Advertisement
Books

Top 5 books set in theatres, chosen by playwright Edward Carey

Enter stage left… these books set in theatres

Writer and illustrator Edward Carey was a member of the National Youth Theatre and studied drama at the University of Hull. His plays have been performed at the National Theatre of Romania and Vilnius Small State Theatre, Lithuania, as well as the Young Vic Studio and the Royal Opera House Studio. His latest novel, Edith Holler, tells the macabre and gothic story of a girl trapped inside a Norwich theatre.

Now he’s giving Big Issue the benefit of his experiences by choosing his top five books set in theatres.

The Phantom of The Opera by Gaston Leroux 

A monster book where the theatre is fully described from the director’s office to deep below stage. A love song to the theatre and a twisted romance, it’s deeply thrilling and alarming.

Black Snow by Mikhail Bulgakov 

A backstage story of a suicidal writer whose work is taken away from him.
A furious attack on censorship and Bulgakov’s own personal revenge on the theatre director Konstantin Stanislavski, father of method acting.

An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge 

Set in Liverpool during the 1950s, this coming-of-age story is structured around a Christmas production of Peter Pan and is Bainbridge at her bold, brilliant best – here is a very acutely drawn picture of life backstage.

Little Dancer Aged 14: The True Story of Degas’ Masterpiece  by Camille Laurens, translated by Willard Wood 

The true story behind Degas’ famous sculpture is also a portrait of ‘les rats’, the downtrodden and mistreated girls who appeared as basically set dressing on the Opéra Garnier stage in Paris.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertisement

A Penny Plain and Twopence Coloured by Robert Louis Stevenson

Not strictly a book, this essay appeared in most booklets of Pollock’s toy theatres for you to cut out and assemble yourself. It’s about a Victorian toy, and is full of the wonder of childhood imagination.

Edith Holler by Edward Carey is out now in paperback (Pushkin Press, £10.99). These titles are available to buy from the Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support the Big Issue and independent bookshops.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more

It’s helping people with disabilities. 

It’s creating safer living conditions for renters.

It’s getting answers for the most vulnerable.

Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change. 

If this article gave you something to think about, help us keep doing this work from £5 a month.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

READER-SUPPORTED SINCE 1991

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Recommended for you

Read All
House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk review – mushrooming magic
Books

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk review – mushrooming magic

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy review – words of wisdom
Books

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy review – words of wisdom

Queer history goes back centuries – even the Georgians questioned their gender and sexuality
LGBTQ+

Queer history goes back centuries – even the Georgians questioned their gender and sexuality

Top 5 crime collections, chosen by award-winning crime writer Martin Edwards
Books

Top 5 crime collections, chosen by award-winning crime writer Martin Edwards

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue