Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write

Drawn from Jeffreys' renowned writers' workshops at the Royal Court Theatre, whose graduates include Simon Stephens, this book is a comprehensive instruction manual for apprentice playwrights.

Stephen Jeffreys (1950-2018) was a British playwright and a key figure at the Royal Court Theatre, London, where he was Literary Associate for eleven years, then a member of its Council. His celebrated playwriting workshops have influenced many writers.

Jeffreys' plays include The Libertine and I Just Stopped By to See the Man (Royal Court); Valued Friends and A Going Concern (Hampstead); Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad (part of the Tricycle Theatre’s Great Game season about Afghanistan); The Convicts’ Opera (Out of Joint); Lost Land(starring John Malkovich, Steppenwolf, Chicago); The Art of War (Sydney Theatre Company) and A Jovial Crew(RSC). His adaptation of Dickens’ Hard Times has been performed all over the world.

He wrote the films The Libertine (starring Johnny Depp) and Diana (starring Naomi Watts). He co-authored the Beatles musical Backbeat which opened at the Citizens Theatre and went on to seasons in London’s West End, Toronto and Los Angeles. He translated The Magic Flute for English National Opera in Simon McBurney’s production.

His plays are published by Nick Hern Books.