This modern novel describes a dystopian version of the year 1984. The world is ruled by three totalitarian superpowers with the book focusing on Oceania. The people are under constant surveillance and anyone opposing or even criticising the regime is eliminated together with all records of existence. Only thinking about another life or reality is […]

This Renaissance comedy is a play about deceptions and the importance of honour packed into a colourful story of love, wit, and confusion. The soldiers Claudio and Benedick return from battle to Messina. Claudio and Hero are in love with each other and plan to marry. Meanwhile, Benedick, an opponent of marriage, is at a […]

“Article 5: Children are considered valid citizens when conceived by a married man and wife. All other children are to be removed from the home and subjected to rehabilitative procedures.“ In this dystopian world, the Bill of Rights has been replaced by the Moral Statutes after a war rampaged through the United States. Children out […]

Based on a true story, this novel is set in a 1960s reform school in Florida. 16-year-old Elwood Curtis has always admired Dr. Martin Luther King and plans on enrolling in a local black college. However, an accident leads to Elwood being sent to the “Nickel Academy”, where he meets his fellow inmate Turner. At […]

This short, modern play explores the importance of language for communication, alienation, love and imperialism. Set in 1833 in a fictional village in county Donegal, the play follows several English and Irish characters, which meet but often do not understand each other. The story develops around a love triangle, the English Yolland and the Irish […]

This award-winning young adult fantasy novel about murder, coming of age, friendship and belonging follows baby-boy ‘Nobody’ who, after his family is murdered, is adopted by the supernatural inhabitants of a nearby graveyard. ‘Nobody’ also called ‘Bod’ grows up with ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches and werewolves, who become family and friends to him. In and […]

This drama is a fictional depiction of the night leading up to Martin Luther King’s assassination. After King’s speech I’ve Been to the Mountaintop in Memphis, he returns to his hotel, the Lorraine Motel. There, he encounters a maid called Camae. And although initially flirtatious, she soon reveals her true intentions. Sent down to earth […]

In this award-winning biography about the fight for justice, Lee Lawrence tells a story sadly no less relevant today than 30 years ago. When Lee was 11 years old, he witnessed his mother being shot by a police officer, resulting in her paralysis. This event shaped the political climate at the time, acting as the […]

This award-winning, young adult drama novel featuring racism, injustice, violence, isolation and loneliness follows a 16-year old boy who awaits his murder trial. Steve Harmon is in prison, maybe for life. They say he murdered someone; tell him he’s a monster. Is he? Or was it a case of being in the wrong place at […]

An epistolary Gothic novel, which describes the most popular vampire hunt, also exploring the fields of mental health, religion and the occult, love and seduction, as well as the relationship between life and death and what might be in-between. Transylvania in the late 1800s: Count Dracula wishes to buy a house near London and asks […]

This prequel to the successful “The Hunger Games” trilogy or the movie adaptation by the same name tells the story of Coriolanus Snow’s rise to power – a story of friendship, betrayal, manipulation and oppression. For those who have read “The Hunger Games”, you might recognize the name Snow as a villain rather than a protagonist. But like all […]

This Gothic novel explores the duality of human nature, crime and prosecution and the importance of the Victorian standard of reputation. When a new villain terrorises London’s citizens and causes a great stir, lawyer Utterson faces a great riddle which keeps him awake at night. He discovers a connection between the violent misdeeds of the […]

Beloved is a Postmodern historical fiction novel about slavery, motherhood and community. 1873, it is the time just after the Civil War and the former slave Sethe lives with her 18-year old daughter Denver in 124, a haunted house on the edge of Cincinnati. The novel explores the lives of the two after they escaped from […]

This classic gothic crime story about murder and vindication, guilt, and insanity starts in medias res: The unnamed, unreliable narrator describes in retrospect that he was haunted by the idea of murdering his old landlord. After committing the murder, he cleverly hid the body underneath the floorboards, praising himself for committing the almost perfect crime […]

This collection of twelve dystopian short stories exposes institutionalised racism, social injustice, and the devastating effects of consumerism on contemporary and near-future society. As ‘dark satires’, they explore the interconnectedness of black identity and the socio-economical realities of the US. ‘The Finkelstein Five’, for example, reveals police violence and the prejudice of the US justice system […]

This spoken word poem painfully reflects the memory of rape, abuse and sexual assault on women. The speaker demands to take responsibility and to stop making excuses – emotionally opposing trivialising statements and outlining that “no matter how many times, once, was one too many.”  The performance is suitable for a cross-curricular project on Me […]

Three voices loudly recall stereotypical ‘rules’ for people of colour and thereby outline injustice, prejudice and racial bias in contemporary society. Marvin Hodges, Em Allison and Saidu Tejan-Thomas’ spoken word poem provide the audience with a shocking paradigm shift, confronting them with everyday racisms. Text and performance can serve as a great example of young […]

In this poetry slam, three teenage voices tackle topics some would not even want to speak of – rape, racism, social stratification, education and equality. The spoken word poem offers perspectives on current affairs in the US from a teenage perspective and critically reflects the US school system. The empowering and passionate lines of Belissa […]