From the TCG Bookshelf

King Charles III

by Mike Bartlett

Winner of the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Play, King Charles III is the "fresh, thrilling and fearlessly comic" (Entertainment Weekly) drama of political intrigue by Mike Bartlett, with sensational runs in London's West End and on Broadway. This controversial "future history play" explores the people underneath the crowns, the unwritten rules of Britain's democracy and the conscience of its most famous family.

Choir Boy

by Tarell Alvin McCraney

A moving new drama from TCG, Tarrell Alvin McCraney follows up his acclaimed trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays with Choir Boy, an affecting portrait of a gay youth trying to find the courage to tell the truth about his identity. The Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys is dedicated to the creation of strong, ethical black men. Pharus wants nothing more than to take his rightful place as leader of the school's legendary gospel choir, but can he find his way inside the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?

Neva

by Guillermo Calderón

An exciting new addition, Neva by Guillermo Calderón is the first bilingual text published by TCG Books, with both the English and Spanish versions of the play published together. A savage examination of the relationship between theatre and historical context, this politically charged, haunting, and humorous play tells the story of three actors, including Anton Chekhov's widow, who gather to rehearse scenes from The Cherry Orchard as Russia faces an impending revolution.

The Book of Grace

by Suzan-Lori Parks

Described by Suzan-Lori Parks as a companion piece to her Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog, The Book of Grace is a fierce and intimate three-person drama, published by TCG with the playwright's final, revised text. Encouraged by his stepmother to return home to South Texas, a young man reunites with his abusive father, unearthing an explosive combination of deep-seated passion and ambition.

Rules for Living from Nick Hern Books, named a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize this year, is Sam Holcroft's theatrically playful, dark comedy in which the instructions are there for all to see, audience included -- so there's really no place to hide. Everyone creates their own coping strategies or rules for living. But what happens when an extended family gathers in the kitchen for a traditional Christmas and they each follow those rules, rigidly?

Yen from Nick Hern Books was also a finalist this year for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Anna Jordan's emotional play explores a childhood lived without boundaries and the consequences of being forced to grow up on your own. Hench is sixteen, Bobbie is thirteen. They live alone with their dog Taliban, playing PlayStation, watching porn, surviving. Sometimes their chaotic mother Maggie visits; occasionally she passes out on the front lawn. But when Jenny knocks on the door the boys discover a world far beyond what they know, a world full of love, possibility, and danger.

Counterculture UK from Aurora Metro Press is the first comprehensive exploration of counterculture in the UK -- from illegal raves to street art, subversive comedy and agit theatre to LGBT clubs, pop-up galleries, guerilla gigs, flash dance, digital publishing, disability arts, and much more. Punk - Occupy - Rock n' Roll - Brit Art - Girlpower - Zumba - how do new trends emerge? Who starts them? Who changed Britain? We did. People did. This book offers insight into the many strands which combine to create Britain today.

Each month, a TCG staff member will select a TCG Books title that holds a special meaning -- whether it's a show the staffer performed in, a dog-eared acting resource, a writer that continually inspires or simply a favorite play -- and we will offer a special 50% discount off that title for the month. Currently, Anna Troiano, TCG's marketing associate, has selected Stephen Karam's The Humans, and here's why.