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Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write
For over two decades, Stephen Jeffreys’ remarkable series of workshops—conducted at the Royal Court Theatre, London—attracted writers from all over the world and shaped the ideas of many of today’s leading playwrights and theatre-makers. Now, with this inspiring, highly practical book, you too can learn from these acclaimed Masterclasses. Playwriting reveals the various invisible frameworks and mechanisms that are at the heart of each and every successful play. Drawing on a huge range of sources, it deconstructs them into their constituent parts, and offers illuminating insights Written by a true master of the craft, this authoritative guide will provide playwrights at every level of experience with a rich array of tools to apply to their own work.
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 13, 2026
A little over five-years ago, I had a concept for a stage play that would be designed for use in community theaters and university theater departments. The problem was that while the feedback I received for the concept received lots and lots of praise, I had absolutely no idea of how to achieve it. Although I had worked in theater, I’d never written a play.
As summer began this year, I finally resolved to see if this play could become a reality. I invited my daughter to join me on a one-week writing retreat. During it, we engaged in discussions and debated ideas, thrashing our way through the various problems I encountered. Our approaches are different. She is primarily a deductive reasoner while I tend to favor the inductive approach.
The good news is that we finished with ideas for both a concept and a story that made sense to both of us, and made us both excited. As she went back to her career, I prepared to become a playwright.
The next step was to find a writing guide that could serve as a “Master Class” for creating a play. I didn’t want a book that would take me “into the weeds” of proper formatting as there are writing programs that already have that covered. I also wasn’t interested in the submission process because I’ve saved for many years to have my play be self-produced.
The book I chose as my guide was PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE by Stephen Jeffreys. I certainly don’t know all of the options that are out there, but I don’t believe that I could have chosen better.
PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE focused on vital aspects that I often didn’t see covered. There was a deep analysis of audiences that attend plays, and how they tend to react to different elements. It offered insight into how audiences responded when their expectations weren’t met … and how that could work in one’s favor. The writer also encouraged self-focus to assure that the work would be internally satisfying.
Options for story construction weren’t presented as “hard and fast” rules. Rather, the emphasis was on understanding what the challenges might be if audiences weren’t engaged in what was unfolding. There were many reminders emphasizing that while the play script was the “vision of the playwright,” the actual production was a collaboration with ideas and contributions emerging from the director, the actors, the set designer and others.
One absolutely “worth every penny of the purchase price” insight was a fascinating suggestion for avoiding writer’s block; that paralyzing time when ideas, action or dialogue refuse to emerge to fill the blank page. The solution involved the employment of subtext, and I can say without hesitation that I wish I’d known that approach when I was writing screenplays!
Near the end, the writer looks at various types of stories. This wasn’t an empty exercise or one intended to create an “elevator speech” describing the genre. Instead, it was offered as a way to spark ideas for different subjects for writing so that one wasn’t writing the same story over and over again in different variations.
It took me quite a while to get through PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE. That wasn’t because the writing wasn’t engaging, but because I very much wanted to use it as a course of study. In that regard, I can give it a very high recommendation.
As summer began this year, I finally resolved to see if this play could become a reality. I invited my daughter to join me on a one-week writing retreat. During it, we engaged in discussions and debated ideas, thrashing our way through the various problems I encountered. Our approaches are different. She is primarily a deductive reasoner while I tend to favor the inductive approach.
The good news is that we finished with ideas for both a concept and a story that made sense to both of us, and made us both excited. As she went back to her career, I prepared to become a playwright.
The next step was to find a writing guide that could serve as a “Master Class” for creating a play. I didn’t want a book that would take me “into the weeds” of proper formatting as there are writing programs that already have that covered. I also wasn’t interested in the submission process because I’ve saved for many years to have my play be self-produced.
The book I chose as my guide was PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE by Stephen Jeffreys. I certainly don’t know all of the options that are out there, but I don’t believe that I could have chosen better.
PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE focused on vital aspects that I often didn’t see covered. There was a deep analysis of audiences that attend plays, and how they tend to react to different elements. It offered insight into how audiences responded when their expectations weren’t met … and how that could work in one’s favor. The writer also encouraged self-focus to assure that the work would be internally satisfying.
Options for story construction weren’t presented as “hard and fast” rules. Rather, the emphasis was on understanding what the challenges might be if audiences weren’t engaged in what was unfolding. There were many reminders emphasizing that while the play script was the “vision of the playwright,” the actual production was a collaboration with ideas and contributions emerging from the director, the actors, the set designer and others.
One absolutely “worth every penny of the purchase price” insight was a fascinating suggestion for avoiding writer’s block; that paralyzing time when ideas, action or dialogue refuse to emerge to fill the blank page. The solution involved the employment of subtext, and I can say without hesitation that I wish I’d known that approach when I was writing screenplays!
Near the end, the writer looks at various types of stories. This wasn’t an empty exercise or one intended to create an “elevator speech” describing the genre. Instead, it was offered as a way to spark ideas for different subjects for writing so that one wasn’t writing the same story over and over again in different variations.
It took me quite a while to get through PLAYWRITING: STRUCTURE, CHARACTER, HOW AND WHAT TO WRITE. That wasn’t because the writing wasn’t engaging, but because I very much wanted to use it as a course of study. In that regard, I can give it a very high recommendation.
December 30, 2022
I have never read a book breaking down narrative structures in such a clear, comprehensive, and insightful manner and the rest, eloquently written with recent examples, is definitely top-notch suggestions and sharing. The only reason I'm not giving it 5-star is my own prejudice to how-to books. You don't need to be an aspiring playwrights to benefit from his teaching (I am not) but this is going to be a staple in playwriting courses for a very long time to come.
January 2, 2023
Great writing advice
November 30, 2024
Invaluable.
June 22, 2019
As a rule I avoid 'How to [insert creative thing]' books. But having seen quite a few prominent people in the industry praise this book, and having been aware of Jefferys' status in the industry I thought I'd give it a go.
You can really tell this book was born out of his workshops, it is full of practical advice and exercises to try yourself. I wish this book had been available to me when I was a plucky 16 year old who expected to be a famous playwright by 19. It also displays his impressive encyclopaedic knowledge of plays and playwrights, and at the end there are a few pointers on navigating the industry. Worth having on the shelf.
You can really tell this book was born out of his workshops, it is full of practical advice and exercises to try yourself. I wish this book had been available to me when I was a plucky 16 year old who expected to be a famous playwright by 19. It also displays his impressive encyclopaedic knowledge of plays and playwrights, and at the end there are a few pointers on navigating the industry. Worth having on the shelf.
February 18, 2021
Phenomenal read! Clear, concise, comprehensive. Jeffreys writes with precision, and each chapter delves deep into each titular category. In his writings he references a slew of plays, of different genres and from all over history. However, I wished he'd considered more international playwrights.
Apart from this shortcoming, he never fails to impress with excellent diagrams. Each diagram is thoroughly researched and explicit in detail.
Jeffreys is an authority on playwriting, and if you're someone who is interested in writing plays for the first time but don't know where to start, I would highly recommend picking up this bad boy. It's an impressive read, and a reference guide that will help any emerging and established Playwright alike throughout their career.
Apart from this shortcoming, he never fails to impress with excellent diagrams. Each diagram is thoroughly researched and explicit in detail.
Jeffreys is an authority on playwriting, and if you're someone who is interested in writing plays for the first time but don't know where to start, I would highly recommend picking up this bad boy. It's an impressive read, and a reference guide that will help any emerging and established Playwright alike throughout their career.
May 1, 2024
Some good tips on approaching writing a first draft but the advice was not better than what you get from a reading any writer’s craft talk. Some of his advice is delivered through long-winded anecdotes, which becomes tedious. Some of his advice is delivered through well-known examples, which is helpful. However, he takes a long time to get to his point, which is annoying. His advice is not argued in a well-structured way. Overall this book could be more concise and scientific description of the playwriting process and less like a lowbrow analysis of plays in general. But maybe this simply reveals that plays are not as intellectual an exercise as they appear on the outside.
November 16, 2020
An unfortunately dry title for a book that's written with warmth and wit. This book is born from Jeffreys years of experience in teaching writing workshops and so contains a lot of very practical advice- he understands what it is that playwrights need to know. Very accessible, avoiding dull critique, Jeffreys knows the likely stumbling blocks in writing a play and how best to overcome them, with a particular interest in what can be achieved through consideration of a play's structure. The best book on playwriting that I've read so far.
May 18, 2021
Although I am in the process of writing a novel, my friends bought me "Playwriting" about how to write a play. In spite of that however, I have found this immensely useful, packed full of tips about character, structure, plot development. It has helped me improved my dialogue and also to think about the novel visually and that has enhanced the outcome.. Highly recommend for all creatives, even if you are not writing a play.
July 4, 2020
Where has this book been all my life?
For playwrights who are winging it, a thorough investigation of how and what to write. I'm so tired of going to writing workshops only to be told, "well, we won't get into theories of story structure, coz that would be a book". THIS IS THAT BOOK.
For playwrights who are winging it, a thorough investigation of how and what to write. I'm so tired of going to writing workshops only to be told, "well, we won't get into theories of story structure, coz that would be a book". THIS IS THAT BOOK.
August 24, 2024
One of the best books on writing—of any genre—I have ever read. Seldom does one find a “one-stop-shop” when it comes to covering the varied elements of the craft of playwriting, yet this text does so miraculously and with great readability. An absolute must-own for playwrights and critical readers of all kind!
November 20, 2025
This was exceptionally readable and accessible, incredibly practical and useful— one of the best “how-to” books I’ve ever read. And not just for playwriting, I’d recommend it to any writer working on narratives. I borrowed it from the library but I’m going to buy a copy to keep on hand as a reference.
February 15, 2020
A fantastic book with clear and practical advice from a superb teacher.
Stephen was my teacher at RADA and this book contains a distillation of his method. He was a formidable playwright. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the art of writing a play.
Stephen was my teacher at RADA and this book contains a distillation of his method. He was a formidable playwright. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the art of writing a play.
June 26, 2020
I'm a bit dubious when it comes to books on how to write but this is just brilliant on playwriting. Clear, concise, compassionate. I learned so much from it and I just know I'll go back to it again and again.
November 23, 2023
A truly fascinating book for writers and readers alike.
Useful not just for playwriting but any form of story creation and understanding.
It offers useful information regarding plot, structure, characterization, language and themes. Easy to understand and in depth.
I highly recommend it.
Useful not just for playwriting but any form of story creation and understanding.
It offers useful information regarding plot, structure, characterization, language and themes. Easy to understand and in depth.
I highly recommend it.
June 1, 2020
The amount of life experience in this book is amazing!
Reading this study was like extracting the best cream of playwriting in a matter of few months.
Reading this study was like extracting the best cream of playwriting in a matter of few months.
December 21, 2020
Without a doubt, the best "how to" book I've ever read.
March 21, 2022
Invaluable. Clear, helpful guidelines on playwriting structures and techniques. Such an easy, often amusing and extremely inspiring text.
March 28, 2022
It was okay. I guess
August 11, 2022
The best book on playwriting I've read in the last decade. ESSENTIAL READING!
September 8, 2022
Best book I ever read on the art, skill, and craft of writing. Most excellent!
June 28, 2023
Awesome work. Great points and terrific tips. Well researched and very easy read.
October 4, 2025
Un libro imprescindible para la escritura teatral o dramaturgia.
November 6, 2025
Some good information. Many references to plays. I was unfamiliar with many of them. If you hope to read about writing comedies, this book mostly ignores them.
Read
August 12, 2026Very insightful. First “how-to” writing book that didn’t make me feel like an idiot. Needed that ❤️
March 26, 2026
An excellent, clear, perceptive how-to manual on playwriting. Lots of other playwrights swear by it -- and I can see why.
April 17, 2025
Smells like success.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews