Jez Butterworth

'This house. It's called "Sea View". It's just I've looked out of every window, and you can't. You can't see the sea.' Blackpool, 1976. The driest summer in two hundred years. The beaches are packed. The hotels are heaving. In the sweltering backstreets, far from the choc ices and donkey rides, the Webb Sisters are returning to their mother's run-down guest house, as she lies dying upstairs. When memories from their youth come flooding back, the sisters must confront their past and untangle a web of secrets, betrayals and profound emotional bonds. Jez Butterworth's play The Hills of California was first performed at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in 2024, directed by Sam Mendes, and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Neal Street. This edition features the revised and definitive version of the play performed during its acclaimed Broadway transfer later that year.

The latest work from acclaimed playwright Jez Butterworth, The Hills of California is a generational drama that rifles through decades of one family's past.Blackpool, 1976. The driest summer in two hundred years. The beaches are packed. The hotels are heaving. In the sweltering backstreets, far from the choc ices and donkey rides, the Webb Sisters are returning to their mother's run-down guest house, as she lies dying upstairs.

'This house. It's called "Sea View". It's just I've looked out of every window, and you can't. You can't see the sea.' Blackpool, 1976. The driest summer in two hundred years. The beaches are packed. The hotels are heaving. In the sweltering backstreets, far from the choc ices and donkey rides, the Webb Sisters are returning to their mother's run-down guest house, as she lies dying upstairs. Jez Butterworth's play The Hills of California was first performed at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in 2024, directed by Sam Mendes, and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Neal Street.

‘Come, you drunken spirits. Come, you battalions. You fields of ghosts who walk these green plains still. Come, you giants!’ When Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2009, it served notice of an astonishing development in the career of a writer whose debut, Mojo, had premiered on the same stage nearly fifteen years before. Unearthing the mythic roots of contemporary English life, and featuring Mark Rylance in an indelible central performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, the play transferred to the West End and then to Broadway, before returning to the West End in 2011. 'Storming… restores one's faith in the power of theatre' Independent. 'Unarguably one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century' Guardian. Jerusalem was followed by the bewitching chamber play The River (Royal Court, 2012), a 'magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama' Time Out. 'A delicately unfolding puzzle… all of it is wrapped in marvellous language… extraordinary' The Times. This volume concludes with the multi-award-winning The Ferryman (Royal Court and West End, 2017; Broadway, 2018), an excavation of lives shattered by violence, set in a farmhouse in Northern Ireland in 1981. 'A richly absorbing and emotionally abundant play… an instant classic' Independent. 'A magnificent play that uses, brilliantly, the vitality of live theatre to express the deadly legacy of violence' Financial Times. Also included here is the screenplay for the short film The Clear Road Ahead (2011), published here for the first time, and an edited transcript of a conversation between Butterworth and the playwright Simon Stephens.

"Jez Butterworth has become the premier chronicler of the English misfit ever since he hit the headlines with a whole gang of them in Mojo."--Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide"This family can take care of its own." The tagline for this searing new work from Jez Butterworth--known for his dark, oblique tableaus of the gritty side of British life--aptly sets the tone for the palpably tense and ominous story that unfolds within. Set in 1981, Butterworth's chilling new drama takes place at the height of the Northern Ireland conflict, or "The Troubles," as the period is commonly known. While the Carney family clamors to prepare for their annual harvest in the rural area of Derry, Ireland, the political climate around them reaches extreme tensions amid hunger strikes and warfare. As the Carneys attempt to go about their typical yearly festivities, they find themselves interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Originally performed in a highly anticipated sold-out run in London, The Ferryman is a creeping tale that exemplifies Butterworth at his best.Jez Butterworth's plays include Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song, Jerusalem (Evening Standard Theatre Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for the Best Play), and most recently The River, which had a sold-out run on Broadway in a production starring Hugh Jackman. His plays have premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre and in New York City at the Atlantic Theater and on Broadway.

‘Vanishing. It’s a powerful word, that. A powerful word.’ County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor. Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, Jez Butterworth's play The Ferryman premiered to huge acclaim at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2017, before transferring to the West End and then Broadway. The production was directed by Sam Mendes. It went on to win the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play, and the Critics' Circle, Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Play. It also won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Play.

"The River is like a subtly crafted piece of chamber music. It is teasing, haunting and hushed. It is also damnably difficult to write about, as there is a mystery at its heart that I must not reveal." --Charles Spencer, Telegraph "One of the best productions of the year... a magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama." --Time Out (London) "The River is subtle, sleek and dark. Here is a sense of the mysterious and of kinship with others long gone. It is perhaps about time and eternity, about that spot on the river that, while always the same, is always changing. A wonderful play, glinting and elusive as a fish." -Sarah Hemming, Financial Times A remote fishing cabin, a man and a woman, and a moonless night - The River asks; when we find each other, are we trying to recapture someone we once lost? Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman starred in the hit Broadway production of The River in 2014 after its successful run in London. Jez Butterworth is also the author Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song and Jerusalem. His plays have premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre and in New York City at the Atlantic Theatre and on Broadway. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Somerset, England.

A slick and violent black comedy set in the Soho clubland of the 1950s. The hit debut play from the author of Jerusalem. In the seedy gangster underworld of the rock'n'roll scene, club owners fight for control of Johnny Silver, the latest young sensation. First premiered at the Royal Court in 1995, Jez Butterworth's play Mojo won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and earned Butterworth the George Devine Award and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright. This edition of Mojo was published alongside the play's 2013 revival in London's West End.

Jez Butterworth burst onto the theatre scene aged twenty-five with Mojo, "one of the most dazzling Royal Court main stage debuts in years" (Time Out). In addition to Mojo, this collection contains three of his early plays, two short one-person pieces published here for the first time, and an exclusive interview with the playwright. Mojo, staged in 1995 but set in the Soho clubland of 1958, "superbly captures the atmosphere of the infant British rock and roll scene where seedy low-lifers hustle for the big time" (Daily Telegraph). It is "Beckett on speed" (Observer) by a "dramatist of obvious talent and terrific promise" (The Times). The Night Heron (2002) is set in Cambridgeshire Fens amongst assorted oddballs, birdwatchers and the local constabulary. "It's funny, it's sad, it's haunting and it is also strangely beautiful. Above all, it is quite unlike anything you've ever seen before" (Daily Telegraph). In The Winterling (2006) a gangland fugitive is visited by two associates from the city who have other things on their mind than a jolly reunion. "The dialogue is testosterone taut, a sense of menace invades every conversation... and as tales of torture and treachery unfold, the black comedy never misses" (Time Out). The housing estate in Parlour Song (2008) is "a place of illicit desire and painful memories, of bad dreams and mysterious disappearances... a play that combines the comic, the erotic and the downright disconcerting with superb panache" (Daily Telegraph). Jez Butterworth is the author of The River, Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song and Jerusalem. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Somerset, England.

Four full-length plays and two previously unpublished shorts from the multi-award-winning author of Jerusalem. Jez Butterworth burst onto the theatre scene aged twenty-five with Mojo, 'one of the most dazzling Royal Court main stage debuts in years' (Time Out). This first volume of his Collected Plays contains that play plus the three that followed, as well as two short one-person pieces published here for the first time – everything in fact that precedes Jerusalem, 'unarguably one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century' (Guardian). Plays One includes: Mojo, staged in 1995 but set in the Soho clubland of 1958, 'superbly captures the atmosphere of the infant British rock and roll scene where seedy low-lifers hustle for the big time' (Daily Telegraph). It is 'Beckett on speed' (Observer) by a 'dramatist of obvious talent and terrific promise' (The Times). The Night Heron (2002) is set in the Cambridgeshire Fens amongst assorted oddballs, birdwatchers and the local constabulary. 'It's funny, it's sad, it's haunting and it also strangely beautiful. Above all, it is quite unlike anything you've ever seen before' (Daily Telegraph). In The Winterling (2006) a gangland fugitive is visited by two associates from the city who have other things on their mind than a jolly reunion. 'The dialogue is testosterone taut, a sense of menace invades every conversation... and as tales of torture and treachery unfold, the black comedy never misses' (Time Out). Leavings (previously unpublished), a short monologue about an old man whose dog has gone missing. The housing estate in Parlour Song (2008) is 'a place of illicit desire and painful memories, of bad dreams and mysterious disappearances... a play that combines the comic, the erotic and the downright disconcerting with superb panache' (Daily Telegraph). The Naked Eye (previously unpublished), a short monologue about a family preparing to watch Halley's Comet as it passes through the night sky. Introducing the plays is an interview with Jez Butterworth specially conducted for this volume.

"An instant modern classic" - Daily Telegraph "One of the most exciting new plays in ages" - New York Times "Jez Butterowrth's gorgeous, expansive new play keeps coming at its audience in unpredictable gusts, rolling from comic to furious, from winsome to bawdy" - Observer A Comic, contemporary vision of rural life in England's green and pleasant land. On the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron is a wanted man. Local officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants his full attention, and his motley crew of friends wants his ample supply of booze... After its 2009 premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, Jerusalem won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play in 2009 and transferred to the West End in 2010. It opened on Broadway in April 2011 at the Music Box Theatre, with Mark Rylance reprising his award-winning performance as Byron. Jez Butterworth is the author of The River, Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song and Jerusalem. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Somerset, England.

A blackly hilarious exploration of deceit, paranoia and murderous desire, as the spirit of the Blues lands in leafy suburbia. Demolition expert Ned lives in a nice new house on a nice new estate on the edge of the English countryside. He loves his job. Barbecues. Car-boot sales. Fitness programmes. Outwardly his life is entirely unremarkable. Not unlike his friend and neighbour Dale. So why has he not slept a wink in six months? Why is he so terrified of his attractive wife Joy? And why is it every time he leaves on business, something else goes missing from his home? Jez Butterworth's play Parlour Song was first performed at the Atlantic Theater, New York, in Febraury 2008, before receiving its European premiere at the Almeida Theatre, London, in March 2009.

'I like London. I like the pavements. I like to walk out my door and not sink up to my tits in primordial sludge.' A comedy thriller from the author of the Olivier Award-winning Jerusalem. West waits in a burnt-out farmhouse, on Dartmoor, in the depths of winter, for two associates from the city. The wine has been poured and the revolver loaded. But who is waiting upstairs? Jez Butterworth's play The Winterling was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.

A dark, funny, spellbinding play about a group of outcasts and eccentrics gathered in the Cambridgeshire fens, from the author of Jerusalem and The Ferryman. The sighting of a rare bird attracts attention to a remote part of the fens. The visiting birdwatchers cannot know what dangers lie in the freezing darkness of the marshes. In an isolated cabin, Wattmore, bruised and bleeding, is recording the Old Testament onto cassette. Griffin arrives with fish and chips. Salvation is at hand - a cash prize for winning the university poetry competition, plus the arrival of a potential lodger. Meanwhile, the local townsfolk are stirring... Jez Butterworth's play The Night Heron was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2002.