler & Gibb was developed, in part, at the 2013 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA

1st Produced:

Organisations:
co-commission with Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  children

Further Reference:

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Author, The

Author, The
a story of hope, violence and exploitation" and concerns "about the abuse carried out in the name of the spectator

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Beginners

Beginners
Beginners tells the story of three families trapped in a waterlogged holiday cottage over summer. The children are bored. The adults are down the pub. So far so normal. An extraordinary Easter Holiday show for everyone who has ever wanted to be understood.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cadavre Exquis - Kassys

Synopsis:
A Cadavre Exquis is a poem written by several poets, without knowing what the others have written. The first writer composes a line of poetry on a piece of paper. Then he or she folds the paper so that only the last word is visible. The second writer continues, guided by that last word. The third writer follows and so on. For this performance, four theatre companies have come together to create a live Cadavre Exquis on stage. Each will create a 15 minute section that starts with the last image of the previous part, without knowing what has taken place previously. In a completely open situation, the set may be changed or even destroyed, a dance performance can suddenly become a film and the story can go any number of unexpected ways.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
choreographed poem

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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England

England
england is a powerful, layered play that explores the significance of institutions: the gallery, the church, the hospital, and the relative values of art and heart. Using multiple voices and a scorching text, the performance surrounds the audience and implicates them in the story. Staged in a gallery space and therefore surrounded by the artefacts of other cultures, the show looks at difference and dislocation and the point at which cultures intersect.

Notes:
winner Scotsman Fringe First Award

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Traverse Theatre, News From Nowhere and the Fruitmarket Gallery

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Fairy Monster Ghost

Synopsis:
Fairymonsterghostis a trilogy of three self-contained one-man shows, I, Peaseblossom, I, Caliban, and I, Banquo. Each piece provides an exciting and original new look at one of three classic plays - A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and Macbeth. Told from the point of view of characters whose destinies are to watch the main action from the sidelines, Tim Crouch's startling and engaging trilogy is, for the first time, performed by a new cast. I, PeaseblossomI, The story of A Midsummer Night's Dream as re-lived through the fevered nightmares of Shakespeare's most neglected fairy. Funny, heart-breaking and ever so slightly crazed, I, Peaseblossom is a gloriously anarchic dream of a dream, perfect for children and adults alike. I, Caliban - Events on Prospero's island as viewed by Caliban, a puppy-headed monster abandoned on the island at the end of The Tempest, alone with his memories, his magic tricks and one last bottle of wine. I, Caliban is a sweet and sorry tale about injustice, inebriation and missing your mum. I, Banquo - A blood-shot, story-telling journey into the heart of Shakespeare's Macbeth, told through the eyes of his murdered best friend. I, Banquo is classic theatre and modern story-telling combined, accompanied by a severed head and 32 litres of blood.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
News From Nowhere (England)

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
three one act plays

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Host / An Act of Union

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nightingale Theatre, Brighton Fringe     2014

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I, Banquo

I, Banquo
I, Banquo: a blood-shot, story-telling journey into the heart of Shakespeare's Macbeth, told through the eyes of his murdered best friend. Classic theatre and modern story-telling combined, accompanied by a heavy-metal-guitar-playing 13 year old Fleance, a severed head and 32 litres of blood.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Longhill High School, Brighton     25/2005

Organisations:
Brighton Festival

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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I, Caliban

I, Caliban
I, Caliban: events on Prospero's island as viewed by Caliban, a puppy-headed monster alone on the island at the end of the Tempest, alone with his memories, his magic tricks and one last bottle of wine. I, Caliban is a sweet and sorry tale about injustice, inebriation and missing your mum.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Downsview School, Brighton     16 May 2003

Organisations:
Brighton Festival

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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I, Cinna (the Poet)

I, Cinna (the Poet)
the story of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar told through the eyes of a jiggling fool, a lowly poet having bad dreams, a man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. . . with the wrong name. . . while history thunders past. Forming part of Tim Crouch's series of solo shows inspired by Shakespeare's lesser characters, I, Cinna is written for ages 11+ and engages a young audience to think and write, to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Royal Shakespeare Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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I, Malvolio

I, Malvolio
I, Malvolio re-imagines Twelfth Night from the point of view of Shakespeare's pent-up notoriously wronged' steward. a story of lost dignity, prudery, practical, jokes and bullying that draws us deep into the madness of Shakespeare's classic comedy.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dorothy Stringer High School, Brighton     05 May 2010

Organisations:
Brighton Festival

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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I, Peaseblossom

I, Peaseblossom
I, Peaseblossom: the story of a Midsummer Night's Dream as re-lived through the fevered nightmares of Shakespeare's most neglected fairy. Funny, heart-breaking and ever-so-slightly crazed, I Peaseblossom is a gloriously anarchic dream of a dream', perfect for children and adults alike

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
St Mary's Primary School, Portslade     13 May 2004

Organisations:
Brighton Festival

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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John, Antonio And nancy

Synopsis:
Ten of Britain's leading playwrights respond to the 2010 General election. Five nights of ten minute short plays at theatre Local, elephant and Castle. Tue 22 & Thu 24 June at 7pm featuring plays by April de Angelis, Tim Crouch, Michael Wynne, Dipo agboluaje and Leo Butler. Wed 23 & Fri 25 June at 7pm featuring plays by alia Bano, Michael Bhim, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Martin Crimp and Emma Crowe. Sat 26 June at 7pm featuring all plays by the ten writers. Hung Over takes place as part of Rough Cuts, the Royal Court's annual season of work-in-progress, experimental pieces, readings and shorts. Rough Cuts emerges from the year-round activities of the Studio, providing an opportunity for emerging and established artists to develop ideas collaboratively, experimentally and informally.

Notes:
part of Rough Cut's Hung Over - 10 Playwrights Respond to the 2010 election

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kaspar The Wild

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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King Lear - Young People's Shakespeare

Synopsis:
King Lear divides his Kingdom between his daughters according to a declaration of their love for him. His eldest Goneril and Regan exaggerate their affection and inherit. His youngest daughter Cordelia speaks only the truth and is banished. So begins the tragedy of King Lear, whose dignity, sanity and finally life are torn from him by a self-seeking younger generation, ambitious for his power. What is love, what is madness, what is truth - Shakespeare explores these questions together with many others in King Lear, widely considered to be his greatest tragedy. A royal family gather for Christmas. The father broadcasts his seasonal message: he's giving up work and dividing his kingdom. With this misjudged act the natural order is upturned and the scene is set for a story of family break-up, homelessness and heartbreak. In this new edited version, King Lear is brought vibrantly to life for schools, families and younger audiences. Stripped down to 75 minutes, the production is a thrilling and accessible introduction to one of the greatest plays ever written.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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May

Synopsis:
May is on the brink, doing all she can to stop her thoughts from tipping her over the edge. Douglas thinks too much. He fancies himself as a bit of a writer. He wants his words to change May's world, but he has problems of his own. a darkly humorous modern day romance told in dance, text and song.

Notes:
Written by Tim Crouch, conceived by Antonia Grove

1st Produced:
The Point Eastleigh     17 Feb 2011

Organisations:
Probe

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance theatre

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Arm

My Arm
a 10-year-old boy decides to live his life with one arm above his head. about bloody-mindedness and modern art. Funny, intimate and a little absurd.
Press Release

Notes:
previewed At Hayward Gallery, London, 04 Feb 2003

1st Produced:

Organisations:
News From Nowhere (England)

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Oak Tree, An

Oak Tree, An
an oak tree is the story of two men brought together by loss: a Father whose daughter has been killed in a car accident, and the driver of that car-a provincial stage hypnotist. For the father, nothing now is what it was. Since the accident the hypnotists' act is a disaster. For him, everything now is exactly what it is. an oak tree is about the Dramatic intertwining of human lives as the man and the hypnotist are reunited for the first time since the accident when the hypnotist inadvertently calls him on stage as a volunteer. the Father, however, is played by a different actor-male or female-at each performance. the second actor walks on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they're in. . ..until they're in it.
Press Release

Notes:
previewed At Nationaltheater, Germany, 29 April 2005

1st Produced:

Organisations:
News From Nowhere (England)

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  1

Further Reference:

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Rough Cuts - Hung Over - 10 Playwrights Respond to the 2010 Election

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Rough Cuts - a regular mini season of short plays, experimental readings and works in progress Ten of Britain's leading playwrights respond to the 2010 General Election. Five nights of ten minute short plays at Theatre Local, Elephant and Castle. Tue 22 & Thu 24 June at 7pm featuring plays by April de Angelis, Tim Crouch, Michael Wynne, Dipo Agboluaje and Leo Butler. Wed 23 & Fri 25 June at 7pm featuring plays by Alia Bano, Michael Bhim, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Martin Crimp and Emma Crowe. Sat 26 June at 7pm featuring all plays by the ten writers. Hung Over takes place as part of Rough Cuts, the Royal Court's annual season of work-in-progress, experimental pieces, readings and shorts. Rough Cuts emerges from the year-round activities of the Studio, providing an opportunity for emerging and established artists to develop ideas collaboratively, experimentally and informally.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
10 min play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shopping For Shoes

Synopsis:
the play follows the story of politically engaged teenager and narrator and her attraction to a man who expresses his "individuality" by wearing one of his 60 pairs of expensive branded trainers.
Mark Brown, Sunday Herald

Notes:
Part of 2006 Children's International Festival

1st Produced:
National Theatre Education Department Tour     2003

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Children's Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Taming of the Shrew, The

Synopsis:
Two wealthy sisters in Padua must be married off. The modest, demure Bianca has no shortage of suitors, but who on earth will take the wild, ungovernable, ?shrewish' Katherina? Perhaps the gold-digging Petruchio, as maddeningly strong willed and perverse as Katherina herself, will be equal to the task of bullying her to the altar. Shakespeare's outrageous comedy introduces one of the theatre's great screwball double-acts, a couple hellbent on confusing and outwitting each other right up to its controversial conclusion.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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What Happens To the Hope At the End Of the Evening

What Happens To the Hope At the End Of the Evening
Your friend is late. the meal is spoiled. A shadow has fallen. the story of this evening, one evening and any evening. the story of a reunion, a reiteration and an act of betrayal. A journey into the space between opposing beliefs; between action and inaction; between forms; between friends.

Notes:
what happens to the hope at the end of the evening is created by long-term collaborators Tim Crouch, Andy Smith (a smith) and Karl James.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
An Almeida Festival 2013 Commission supported by Live at LICA

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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