One examining board – and others will follow – has decided to exclude all plays without ISBN numbers from their AS/A level exams. I have argued at length that having an ISBN number is no guarantee of quality which is I presume why they have done it. The number is merely a tracking device. For my plays, which can only be ordered as hard copy or as downloads through this website, putting a tracking number on them would have been a waste of time and money. But I’ve had to bite the bullet, since this board won’t give in and others have indicated they will follow. To start with, I’ve picked plays that would be suitable at this level, 18 of them. That’s 36 numbers, since the download version of each play has a different number to the hard copy! Arrgh! Well, on the plus side – the number may mean that bookshops etc might order them now? Who knows!
Just to reassure you. The plays concerned, which you’ll find on the Playshare page and which will be obvious because the numbers are under them, conform to the other proscriptions in the specs. They are at least one hour long, have been published by a registered publisher – DramaWorks – and in addition, many of them were commissioned by youth theatres or theatre companies before coming to me. All have been tried and tested in front of paying audiences. Have a look!