Readings in Review

Abstract

It is hard now to remember that 10 years ago Playwrights Canada did not exist. No other organization has done more to put the scripts of living playwrights into the hands of producers, professors and school teachers. From its beginning Playwrights Co-Op (its founding and former name) took care to include scripts for young audiences in its catalogue. Now it has published a relatively inexpensive paperback anthology of six plays in book form not in its usual duplicated format. Kids Plays were written in the seventies and reflect that decade’s styles and concerns. The influence of American and British models upon Canadians writing for young people is sometimes evident; plots sometimes reflect concerns of the 1960s and early 1970s, such as pollution, space travel and personal freedom versus the system. Evergreen themes for young people are also in evidence: the search for identity, reverence for age and tradition, and making and keeping friendships are a few of these.