Double Feature: One: (NHB Modern Plays)

Double Feature brings together – in two volumes of paired short plays – four of the most exciting new voices in UK theatre, in their first commissions for the National Theatre. This volume, Double Feature: One, contains: Edgar & Annabel by Sam Holcroft An Orwellian dystopian fable about a group of freedom fighters attempting to stand up to a repressive regime, while being continuously subjected to surveillance. A young couple prepare dinner – but something isn't right. In a city not so different from our own capital, a group of freedom fighters attempts to stand up to an Orwellian establishment in increasingly perilous circumstances. The story that unfolds brings into question relationships, identities and the nature of reality itself… The Swan by D C Moore An examination of the ties that hold us together in a fractured society. In a decaying pub in South London, preparations are being made for a wake. With only an hour before their guests arrive, a family begin to settle their accounts. The ghosts of lives lived and opportunities missed are laid to rest as new and ancient betrayals are confronted and forgiven. The plays premiered in a specially converted space at the National Theatre in July 2011. They were performed alongside There is a War by Tom Basden and Nightwatchman by Prasanna Puwanarajah, published in the companion volume Double Feature: Two.

About the Author :
Sam Holcroft is a playwright, winner of the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature. Her plays include: A Mirror (Almeida Theatre, London, 2023; West End, 2024); Rules for Living (National Theatre, London, 2015); The Wardrobe for National Theatre Connections; Edgar & Annabel, part of the Double Feature season in the Paintframe at the National Theatre; Dancing Bears, part of the Charged season for Clean Break at Soho Theatre and Latitude Festival; While You Lie at the Traverse, Edinburgh; Pink, part of the Women, Power and Politics season at the Tricycle; Vanya, adapted from Chekhov, at The Gate; and Cockroach, co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and Traverse (nominated for Best New Play 2008, by the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland and shortlisted for the John Whiting Award, 2009). In 2013, she wrote The House Taken Over, a libretto for opera, adapted from Cortázar, for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and Académie Européenne de Musique. She received the Tom Erhardt Award in 2009, was the Pearson Writer-in-Residence at the Traverse Theatre, 2009–10, and the Writer-in-Residence at the National Theatre Studio from 2013–14. In 2014, she received a Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the drama category. DC Moore is a playwright and screenwirter. His work for the stage includes The Empire (Royal Court Theatre and Drum Theatre, Plymouth, 2011; nominated for an Olivier Award, winner of the TMA Award for Best Touring Production). His work for the screen includes the 2015 BAFTA award-winning comedy drama series Not Safe for Work (Channel 4 / Clerkenwell Films). In 2016 he won the Best Long Form Drama award at the Writers' Guild Awards, and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Writer for Not Safe For Work. He has also been nominated in the Breakthrough Talent category at the BAFTA Craft Awards 2016.

Review :
'Startlingly imaginative... Clever, funny and disturbing' 'Moore is one of the best thirty-something playwrights around, an expert analyst of half-truths and human weakness'