A topical collection of new plays by popular UK playwright Nick Wood

'I am not a lone voice, I am many.' Malala Yousafzai

A Girl with a Book and Other Plays brings together four plays for young people by acclaimed playwright Nick Wood. Topical and wide-ranging, they concern refugees, friendship, loss and courage.

'You know those sentences that start I'm not sexist/racist/homophobic and the speaker sticks in the word 'but' and goes on to prove that's exactly what they are?'

The title play, A Girl with a Book is an honest response to the story of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban. Produced many times in Germany and the UK, the play raises serious questions about the West's complex relationship with and attitudes to the Muslim world.

'a journey into empathy and imagination…' Stephen Lowe

Plays

Nick Wood's poignant political drama A Girl with a Book is based on the true story of Nobel Peace Prize-Winner Malala Yousafza. In 2012, gunmen stopped a bus in Pakistan and shot three young girls. Their crime? Wanting to go to school. Knowing nothing about the situation, able to offer little more than outrage, the writer is forced out from behind his desk and in the search for answers to help him tell the story of a brave young woman's fight for girls' education, but when his research uncovers attitudes at odds with his liberal convictions he has to face what he learns about himself. Achieving international acclaim after its opening in Hamburg, A Girl with a Book examines Malala's story through a series of questions — Wood asks how a girl who wanted to go to school could become such a target. Bird boy: Eddie and Tim create their own den up on the Knoll, a secret place for heroes. The only problem is, winter is setting in and Eddie won't come down. As the snow falls, Tim must decide whether to take food to Eddie or betray him by telling the grown ups where he is. Mia: Mia is a refugee who has lost her home, and most of her family. She has odd bits and pieces in her bag, which have stories attached to them. Mia is searching for her sister, Sofia, can they help?Dream of White Horses: Paul wants two things — to find out whether his father's death was an accident or not. He climbs the same cliff, to discover what happened to his father, and a great deal about himself.

'…invites us to better understand Malala, her father, and her kinsmen.' On Religion

'…a journey into empathy and imagination coolly and cleanly done. A crucially important tale well told with great humanity.' Stephen Lowe, playwright

'…there's plenty of scope here for schools, colleges and youth theatre groups. The title play… has a cast of one… The remaining three plays use larger casts and explore asylum seeking, friendship, loss and courage.' Susan Elkin, The Stage

Nick Wood

Books