Adrian Lester Bücher

In this insightful, thought-provoking and touching joint-diary, the creative powerhouse of a couple, Lolita Chakrabarti and Adrian Lester, chronicle 16 months of their fascinating working lives. As readers, we experience, first-hand, their experiences as two of the most proactive and versatile theatre makers today, working across a range of media and exciting collaborations. Having originally crossed paths while doing youth theatre in their home city of Birmingham, the couple met properly years later while training at RADA, and each now individually embody the roles of actor, director and writer, and their working lives both intersect and remain independent. In this diary you'll uncover anecdotes from and accounts of THE GREATEST WEALTH at the Old Vic, RIVIERA for Sky Atlantic, GUYS AND DOLLS at the Royal Albert Hall, COST OF LIVING at The Hampstead Theatre, LIFE OF PI for The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. INVISIBLE CITIES for Manchester International Festival, THE ROOK for Starz TV, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS for Universal pictures and other projects currently in development.

Sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself (Miles Davis) Two men meet at a funeral. Gil knew the deceased. Benny did not. Before long their families are close. Soon they'll be singing the same tune. Benny is a loner anchored by his wife and children. Gil longs to fulfill his potential. They develop a deep bond but as cracks appear in their fragile lives they start to realise that true courage comes in different forms. Featuring music from Gil and Benny's lives, Lolita Chakrabarti's searching, soulful new play asks what it takes to be a good father, brother or son. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London's Almeida Theatre in February 2021.

“Chakrabarti has crafted a rich psychological study that's also a shrewd portrait of the theatre as an institution - its vanities and strange conventions, its politics and sense of community, the opportunities it presents for both progress and blinkered traditionalism.” Evening Standard Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage while playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre? Based on the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the nineteenth century, built an incredible reputation around the world. Red Velvet premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in October 2012. This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Kenneth Branagh.