Showing results by narrator "Leanne Yau" in All Categories

Alice Gerstenberg (1885-1972) was an American playwright, actress, and activist. She is best known for her many feminist plays, which often feature female lead characters and all-female casts (a rare occurrence at the time). This is a collection of ten one-act plays, which cover a wide range of topics -highlights include a lighthearted farce involving gossiping women, a satire about dinner parties, and a comedy about the pretensions of conventional theater, but some plays also touch on more serious themes such as death, war, and the effects of an unhappy marriage.

Ava Jones has settled for a life that she's not sure she wants anymore, but won't admit it. Her best friend Erica Davidson talks her into taking a break on the Isle of Wight. Her days on the island are spent thinking things through and arguing with Morgan, whom she hates on principle. Is it so wrong for her to want a life that follows the script of an honest-to-god romance film?

Ten years after a tragic incident on the lake, an AA meeting in a small, religious town in the deep south of the USA descends into bitterness and chaos when a flood hits. Trapped within the local church, tempers escalate and well-buried secrets begin to emerge. Personalities clash, reputations are dissected and questioned, and everybody's demons are laid bare.

As a homeless orphan, shunned for having the gift, Rachael knows how to survive. The visions of people dying are only hers to see. The shadows are her safety. When Cephy comes into her life, having a friend who is as feared by the villagers as Rachael seems too good to be true. After a fiery incident, the villagers call on the White Guard to execute Rachael and Cephy. Together, they flee into a world they know nothing about.

This is another little fairytale in the Colour Fairies Series in which the fairies find out where the white comes from that is added to red to make pink.

A collection of one-acts by the Pulitzer-winning playwright, including Close the Book, Suppressed Desires, Tickless Time, Woman's Honor, The People, and Trifles.

This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to eliminate jealousy and insecurity in your life. Any relationship is prone to certain hurdles. There are times in which you and your significant other fight over even the simplest things. Choosing a restaurant to dine in for the night can very well nurture an atmosphere of contempt. And then there are other things like finances, careers, relationships and emotional space that constitute the core of human life.

Although he achieved notable success as a novelist, poet, essayist, and painter, August Strindberg is best known today as one of the first and most significant masters of naturalist theatre. Among his many dramatic works are a number of one-act plays, four of which are presented in this recording. All of the plays feature a persistent theme in Strindberg's works: the inevitable disillusion that results from intense involvement in relationships, whether they be familial, romantic or circumstantial.

These six plays are Japanese classics from the 14th century and are presented in the order of a traditional Nō programme. Nō, the Japanese word for "skill", is a form of Japanese musical drama that originated in the eighth century, and is the oldest major theatre art that still survives today. Alongside Nō plays were kyōgen plays, which were short works typically inserted as a comedic interlude of sorts between the more classical Nō performances.

Anatol, one of Arthur Schnitzler's earliest works, concerns the life of a shallow and immature playboy, who has multiple dalliances with various women but suffers from a crippling fear of commitment underneath his womanising facade. The play offers sharp social commentary on the themes of toxic masculinity and fidelity, and has been adapted in English to two different musicals: The Game of Love and The Gay Life.

Anya and Chris have been divorced for 18 years. When their daughter goes into labour, they are reunited outside the maternity ward, and in the exchange that follows, they are forced to confront each other, and the awkwardness of their past, as they wait for their new grandchild to arrive.

Set in Vienna at the turn of the 19th century, the romantic entanglements of four young individuals, Fritz, Theodor, Christine, and Mizi, offer a sharp social commentary and insight on the influence of personal and social morals on relationships.

Cutting Room is set in the "Town Welfare Department" of a town in the Midlands, Burtonwood, during public sector cuts. Four characters (David, Lucy, Ian, and an intern, Anne) have to take calls from members of the public complaining about the loss of public services, with the boss Harry coming in occasionally to offer cheerful but often useless encouragement. As the cuts continue, tensions run high, with Ian in particular taking his anger and frustration out on the secretary, Tilly. At the play's conclusion there is a surprising twist.

This play is the sequel to "Earth Spirit", in which the adventurous and manipulative Lulu marries and rids herself of three husbands, only to be arrested for the murder of the third. In "Pandora’s Box", Lulu escapes from prison only to be forced in the life of a courtesan. Reduced to desperate poverty, she meets her end at the hands of murderous customer in London. In Wedekind’s sordid morality tale, all Lulu’s main associates suffer premature and unnatural deaths, except for the degenerate Schigolch, who is one of the most unpleasant characters in the European drama.

The prophecy failed; now what? Michael’s dead, the kerk has fallen, and Aven has been sent to the Dryad Forest with Zander. Their relationship may have been irrefutably damaged because of his constant lying and trickery. Her father, Delphi, isn’t any better. Aven is forced to master her magical skills by using a device called the Gehenna Sphere, an instrument only one other person has ever defeated and it’s been known to warp minds.

The Noh theatre of Japan was popularized towards the end of the 14th century. It was heavily influenced by Buddhism in philosophy and style, and was made up of dances performed at Shinto shrines to honor spirits and gods and old lyric poetry. Around the same time Shakespeare's Hamlet was being performed in London, Noh was integral to official ceremonies at Kyoto, and young nobles and princes were encouraged to attend and perform. This is a collection of four short plays from the Noh theatres of Japan - Hagoromo, Kumasaka, Kagekiyo, and Nishigiki.

This play is a fictionalized account of the life of William Shakespeare, beginning from his humble origins in Stratford-upon-Avon with his wife, Anne Hathaway, to his life as a successful playwright in London. This play uses several biographical speculations about Shakespeare's life to tell a fascinating tale, such as his relationship with his wife (to whom he famously left his "second-best bed" in his will), his friendship with fellow playwright and competitor Christopher Marlowe, his interactions with Queen Elizabeth I, and an extramarital dalliance with the queen's maid of honor.

A warning not heeded is the deadliest poison of all. The seer has shown Honora her cards, and foretold the future that awaits. Despite the ominous reading, Honora can’t bring herself to backdown. Not with the chance to reclaim her powers so close at hand.

A single kiss on a dark night at a lonely inn changed Prudence’s life forever...and not for the better. Deemed “the Baggage” by the ladies of Nettlefold, Prudence Baggington held secrets they could never know. She thought to marry an earl. Instead, she married a monster. Fearful for her life, she runs, seeking safe haven at a convent. As a married woman she cannot join the convent, nor can she marry again. How could love ever be in her future? Her only hope is for peace and simple friendship with the Abbess’ nephew, the Baron Halthaven.

Rachael is a formidable crime boss in the underworld of an unnamed city. Beautiful but deadly, her one rule for her right-hand man is: Don't get too close. Then she hires Mikey, a tough ex-soldier who is eager to please, especially given that one of his duties is to "service" his highly sexed boss. Every day, Mikey edges ever closer to breaking that rule as he unashamedly wears his heart on his sleeve.