Recommended by Christine Foster

This skillful piece succeeds solidly on two levels: as a tale of corporate corruption and greed exposed, deflected and (temporarily) managed, and as a story of four determined and intense characters on a personal and passionate collision path. Clever, bitingly satirical while also deceptively relaxed, this one packs a real punch.

Clever, fast and funny. A great idea with lots of scope for physical comedy and satire, this is such good fun I would like to see it longer and the virtual realities the "lions" enjoy developed even further.

The experience of reading "Nonsense and Beauty" is uplifting, perceptive, heartbreaking - all the very best sort of things a mere 'read' can provide, so I can only say how much I would love to enjoy/endure it on stage. Tender and beautifully drawn characters explore the bitter complications of life and love amid overwhelming challenges. And, as it's based on real lives, it's all the more gripping and poignant, as we can mourn and celebrate the brave hearts that actually experienced this journey. A terrific play.

An awkward encounter between an estranged son and his dying father veers for just an instant into inspired clarity (and clairvoyance) through the use of a simple, powerful device you don't see coming. I got shivers glimpsing the real implication of their impending loss. A lovely piece.

Goony Bird Hat is a bit like a stroll through a fantastical art gallery where every line is a striking absurdist painting. Historic, histrionic, literate and loony, perceptive, poetic and great fun!

I would love to see this as part of a longer piece because once we get the twist (and it's a good one) we really want to know more about what's going to happen next! It's nicely timed as is - the discovery, the opportunity, yes, but wow, there will be huge complications to come. Meanwhile it's a fun, clever idea well realized and a great two hander for teens.

Norkin has captured all the familiar and uncomfortable aspects of flying and used it as a background to explore something quite different: Empathy and attraction in a gentle satire on the limitations and possibilities of AI. Along the way we enjoy clever dialogue and amusing allusions. (eg the robotic co-pilot is called Jack Armstrong). Good fun.

With the barest of nods to Bus Stop and The Petrified Forest, Ruyle plunges us into his own unique and evocative stormbound frozen moment in time where cultures and decency and hope and prejudice collide. The characters are tenderly drawn (particularly Bertha, born to be a matriarch but never having had the chance...yet.) Cherished recipes, past mistakes and desires for the future are cautiously shared. It's an achingly beautiful play.

I love pieces with endings I didn't see coming, and this one delivers. Kay is a disloyal and reprehensible little whiner who would be great fun to play (in fact I would have even liked a bit more of her bonkers blinkered obsession) The other parts are neatly drawn and there is a satisfying double twist at the end.

"Adulthood is very depressing, that's how you know you're doing it right." This well-crafted comedy is as thought provoking as it is clever, with some truly funny physical gags as well. There are riffs on responsibility and life-and-love-avoidance as well as nerve-touching discoveries and aftershocks as the characters learn to do less emotional distancing and crowd in for a close-up, new-fashioned happy ending. Lots of fun.