Publications
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Jessica has created a list of both her publications and some of her favourite reads on her Bookshop.org shop
Books
Drama Games
Drama Games is a series of dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource books packed with tried-and-tested drama games for use in workshops, classrooms and rehearsal rooms.
Jessica has written three titles in Nick Hern Books’ popular series: Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops, Drama Games for Devising, and Drama Games for Rehearsals.
Blue Stockings
1896. Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a 'blue stocking' - an unnatural, educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and un-marriageable.
Jessica Swale's Blue Stockings
A guide for studying and staging the play
This Page to Stage guide, written by the playwright, who also directed the first production at RADA, along with her assistant director Lois Jeary, is packed with contextual information, scene-by-scene and character breakdowns, and personal insights into the world of the play and the real lives that inspired it.
An invaluable resource for those studying and staging the play, it takes you through the entire production process, considering each of the elements in turn, from sound and music to design and rehearsals. You'll also find notes from the original rehearsal process, extracts from working diaries, and interviews with key members of the creative team. Throughout, there are hints and tips on staging, and helpful games and exercises to bring the play to life on the stage and in the classroom.
Nell Gwynn
London, 1660. King Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, extravagant and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is causing stirrings amongst the theatregoers.
Nell Gwynn charts the rise of an unlikely heroine, from her roots in Coal Yard Alley to her success as Britain's most celebrated actress, and her hard-won place in the heart of the King. But at a time when women are second-class citizens, can her charm and spirit protect her from the dangers of the Court?
The Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling's beloved tale of family, belonging and identity has been reimagined in this acclaimed adaptation by Jessica Swale, with original songs by Joe Stilgoe.
The Jungle Book tells the story of Mowgli, the man-cub who is raised by wolves. With a little help from his animal friends - including Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, and Kaa the python - he must face the cruel and powerful tiger, Shere Khan, and learn the Law of the Jungle.
This musical adaptation is packed with memorable characters, catchy songs and brilliant storytelling, offering rich opportunities for all school, college, youth-theatre and amateur groups looking for a 'fresh, ambitious and inventive' (The Times) version of a much-loved classic.
Sense and Sensibility
Eminently sensible Elinor pines for quiet, kind-hearted Edward Ferrars, but the impulsive Marianne loses herself in the idea of her hero on horseback, and for a girl who feasts on poetry and music, what else is there to do in Devon but dream of rescue?
Far From the Madding Crowd
When Bathsheba Everdene inherits a farm from her uncle, no-one expects her to run it alone. But our spirited young heroine will not be deterred and eagerly takes up the gauntlet.
She rises impressively to the challenges of sheep farming, but the trials of the heart are harder to overcome. Caught between a pair of suitors - the kind and dependable shepherd Gabriel Oak and the prosperous eligible bachelor William Boldwood, her choice seems hard enough. Then the dashing Sergeant Troy appears over the horizon, with a swagger in his step and a dangerous secret in his past. Who will she choose?
The Secret Garden
It's 1910, and life for the spoiled young Mary Lennox is pretty easy. She spends her days luxuriating in the Indian sunshine whilst her aristocratic parents rule the Indian Raj. But when an unexpected twist of fate leaves Mary orphaned, she finds herself on her way to England to live with her distant Uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors.
Misselthwaite is no place for children. Full of dark corners and strange night-time noises, Mary is certain there is more to Misselthwaite than meets the eye. But although she can't solve the mysteries alone, when her maid Martha offers the hand of friendship, Mary won't have it. Mistresses can't be friends with their servants...or can they?
Will Martha melt Mary's frosty exterior? Will Mary uncover the source of the cries in the night? And will her curiosity lead her to solve the greatest mystery of Misselthwaite, the legend of the Secret Garden?
Thomas Tallis
Living under four monarchs, Tallis was forced to adapt his compositions to suit their religious demands, but at what cost? In Swale’s vividly imagined play, we follow the contrasting fates of Tallis and a young priest, from the dissolution of the monasteries through Mary’s bloody reign, via encounters with a young Elizabeth and the mysterious Dr Dee, to their dramatic conclusion.