Publications

Steve’s first published works were the plays performed at the pioneering Half Moon at Aldgate: Will Wat, if not, What Will? (Pluto Plays, 1975), and The Motor Show (Pluto Plays, 1975). (To order these and other publications direct from Steve, see the bottom of the page)

Female Transport was first published in the much-missed monthly Plays and Players, and shortly afterwards by Pluto Plays. Both are now sadly out of print, but the edition brought out by Samuel French is still available, and it’s also in Women’s Worlds, published by Christine Kimberley, a collection of four of Steve’s plays about communities of women, including Massa, British Beauty and Cocky’s Girls.

His translation of Brecht’s The Mother, first produced at the Half Moon, which transferred to the Roundhouse and was later revived by Belt & Braces and the National Theatre, was published by Methuen in 1978 and subsequently included in Brecht’s collected works. This is the same adaptation that was later awarded a Joseph Jefferson Award or ‘Jeff’, Chicago’s answer to New York’s ‘Tonys’.

All Together Now, An alternative View of Theatre and the Community (Methuen 1984) is the product of Steve’s experience with theatre aimed at creating new audiences. It sprang from his plays at the Half Moon and his activism alongside touring groups such as 7:84, Belt & Braces, Monstrous Regiment and the Women’s Theatre Group. It has long been out of print, but you may be able to find it online.

Writing a Play (A & C Black, 1988, 1995, 2001, 2004, (‘The best how-to guide for the would-be playwright you can buy’ – The Young Performer) was commissioned a few years into his successful class at The City Literary Institute in London. He went on to run the class at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he also instigated the MA in Playwriting. The book has run to four editions and as many languages. A few copies of the latest edition, in new format and cover, are still available in some bookshops.

Copies of Fast One, Mister Fun, Taking Liberties and Massa, published by their producing companies, are to be found in the British Library. His translations of Wedekind’s The Lulu Plays and The Marquis of Keith (Absolute Classics and Oberon Books, 1990, reprinted 2003) followed their production by, respectively, Red Shift and The Gate, and remain in print with Oberon. Mister Paul, Steve’s ‘exquisite’ translation (The Independent) of the award-winning play by Tankred Dorst, was published by the Goethe Institute’s Theaterbibliothek in 1994. He was also asked by editor David Johnston to contribute ‘Fatal Attraction’, an essay on translation to Stages of Translation (Absolute Classics, 1998)

From 2006 Steve brought out the first of his series The Cut Shakespeare, single volumes of which are available from the author (Discounts on sets are available)

Finally, to coincide with the production of Asking Rembrandt, Christine Kimberley published a further collection of Steve’s plays Artistic Licence, which also includes Spanish Walk and Dark Glory. As also is Love Bites, another collection of four smaller-cast plays from Christine Kimberley, which includes Good For You, Red Emma and her Hobo King, Eve and Adam (and the Boys), and Star Turns.

In 1977 he was commissioned by Pluto to translate Wolf Biermann, a selection of the East German dissident’s Poems and Ballads. This was followed by a further commission in 1978 to translate Wallraff, The Undesirable Journalist, the revelations of Establishment crimes and cover-ups by the West German ‘undercover’ journalist.

For further information about any of the works above, you can contact Steve.

Available to Order direct from Steve

Artistic Licence

£9.00 including p&p (UK only). Artistic Licence includes three plays: Asking Rembrandt, Spanish Walk, and Dark Glory.

Love Bites

£8.50 including p&p (UK only). Love Bites includes four plays: Good For You, Red Emma and her Hobo King, Eve and Adam (and the Boys), and Star Turns.

Women’s Worlds

£9.75 including p&p (UK only). Women’s Worlds includes four plays: Female Transport, British Beauty, Cocky’s Girls, and Massa.

3x Play Collections (Discount)

£19.00 including p&p (UK only). Includes three play collections and a total of 11 plays: Artistic Licence, Love Bites, and Women’s Worlds.

The Cut Shakespeare

£8.50 per volume including p&p (UK only), with discounts for multiple items. Six A5 paperback volumes are available: Comedies I, Comedies II, Comedies III, Romances, Tragedies I, and Tragedies II. Each volume includes two plays. See the page for The Cut Shakespeare for further information about the twelve plays available, sample extracts and special discounts.

Will Wat, if not, What Will? (Pluto Plays, 1975)

£5.00 including p&p (UK only). Includes one play: Will Wat, if not, What Will?

The Motor Show (Pluto Plays, 1975)

£5.00 including p&p (UK only). Includes one play: The Motor Show.

2x Pluto Plays (Discount)

£8.00 including p&p (UK only). Includes two plays: Will Wat, if not, What Will? and The Motor Show.

How to Order and Payment Options

Please send an email to Steve (steve@stevegooch.info) with details of the items you would like to order, including quantities. For example: “One copy of Love Bites, and one copy of Tragedies I”.

You can pay by PayPal or Cheque. Please click here for PayPal payments.

Please make cheques payable to R.S. Gooch, write your name and delivery address on the back of the cheque, and send to: Steve Gooch Publications, Conaways, Langham Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex TN32 5DT.

Please allow 7-28 days for delivery. E&OE.