Philip Ridley

​Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in the 2012 Arcola production of The Pitchfork Disney by Philip Ridley

​Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in the 2012 Arcola production of The Pitchfork Disney by Philip Ridley

Rebellato, Dan. 'Philip Ridley.' In The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights, edited by Martin Middeke, Peter Paul Schnierer and Aleks Sierz, 425-44. London: Methuen Drama, 2011.

The Methuen Drama Guide of Contemporary British Playwrights is a doorstep of a book, 520 pages, comprising substantial essays on 25 contemporary British playwrights from Richard Bean to Roy Williams, or, if you want to think chronologically, from Sarah Daniels to debbie tucker green. Each essay gives an overview of the work but with a particular focus on five of the plays, each of which has its own mini-essay.

My article is on Philip Ridley and covers the various phases of his work; the opening East End Gothic trilogy, the long storyteller sequence, and the move towards more concrete contemporary reference. It covers the plays right up to Moonfleece and stops just before Tender Napalm which seemed to signal yet another new direction.

It’s a lovely volume and I’m pleased to be in it.