A01=Shelagh Stephenson
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
Arcadia
Author_Shelagh Stephenson
British theatre
Category=DD
contemporary theatre
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_poetry
ethical play
family drama
female playwright
forthcoming
generational play
Joseph Wright
Newcastle upon Tyne
science history
The Memory of Water
Product details
- ISBN 9781350600980
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 12 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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"Shelagh Stephenson has written a play teeming with interest, humour, eloquence and, above all, ideas." - Independent
1799 - On the eve of a new century, the family-house of an esteemed scientist buzzes with experiments, furtive romance and farcical amateur dramatics. 1999 - In a world of scientific chaos, cloning and genetic engineering, the cellar of the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200 years.
Joint recipient of the 1997 Peggy Ramsay Award, Shelagh Stephenson's daring and thoughtful drama twists in on itself, discussing what it means to play God.
An Experiment with an Air Pump is published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, featuring a new introductory interview with the author by Jack McNamara.
Shelagh Stephenson is a Northumberland-born playwright. Her first stage play, The Memory of Water, premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 1996 and subsequently transferred to the West End, where it won an Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2000. Her second play, An Experiment With An Air Pump, was joint recipient of the Peggy Ramsay Award. She has written several radio plays, including the award-winning Five Kinds of Silence, which she adapted for the stage. Her screen adaptation of The Memory of Water was released in spring 2002 with the title Before You Go.
