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Now, drawing inspiration from Ovid, fifteen leading female and non-binary British playwrights dramatise the lives of these fifteen heroines in a series of new monologues for the twenty-first century.

15 Heroines was commissioned by Jermyn Street Theatre, London, and first performed – online and in three parts – in November 2020, presented in partnership with Digital Theatre. This edition of all fifteen monologues is introduced by directors – Adjoa Andoh, Tom Littler and Cat Robey – and writer, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes.

The War tells the untold stories of the Trojan War: Oenone, Hermione, Laodamia, Briseis and Penelope, written by Lettie Precious, Sabrina Mahfouz, Charlotte Jones, Abi Zakarian and Hannah Khalil.

Inside looks at the lives of three women forgotten by the world, but not by themselves.

Outside presents three stories of finding connection in the darkness and coming together after so long apart.  

This volume contains the following plays:

• Two Billion Beats by Sonali Bhattacharyya
• Guidesky and I by Deborah Bruce
• The Kiss by Zoe Cooper
• Prodigal by Kalungi Ssebandeke
• When the Daffodils by Joel Tan
• Ursa Major by Joe White

They were first performed at, and livestreamed from, the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in March 2021.

Critically acclaimed during its run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Lucy Burke’s Glitter Punch – set in Greater Manchester – charts a troubling new relationship between mysterious John and sixteen-year-old Molly, a love that will change their lives forever. “Powerful” (The Stage).

Set in a Wigan taxi, Burkas and Bacon Butties by Shamia Chalabi and Sarah Henley is a heart-warming comedy about taxi-driver Ashraf and his twenty-something daughter, Shaz, as they negotiate the ups and downs of living in a mixed-culture family.

When bereaved mother Mary finds a disembodied arm, a conspiracy builds: maybe her child isn’t quite so dead after all. Shortlisted for Soho Theatre’s Tony Craze Award, Sami Ibrahim’s Wind Bit Bitter, Bit Bit Bit Her is an enthralling monologue about love and loss.

The Strongbox by Stephanie Jacob is a story of domestic servitude and abuse of power, as authoritarian Kat, her ageing mother, Ma, and their teenaged slave, Maudie, jostle for power – and affection – in their dilapidated London home.

3 Billion Seconds by Maud Dromgoole is a hilarious, macabre love story about a pregnant couple of activists attempting to offset the carbon footprint of their unborn baby's life.

Alcatraz by Nathan Lucky Wood is a thrilling play about family and social care that follows Sandy on her daring, Christmas mission to emulate Clint Eastwood and bust her gran out of lock-up.

Collapsible by Margaret Perry is a funny, furious monologue about navigating a world that cares so much about you keeping it together, it doesn't notice you falling apart.

Inside Voices by Nabilah Said blends dark comedy and magic realism in its subversive portrayal of three Singaporean Muslim women challenging the bounds of freedom, feminism and faith in a place that isn't home.

Open by Christopher Adams and Timothy Allsop is a frank, refreshing romance that draws on interviews, conversation and private correspondence to explore the authors' real-life open marriage.

Jericho by Malaprop Theatre is an off-kilter, high-energy, form-pushing play about what pro-wrestling and politics have in common. It asks big questions in weird ways, like what can a pop-culture journalist do to stop the world burning down?

Thrown by Jodi Gray sees a child-psychologist attempting to record what she's spent her whole life trying to forget, as the memories of former patients collide with her own.

This volume includes:

Something Awful by Tatty Hennessy is a thrilling play inspired by the true-crime story of the Slenderman. Soph and her best friend Jel love scary stories and hunt for the best online. But then new girl Ellie turns up at school with one of her own.

Second Home by Charlotte Chimuanya explores the experiences of growing up mixed-race in twenty-first century Ireland. Naomi is trying to mend her broken heart. But will tackling grief and racism in a place she calls home prove to be the final betrayal?

Madame Ovary by Rosa Hesmondhalgh tells the heartbreaking and hilarious true story of Rosa's own ovarian cancer. This five-star sell-out Edinburgh hit is a life-affirming monologue exploring the typical struggles of staying relevant, with the less typical struggles of staying alive.  

Take Care by Zoë Templeman-Young and Sam McLaughlin follows the real-life story of Pam, a woman struggling to move her mother into a care home that's closer to her. An award-winning Edinburgh smash, it is an astonishing, tragic and uplifting verbatim play about the care system in the UK today.

Heroes by Isabel Dixon is a poignant exploration of fallen idols, family secrets and the human price of forgiveness. Set across two timelines, it is the tense and sensitive story of a family torn apart by an unforgiveable act.

Mothers who are blissed out. Mothers who are pissed off. Mothers who are great, or grateful, or grating. Mothers who have changed, mothers who can't, mothers who can't even change nappies. Women who aren't mothers. Welcome to the 'hood.

The Motherhood Project draws together dramatic monologues and real-life reflections by some of the UK's leading writers, artists and thinkers, and explores all the guilt, joy and absurdity, the regrets, pressures and taboos surrounding motherhood.

Contributors: Kalhan Barath, E.V. Crowe, Juno Dawson, Suhayla El Bushra, Jodi Gray, Hannah Khalil, Katherine Kotz, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Siggi Mwasote, Irenosen Okojie, Anya Reiss, Naomi Sheldon, Lemn Sissay, Athena Stevens and Joelle Taylor.

The project was produced online in 2021 by Katherine Kotz in association with Drift Studio, and presented in association with Battersea Arts Centre, London.