Table of Contents

Introduction
Idea
Story

1. Structure
2. Distance
3. Character
4. Conflict
5. Reversal
6. Reaction

Voice
What Next: The Consequences of Resistance

Promotional Information

In this fresh, lively and often very funny book, playwright Ryan Craig makes a case for the vitality of playwriting in our contemporary world and offers a way into writing those plays.

About the Author

Ryan Craig is a British playwright, screen, television and radio writer whose plays usually involve both ethical and social matters. He is best known for his plays What We Did To Weinstein (Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 2005) which earned him a Most Promising Playwright Nomination at the Evening Standard Awards; The Glass Room (Hampstead Theatre, 2006), which deals with Holocaust denial; the English version of Tadeusz Slobodzianek's Our Class (2009), The Holy Rosenbergs (2011), both at the National Theatre and the semi-autobiographical Filthy Business (2017, Hampstead Theatre, London).

Reviews

This perfectly demystifies the inexplicable art of playwriting. Candid and immediate, a vital companion to playwrights and theatre makers.
*Edward Hall, director*

Writing in Coffee Shops is seismic, political and deeply personal. Fascinating about family, class, race and the strange process of writing itself; it's a beautiful, passionate and needed book.
*Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Playwright, UK*

This is an often hilarious memoir, an insightful playwriting handbook and a rousing call-to-arms in the face of our dark and tumultuous times. Anyone in the theatre—anyone in general—will find delight and wisdom in its pages.
*JT Rogers, Playwright, USA*

At times a book of philosophy, it is also an excellent overview of the theatre, citing examples from the Greeks to Shakespeare and contemporary writers to make points about the ways in which plays can be created. In addition, it contains a great deal of contemporary social and political commentary to add background to the story … An excellent, slightly offbeat manual for those who are considering becoming playwrights or have taken the first steps in that direction. It is also a cracking read.
*British Theatre Guide*