About the Book
Two plays by David Edgar, written thirty-five years apart, both exploring the theme of youth and revolution.
Maydays tells the story of the twenty-somethings who came of age in 1968 and were drawn into revolutionary politics; of defection from East to West as well as from Left to Right. It is told through a number of interlocking stories, across three continents and twenty-five years of tumultuous history.
First performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican, London, in 1983, Maydays was revived in this new version, also by the RSC, in 2018.
Trying It On is an autobiographical monologue, written to be performed by Edgar, in which the author at seventy confronts the ideals of his twenty-something self. Does he still share the beliefs which once defined him as a person and as an artist? If not, is it he that has changed, or the world itself?
Presented by Warwick Arts Centre and China Plate, Trying It On toured the UK in 2018, including performances at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the Midlands Arts Centre and at the Royal Court Theatre, London – as well as at the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside the revival of Maydays.
This edition also includes a new introduction by the author.
'An epic, decades-spanning story of youthful idealism colliding with human nature... this timely revised version draws out moments of resonance between the seismic political shifts of the late sixties, and the polarising uncertainty of the present'
— The Stage (on the 2018 revival of Maydays)
'One of distinguished playwright David Edgar's most coruscating gems... an invaluable historical treatise, Maydays undoubtedly possesses a timely resonance'
— Telegraph (on the 2018 production of Maydays)
'David Edgar's magnificent new play for the Royal Shakespeare Company is an epic, brilliantly plotted piece of writing that takes revolution as its theme'
— The Financial Times (on the 1983 production of Maydays))
'Witty, but never cynical… as charming as it is challenging'
— The Times on Trying It On
About the Author :
David Edgar is a leading UK playwright, author of many original plays and adaptations. He also pioneered the teaching of playwriting in the UK, founding the Playwriting Studies course at Birmingham University in 1989.
His plays include: A Christmas Carol, adapted from the story by Charles Dickens (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2017); If Only (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Written on the Heart (RSC, 2011); a version of Ibsen's The Master Builder (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Arthur and George, adapted from the novel by Julian Barnes (Birmingham Rep & Nottingham Playhouse, 2010); Testing the Echo (Out of Joint, 2008); A Time to Keep, written with Stephanie Dale (Dorchester Community Players, 2007); Playing With Fire (National Theatre, 2005); Continental Divide (US, 2003); The Prisoner's Dilemma (RSC, 2001); Albert Speer, based on Gitta Sereny's biography of Hitler's architect (National Theatre, 2000); Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (Birmingham Rep, 1996); Pentecost (RSC, 1994); The Shape of the Table (National Theatre, 1990); Maydays (1983); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (RSC, 1980); Destiny (1976); and The National Interest (1971).
His work for television includes adaptations of Destiny, screened by the BBC in 1978, The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, televised by the BBC in 1981, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, televised by Channel 4 in 1982, as well as the plays Buying a Landslide (1992) and Vote for Them (1989). He is also the author of the radio plays Ecclesiastes (1977), A Movie Starring Me (1991), Talking to Mars (1996) and an adaptation of Eve Brook's novel The Secret Parts (2000). He wrote the screenplay for the film Lady Jane (1986).
He is the author of How Plays Work (Nick Hern Books, 2009) and The Second Time as Farce: Reflections on the Drama of Mean Times (1988), and editor of The State of Play: Playwrights on Playwriting (2000). He was Resident Playwright at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1974-5 (Board Member from 1985), Fellow in Creative Writing at Leeds Polytechnic, Bicentennial Arts Fellow (US) (1978-9) and was Literary Consultant for the RSC (1984-8, Honorary Associate Artist, 1989). He founded the University of Birmingham's MA in Playwriting Studies in 1989 and was its director until 1999. He was appointed Professor of Playwriting Studies in 1995.
Review :
'An epic, decades-spanning story of youthful idealism colliding with human nature... this timely revised version draws out moments of resonance between the seismic political shifts of the late sixties, and the polarising uncertainty of the present'
'One of distinguished playwright David Edgar's most coruscating gems... an invaluable historical treatise, Maydays undoubtedly possesses a timely resonance'
'David Edgar's magnificent new play for the Royal Shakespeare Company is an epic, brilliantly plotted piece of writing that takes revolution as its theme'
'Witty, but never cynical… as charming as it is challenging'
