A selection of plays by "one of the most original and biting comic writers working in Britain" (The Times)The Spirit of Man is "an ingenious triple-bill exploring Man's need for faith through three short satires based in medieval France, Protectorate England and nineteenth-century Eastern Europe" (Independent); Nobody Here But Us Chickens is a linked trilogy of satires on New Age, corporate and bedroom politics. Red Noses is a political satire about the plague and takes place in 13...

We think our wealth today comes from productive corporations and workers, but they merely add icing to a cake baked long ago. In this provocative book, Peter Barnes argues that most of today's wealth is co-inherited from nature and past human efforts, not individually earned. If some of that co-inherited wealth were placed in trust for each of us, living and yet-to-be born – creating what Barnes calls “universal property” – capitalism would be fundamentally transformed.As Barnes no...

In 'To Be or Not to Be' (1942), Ernest Lubitsch brought his legendary comic touch to the most unpromising situation: life in Nazi-occupied Poland. In this study, Peter Barnes considers what it is to make comedy out of tragedy.

The majority of construction work is carried out by subcontractors. As building projects become more complex, subcontractors need to understand the implications of the agreements they sign. The JCT 2011 Building Subcontracts has been written to help the busy subcontractor deal effectively with the range of JCT 2011 subcontracts they will encounter. It covers the most commonly use 2011 subcontracts, looking at the key contract conditions, the rights and obligations of the parties and how ri...

A selection of plays by "one of the most original and biting comic writers working in Britain" (The Times)Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie is a riotous, scabrous comedy concerning a demonic figure, a destroyer and giver of life, who is always trying to jump, with both feet into his left trouser leg. Heaven's Blessings, taken from the grim pages of the Bible is a charming epic comedy of Tobit, his wife, their son and a cantankerous guardian angel, who set out to reclaim an outstanding ...

An RSC commission to commemorate the first celebration of Shakespeare's life and worksA mischievous satire on the foundation of the Shakespeare industry: In 1769, when David Garrick staged the first theatre festival to celebrate the life of Stratford's most famous son, little did he realise the impact it would have on the future livelihood of the small Warwickshire market town. Peter Barnes' ironic and irreverent new comedy dissects the cult of the theatrical personality, with gues...

This book, entitled Conversations on Fethullah Gülen and the Hizment Movement: Dreaming for a Better World, is intended to represent an open perspective on the influence of the Hizmet Movement, including Fethullah Gülen in particular, on the theme of “dreaming for a better world,” based on a variety of Christian and Muslim world views. This theme is approached from three specific perspectives: education and an emphasis on interfaith and intercultural dialogue, a comparison of various spiri...

A haunting and brutally funny story of heroism and human valuesIn the bloody aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, Captain John Mallory leads a band of renegades across a war-torn landscape on a breathtaking quest in search of a dream - a dream of home. Dreaming premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre in March 1999 before moving to the West End."Peter Barnes is one of the unrecognised geniuses of the English theatre" (Plays and Players)

Etonians aren't exactly noted for their grey matter, but I've always found them perfectly adjusted to society.Jack, a possible paranoid schizophrenic with a Messiah complex, inherits the title of the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father passes away in a bizarre accident. Singularly unsuited to a life in the upper echelons of elite society, Jack finds himself at the centre of a ruthless power struggle as his scheming family strives to uphold their reputation.Bubblin...

Peter Barnes argues that because of globalization, automation, and winner-take-all capitalism, there won'Äôt be enough high-paying jobs to sustain America'Äôs middle class in the future. Therefore, to survive economically, our middle class needs'Äîand deserves'Äîa supplementary source of nonlabor income.To meet this need, Barnes proposes to give every American a share of the wealth we own together'Äî starting with our air and financial infrastructure. These shares would pay dividend...

Set in medieval Italy during a crisis in the Church, Sunsets and Glories is "a work of the highest and most thrilling theatrical energy" (Independent on Sunday)Sunsets and Glories is set in the late thirteenth-century Italy where power struggles between Church and State inspire such characters as the spineless Charles 11, paid killer Montefelto and 'madwoman' Maifreda. Into this maelstrom steps Peter de Morrone, the saintly Pope Celestine V, provoking a bitter crisis of faith in th...

There are many books which set out the case for Islam or for Christianity and point out what they regard as defects in the other religion. This book does that, but it seeks to do so in the form of a workbook which groups of Christians or Muslims might use, and it is conducted in a spirit where truth is paramount but so too is kindness and civility. The two authors have become friends and hope that this can be detected in the exchanges. As the major doctrines of each religion are dealt with...