Drawing together the work of ten leading playwrights - a mixture of established and emerging writers - this National Theatre Connections anthology is published to coincide with the 2014 festival, which takes place across the UK and finishes up at the National Theatre in London. It offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study. Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department with the young performer in mind. The plays are performed by approximately 200 schools and youth theatre companies across the UK and Ireland, in partnership with multiple professional regional theatres where the works are showcased.As with previous anthologies, the volume will feature an introduction by Anthony Banks, Associate Director of the National Theatre Discover Programme, and each play includes notes from the writer and director addressing the themes and ideas behind the play, as well as production notes and exercises.The National Theatre Connections series has been running for nineteen years and the anthology that accompanies it, published for the last three years by Methuen Drama, is gaining a greater profile by the year. Some iconic plays have grown out of the Connections programme including Citizenship by Mark Ravenhill, Burn by Deborah Gearing, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, Baby Girl by Roy Williams, DNA by Dennis Kelly, and The Miracle by Lin Coghlan. The series has a recognisable brand and the anthologies continue to be an extremely useful resource, their value extending well beyond their year of publication.This year's anthology includes plays by Sabrina Mahfouz, Simon Vinnicombe, Catherine Johnson, Pauline McLynn, Dafydd James, Luke Norris and Sam Holcroft.

Same by Deborah Bruce Whether 19 or 91, life's not much different in this rest home for the young at heart. Horizon by Matt Hartley 'Horizon View' is the go to place for teenagers to hang out, but gone are this shopping centre's glory days. Jobs are sparse, university fees are rising, being young is not what it's meant to be and this group are on the cusp of realising this. The Wardrobe by Sam Holcroft A huge tudor wardrobe sits alone on the stage. When it revolves, the audience discover it has no back, and inside they see several small groups of children, each of whom are in hiding, warded from danger, throughout the last five centuries of British history. Heritage by Dafydd JamesIt's Mayday, and a group of children are chosen to close the day's festivities by singing the village anthem - a blistering black comedy with music that explores the darker side of nationalism.A Letter To Lacey by Catherine Johnson Kara's new boyfriend Reece is really keen on her, in fact, he loves her to bits. It's not long before Kara finds herself in an impossible relationship, which she knows she must leave and when she eventually does, she writes a letter to Reece's new girlfriend Lacey. A Shop Selling Speech by Sabrina MahfouzPresent day Cairo: shopkeepers are held up at gun-point in a heist in which the loot is tokens of free speech. Angels by Pauline McLynn Community service tidying a graveyard is the task given to a bunch of wayward souls who discover more than they bargained for amongst the weeds and carved stone angels in this place where little rests - hilarity, halos, and the odd cup of tea from Father Ted's favourite Mrs Doyle. Hearts by Luke Norris Football = winners and losers, broken hearts, a few own goals and too many chips. A comedy caper set in the home team's changing room of local club Hearts.Pronoun by Evan Placey An extraordinary story about an ordinary girl who wants to become an ordinary boy. Tomorrow by Simon Vinnicombe It's last day of school, then prom night, then results day - in three epic scenes Year Eleven find themselves precariously on the brink of adulthood.