Karen and her partner Lynn arrive at a tatty hotel to meet Karen’s younger sister Suzanne. The sisters haven’t seen each other for over thirty years and the difficult reunion is made even worse when Suzanne unexpectedly turns up with her thirteen-year-old daughter Della in tow.

It’s Della who forced her Mam to arrange this get-together after stumbling upon their family secret – that when Karen was her age she was convicted of an unforgivable crime and spent over a decade in prison before being released with a new identity. Della is desperate to find out what makes Karen tick, and Karen is terrified she’ll tell her.

Inspired by true life cases, this dark four-hander plays out in real time. And no one gets out unscathed.

“Birdie is an outstanding, highly accomplished play which evinces your terrific skill and power as a theatre writer. All the judges felt that your characters are compelling, strong, troubling individuals with huge resonance and that they are written with great understanding and without cliché. They felt it is a play with a richly uncomfortable, disturbing atmosphere, posing deeply troubling moral questions with a light touch and enormous deftness.” - Women's Prize judging panel

Bayview is the only B&B closed for business on the busiest weekend of the year in this faded seaside town.

Greasy fish n chips, sticks of rock and a pot-bellied Spiderman is throwing himself off the pier. The annual ‘Birdman’ competition is in full flight.

Simon is here to compete and turns up looking for a bed for the night but everything at Maeve’s beloved B&B is off kilter. Her daughter Claire is here to help or is she just making things worse?

You see, there’s a fine line between flying and falling.

“Carr’s intricate and confident drama [delivers] across the board … moments of brilliance bounce straight into the laps of the audience.” ★★★★ - The Spy in the Stalls

Julie and Ruby are sisters coming to terms with the death of formidable matriarch Iris who still manages to control their lives from beyond the grave. On the night of the funeral, Julie gets off with Gerry, the crime scene cleaner. Maybe that’ll help. It doesn’t.

When their mother’s unusual bequest unearths a story that leaves some indelible marks, something more than a deep clean is needed.

IRIS is a heady cocktail of caustic humour and tender pathos and is Alison’s first full length commission for Live Theatre.

"fierce and often comic ... bruising yet touching" ★★★★ - The Stage

It’s the end of the world. The last night on earth. An asteroid is heading straight for us. Fancy going out with a bang?

It’s the final countdown. Landlady Kathy invites you to the last quiz night on earth with Quizmaster Rav. He’s the host with the most. But with time ticking, some unexpected guests turn up out of the blue. Bobby wants to settle old scores and Fran wants one last shot at love. Expect the unexpected right until the bitter end.

Alison Carr’s explosive pre-apocalyptic comedy THE LAST QUIZ NIGHT ON EARTH is a night you won’t forget with plenty of drama. So grab a drink and a pen, and let’s get quizzical, quizzical!

“crackles with brilliant comedy and pulls you up sharp with its punchy dramatic revelations.” ★★★★★ - The Reviews Hub

During an almighty rainstorm, Vera Shrimp discovers she has a remarkable gift. She can read raindrops, each one having soaked up an emotion from those the water has come into contact with.

But as her family disintegrates, Vera’s extraordinary ability takes on a darker and more urgent significance.

Part science lesson, part story-telling, this is a poignant and playful solo-show about love, grief and never giving up.

"a beautiful gem of a show ... the script is frequently hilarious, punctuated by moments of sincerity and pathos" ★★★★ - Three Weeks

TUESDAY is light, playful and nuanced in tone. And a little bit sci-fi.

The play centres on an ordinary Tuesday that suddenly turns very weird indeed when a tear rips across the sky over the school yard. Not only that, but it starts sucking up pupils and staff while at the same time raining down a whole new set of people. But then, that’s what happens when parallel worlds collide!

Confusion reigns as the ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ try to work out what is going on. How are Ash and Magpie identical? Can Billy cope with having his sister back? Who is Franky?

Eventually, though, cracks appear between the two groups. As the air here starts to disagree with the ‘Them’, the race is on to try to get things back to how they were and safely return everyone to the Universe they came from.

The play explores friendship, sibling love, family, identity, grief, bullying, loneliness and responsibility. And in the process we might just learn something about ourselves as well as some astronomical theories of the multiverse!

A play for young people written for National Theatre Connections Festival. Cast size 9-50, any gender

“Absolutely brilliant … a funny and flexible text for young performers with a surprising plot” ★★★★★ - Drama and Theatre

What does a dystopian world without women mean for the men left behind?

In a future however many years from now where women are extinct, two men meet on a park bench. The younger has brought two Kia-Ora’s to share, but the older doesn’t want to know.

They’ve got a Government-issued pamphlet with bullet points to follow, but with step one ‘turn up’ proving a challenge, things don’t seem promising.

“It’s an apocalyptic situation, aching with grief and loss. Yet Carr’s 55-minute play is also full of humour and humanity, and wry insights into how humankind – or even just half of it – might cope with such a terminal catastrophe. The writing is understated, measured and beautiful” ★★★★ – Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

We step outside and start to dance was inspired by a dance-inducing outbreak of mass hysteria recorded in Strasbourg in the 1500s when a woman did, indeed, step outside and start to dance. And kept dancing. Within a month, four hundred people had joined her.

Made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and presented online during the COVID-19 pandemic.