About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

The Collected Plays contains eight plays by Graham Greene, one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Though best known as a novelist, in these eight plays he demonstrates his considerable skills as a dramatist. Each of them explores themes that were of fundamental importance to Greene, and together they exhibit a daring wit and an exhilarating sense of experiment.

The Living Room ran in the West End and on Broadway to great acclaim after its 1953 premiere. A mysterious house, home to a family that has seen better days, will not yield its secrets. And a love affair turns to tragedy. (Cast: 5 female, 2 male)

The Potting Shed ran during the 1956 Broadway season to great acclaim. A young man tries to piece together what has left him estranged from his father and family and alone in the world. (Cast: 5 female, 6 male)

The Complaisant Lover: A patient dentist ends up trying to persuade his wife's lover to continue seeing her and not cause problems, an arrangement the lover refuses to keep. Michael Redgrave took the role of the husband in the Broadway production, following a run in London's West End. (Cast: 3 female, 6 male)

Carving a Statue: Set in a studio in South London, the play revolves around the failing relationship between a sculptor and his son. (Cast: 2 female, 4 male)

The Return of A.J. Raffles: A comedy loosely based on the famous character created by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes. The fictional Raffles was an Edwardian gentleman and top-rated cricketer who supported his life of leisure with a secondary career as a jewel thief. The Royal Shakespeare Company premiered the play in 1975 with Denholm Elliot as the gentleman burglar. (Cast: 3 female, 7 male)

The Great Jowett: Originally written as a BBC radio play, chronicles the life of an Oxford don, Benjamin Jowett during the 1800s and his struggles to be a Master for a college whilst translating Plato. (Cast: 2 female, 17 male)

Yes and No: A two-hander in which a director agonizes with a young actor over the motivations behind the simple monosyllables he has to speak in a contemporary play. (Cast: 2 male)

For Whom the Bell Chimes: Swirls around the body of a murdered woman hidden on the fold down bed behind the wall of a one-room apartment. (Cast: 1 female, 6 male)

What people say:

"Greene's speed and economy, his uncanny gift for idiom, his skill in setting an atmosphere and developing suspense, are all masterly." — The Guardian

"One of the finest writers of any language." — Washington Post

"One of the most important British writers of the twentieth century." — Daily Telegraph

About the Playwright:

Graham Greene (1904-1991) was an English novelist and author regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He worked as a journalist and critic, and in 1940 became literary editor of the Spectator. He was later employed by the Foreign Office. As well as his many novels, he wrote several collections of short stories, four travel books, six plays, three books of autobiography, two of biography and four books for children. He also wrote hundreds of essays, and film and book reviews. Most of his novels have been filmed, including The Third Man, which the author first wrote as a film treatment. He was named Companion of Honour and received the Order of Merit among numerous other awards.