Recommended by Toby Malone

Kate McMorran achieves so much in this short masterclass - power dynamics, rich backstory, positioning us in the aftermath of action rather than within it, that the reader is immediately thrown into rage over Mel's gaslighting at the hands of this manipulative mentor, who infuriatingly slurps noodles as she articulates her harassment and turns the onus back on her. The empowering final image gives us hope, mixed with the reality that Mel probably doesn't stand a chance at bringing this guy down. But we're glad she stood up and said something.

Every now and then you come across a play that knocks you back in your seat and uses a series of character choices to build a world you know nothing about but are entirely and completely compelled by. Mora Harris deftly, beautifully introduces competitive eater Francie, along with her teen-aged sister Trisha who suffer from an eating disorder, throws in fake celebrity chefs and a talking pot roast (figments and otherwise) and creates a touching, compelling, astonishing ride about redemption, connection, and guilt. So smart, so strong. Read this play. Perform this play.

A touching, human reconnection story where two boys meet on the night of their five year high school reunion and rekindle what was left unsaid and what needed to be aired. Ryan has a deft touch with playing out the loving relationship between two boys separated too soon, and I can see potential in expanding this to full length through further exploration of the past, a gesture hinted at throughout. A young playwright with a lot to say.

Savage, biting satire always teetering on the edge of utter mayhem, Anastasia West's 'Smaller This Year' skewers the concept of perfect suburbia and delivers it a 'Heathers'-like blow, if 'Heathers' had gone off its lithium. Smart, clever, and witty, it's easy to see why this piece stood out as such a massive indicator of this young playwright's promise.

We all ache for human contact right now, as we wonder if things will ever go back to normal, but to simultaneously go through a separation where that touch starvation is a choice - likely a healthy, positive choice - can feel like torture. This incredibly personal, impactful, and honest piece of writing shows a playwright whose voice is only becoming more muscular, more urgent, more essential. TJ Young writes as he lives - from the heart - and every line bubbles with raw pain that floods and disarms. A hugely painful but cathartic piece. Read it. Now.

When a couple are offered a free trip to Italy along with extended family after a particularly unpleasant homophobic Thanksgiving experience, they are forced to confront the motivation behind the invitation. Do we look past intention when there is a wonderful reward offered? Or is integrity far too important to accept what amounts to a guilt-bribe?

Bridget was abandoned by her mother as a child, leaving to live with the faeries rather than deal with the realities of motherhood. Now Bridget struggles with her own motherhood and seeks the same fate. Beautifully sensitive in its gradually-dawning sense of maternal love, as Bridget's faerie-taken mother encourages her to make the effort she wishes she had made, and offering hope for the future.

This is a stunning, careening, important piece of work that has so many layers that it's easy to forget as you explore the horror of Japanese internment camps that mere minutes ago you were laughing at anecdotes on sexual awakenings and racial assumptions. Hamashima deftly crafts a genre-smashing self exploration that ultimately reveals itself to be a quarantine reaction but in no way follows the standard rules of one. Heartfelt, aching, hilarious, this self-exploration (complete with ALEXA) is a thing of beauty, and one that should be seen live often after the world returns.

A nice mix of prison tropes and character archetypes to explore life on the inside... of a jar of bugs. Particular praise for the 'lifer' Daddy(-o) Longlegs, edgy fireflies, defensive cricket, and pious mantis. Moves along at a crackling pace as this disparate band come together to battle the consummate bugs-in-jars problem: a lack of airholes.

Jacquie Floyd-Priskorn gives us another trademark smiler of a play as she explores the bureaucracy of the afterlife and the accounting of how we treat even the tiniest creatures we come across. Plenty of fun to be had here with witty lines, imaginative world-building, and a nice twist that sends you off in a new direction.