Plays 1: A History of Falling Things / Tory Boyz / The Man / The Whisky Taster / Sons of York

by James Graham

This collection brings together four of Graham's most successful and entertaining plays, each representing a relationship with a theatre with which he has worked and introduced by the author. One of the plays, Sons of York , has never before been published, but earned James Graham a nomination for the Empty Space Mark Marvin Award. A History of Falling Things is a gentle love story about a young man and woman forced to confront their fears of the outside world and discover what really matters to their lives. Tory Boyz is a fast-paced, political comedy about prejudice and ambition in Westminster, looking at homosexuality in the British Conservative party, both today and in the past. As Ben, self-employed, skint and emotionally vulnerable, begins to stitch together the patchwork quilt that was the Tax Year 2009/2010, he relives a year that was both hilarious and tragic, all mixed up in one shoe box of receipts. The Man is an affectionate and funny portrait of an individual's year-long experience, pieced together from receipts, shopping and commercial transactions. The Whisky Taster is a contemporary, subtle and witty exploration of feeling and perception in the modern world of advertising, and about seeing things too clearly in a city that never stands still. Sons of York
Described as 'undoubtedly one of the best new plays of the year' ( British Theatre Guide ), Sons of York depicts three generations of the same family moving in together in Hull as the Winter of Discontent of 1978 builds up.

Genres: Plays

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

James Graham is a multi award-winning playwright and screenwriter.

His play This House gained critical acclaim, enjoyed a sell-out run at the National Theatre's Olivier in 2013 and its 2017 West End revival was Olivier-nominated. It was chosen by popular vote as the best play of the 2010's by Methuen Drama.

James created theatre history when his two plays Ink, about the early days of Rupert Murdoch, and Labour of Love, a romantic political comedy, played in theatres next to each other in the West End in 2017. James won an Olivier award in 2018 for Labour of Love and Ink transferred to Broadway in 2019, receiving six Tony award nominations.

James' play The Vote (Donmar Warehouse) aired in real time on TV in the final 90 minutes of the 2015 polling day and was BAFTA-nominated. His most recent television film, Brexit: An Uncivil War (Channel 4/HBO) is nominated for a 2019 Emmy Award.

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - my guy ATEEEE tbh, love watching james graham stuff but actually enjoyed reading them sm too!! (i’ve never really read plays for fun before)

ranking from my fav to my most fav:
1. a history of falling things = this was a very cute premise!! not massively my type of thing but enjoyed it
2. tory boyz = i liked this!!! clever + good characters, not used to being invested in tories like in a good way tho….
3. the whisky taster = really really enjoyed this!!! was fully giggling in some parts + poor barney man!!! (nicola realllllly irritated me in some parts)
4. sons of york = this one was AMAAZZZIING, really really made me cry, you can tell it’s written from personal experience as this complements it in the most wonderful way - so heartfelt and raw and honest, beautiful.
4. the man (equal favourite) = this was soooo good???? i deliberately left it till last to read (i can’t read anything in order x) because i thought i’d be confused or the unique premise would impact on the journey of the character etc but it did NOT i actually think it’s the most creative and GENIUS way to construct a story??? so original i genuinely loved it, would really love to see it live!! (or any of these. literally will stan anything with james graham’s name on it at this point, ate!!!)

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The play I read was engaging and in the line of British plays about social and economic issues. My biggest problem was I didn't really like any one of the characters, sorry to say. Maybe the grandson. And I guess, in some ways, the mother. But he is an accomplished writer and serious thinker. And, I'm not sure the author wants us to like any of them. I read Sons of York. Haven't read the others yet. But don't need to presently.