Out of the Margins

"He has promise this one", it says in the cast list, with a line pointing to Andrew Scott. This is a doubly annotated first edition of Birdland, by both the playwright and the leading actor. We don't know if they intentionally both wrote in black ink, to make it even more fun deciphering who said what. You can work it out. Just. 

Birdland: the story of mega-fame and limitless riches, with Simon Stephen's Paul - played by Andrew Scott - on a worldwide tour of the dark side of the soul. This is a gorgeous, playful lot - in reality it's a conversation - between the playwright and the lead actor. The notes are short and snappy: "love this line", "stolen off WILD AT HEART", "full of madness + loneliness", deftly evoking an artistic moment. There are some very funny moments where the two annotators finish each other's sentences: "I love Paul. He is very kind." is followed by "And sensitive" and further down the page: "And dangerous". Discover the "defining emotional state in the play" (it's fascinating) and "the play's question". There's an adorable, energetic quality to some of the annotations: "THIS SCENE WAS FUN TO WRITE!!!" 

Simon Stephens' celebrated adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won seven Olivier Awards in 2013 (including Best New Play) and five Tony Awards (including Best New Play) in 2015.