Act One Wales

This substantial collection of one act plays from Wales charts the rise of Welsh Drama from the 1950s to the present. From the Dylan Thomas classic, Return Journey, to the work of established names likes Charles Way and Frank Vickery, to the more recent plays by young writers like Edward Thomas and Ian Rowlands, this book presents a significant overview of the drama of our era. Though stylistically and thematically diverse, these plays all deliver thought-provoking characters, unusual situations and moving confrontations.

Editor Phil Clark, Artistic Director of the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, in his perceptive introduction, charts the growth of professional theatre-writing in Wales, acknowledges the powerful influence of the amateur movement, and finds areas of common influence among these various distinctive writers. As well as ensuring the continued performance of the many classics of the form written over the past four decades, this collection will be a catalyst for the future of drama in Wales.