Includes the plays You Were After Poetry, Lyre, Ned & Sharon and Weightless

The four plays in this volume formed the centrepiece of the inaugural HighTide Festival in Halesworth, Suffolk, in 2007. Developing plays from the first draft to first performance, HighTide is the first new-writing theatre festival to focus on exclusively on young artists. The volume has a preface by Bill Nighy. You Were After Poetry by Steven Bloomer A fast-paced and witty relationship comedy showing a couple's break-up and its after-effects. Lyre by Megan Walsh A harp takes centre stage in this beautiful tale of an uncomfortably close brother and sister. Ned & Sharon by Sam Holcroft A story of love and tenderness about a troubled teenager in a care home. Weightless by Sarah Cuddon An exquisitely imagined account of the first female British astronaut's selection and journey into space.