Listen to excerpts from plays featured in the Black Plays Archive.

The Black Plays Archive is an online catalogue featuring the first professional production of every African, Caribbean and Black British play produced in Britain.

Fix Up

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Brought to you by Penguin.

The instant Sunday Times best seller.

A Financial Times, Guardian and Observer Book of the Year.

One of the Daily Telegraph's 75 Best Books of 2021.What if you stopped trying to do everything, so that you could finally get round to what counts?

We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, the struggle against distraction and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the question of how best to use our ridiculously brief time on the planet, which amounts on average to about 4,000 weeks.

Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting, engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of the challenge. Rejecting the futile modern obsession with 'getting everything done,' it introduces listeners to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying their limitations.

Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so, to liberate us from its tyranny.

Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your 4,000 weeks count.

©2021 Oliver Burkeman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Four Thousand Weeks, written and ready by Oliver Burkeman

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.

Deep underground, 39 women are kept in isolation in a cage. Aboveground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?

Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the 40th prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner.

Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them aboveground. The woman who will never know men.

©2019 Jacqueline Harpman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

I Who Have Never Known Men, written by Jacqueline Harpman and read by Sarah Lambie

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.

When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.

Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.

What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

©2022 Gabrielle Zevin (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, written by Gabrielle Zevin and read by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi

Brought to you by Penguin.

BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.

Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating.

Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.

Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.

Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.

Sensational rumours have haunted Kat and Heath’s every step for years, but the truth may be even more outrageous than the headlines.

‘Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones and the Six . . . As brilliantly choreographed as a gold-medal performance’ JODI PICOULT

©2025 Layne Fargo (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Trhe Favourites, written by Layne Fargo and read by Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang, Johnny Weir

Brought to you by Penguin.

**SOON TO BE A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIES**

What if you could change husbands as easily as a lightbulb?

One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence – from photos to electricity bills – suggests he’s right. And then another one appears. Lauren’s attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. There’s:

The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch).
The one who pretends to play music on her toes.
The one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch.

But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?

‘Properly laugh-out-loud funny, this was one of the most original novels I’ve read in years’ RED, *Books of the Year*
‘A witty, ingenious debut novel… An enormously entertaining story that is both silly and sophisticated’ SUNDAY TIMES, *Books of the Year*
‘A clever and hilarious read that makes you rethink the idea of a soulmate’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

THE NO 1 KINDLE BESTSELLER
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
BEST SUMMER READ IN THE GUARDIAN, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, RED & DAILY MAIL

©2024 Holly Gramazio (P)2024 Penguin Audio

The Husbands, written by Holly Gramazio and read by Miranda Raison

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Audiobook (Fiction) at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020.

Read by Elisabeth Moss, star of the hit Channel 4 TV series.

Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

"I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light."

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.

'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist', Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other.


©2011 O W Toad Ltd (P)2019 Penguin Audio

The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Atwood and read by Amy Landecker, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, Elisabeth Moss

Brought to you by Penguin.

The happily ever after is only part of the story… A funny, touching, hopeful gem about love, marriage and second chances

It’s the day before her daughter’s wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job – or quits, depending who you ask. Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn’t even have a suit. Instead, he’s brought memories, a shared sense of humour – and a cat looking for a new home.

Just as Gail is wondering what’s next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret…

As the big day dawns, the exes just can’t agree on what’s best for Debbie. Gail is seriously worried, while Max seems more concerned with whether to opt for the salmon or prime rib at the reception, if they make it that far.

The day after the wedding, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again. But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because ‘happy’ takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.

‘A joy to read in a single relaxing afternoon’ JACQUELINE WILSON

'Razor sharp on family, love and marriage' DAVID NICHOLLS

'Sublimely written and beautifully observed' - JOANNE FINNEY, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

© Anne Tyler 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Three Days in June, written by Anne Tyler and read by J. Smith Cameron

Brought to you by Penguin.

If you have ADHD - or love somebody who does - DIRTY LAUNDRY will change your life, and your relationships.

Do you feel crippling shame because you struggle with cleaning, personal hygiene, or time-keeping? Do you always feel misunderstood by the people close to you and find that they get frustrated by your behaviour?

DIRTY LAUNDRY is an unfiltered look into the chaos of real life with ADHD. It will transform your self-hatred into self-acceptance, with simple tips that actually work for your brain. It will also help to educate partners, parents and friends, to help them move from frustration to patience, understanding - and love.

Learn how to:
Stop believing you are fundamentally broken
Stop judging yourself by the standards of a neurotypical world
Communicate your struggles to those who love you
Support someone with ADHD in ways that work for them
Be compassionate rather than judgemental
...and much more.

From the husband-and-wife team behind social media phenomenon @ADHD_Love, whose viral videos have been viewed more than 200 million times, comes a fearless, often outrageously funny, account of life, learning, and growing with ADHD. They share the strategies they have used to reduce shame, improve communication, and find happiness in their neurodivergent household.

Filled with heartbreak and humour in equal measure, DIRTY LAUNDRY is an invaluable resource both for neurodivergents and the people who love them.

©2023 Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Dirty Laundry Why Adults with ADHD Are so Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help, written and read by Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery

Brought to you by Penguin.

SET SAIL FOR A TROPICAL PARADISE THIS SUMMER

How far do you need to travel to find home?

Zoologist Charlotte Walker has taken up a year-long fellowship on the tiny, remote island of Tuga de Oro to study the endangered gold coin tortoises in the jungle interior.

She is warmly embraced by the tight-knit community of islanders – and their animals – who are keen to adopt Charlotte as Tuga’s first vet.

But Charlotte has a family secret that connects her to the island. She is determined to solve the mystery: she just needs to make sure she stays focused on her research, and absolutely does not fall in love with the first man she meets…

’The perfect holiday read’ NIGELLA LAWSON

Warm, clever, thoughtful, funny, moving and brilliantly written’ ELIZABETH DAY

‘A magical novel, so uplifting, heartwarming, funny’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Brilliantly and thoroughly imagined. I didn't want to go home’ NICK HORNBY

‘Sparkling and sophisticated’ JESSIE BURTON

©2024 Francesca Segal (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Fix Up

National Theatre

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