Written specifically for GCSE students by academics in the field, the Methuen Drama GCSE Student Editions provide in-depth explanatory material alongside the play texts frequently studied at Key Stage 4.

Whether for use in the classroom or independent study, these editions offer a fully comprehensive and lightly glossed play text with accompanying notes specifically directed towards readers of this age, which unravel essential topics and challenge all students to delve further into literary analysis.

Charlotte Keatley's My Mother Said I Never Should grapples with social forces that threaten to split four generations of women apart. When Jackie, who is unmarried, gives away her baby to her mother, the women are united in keeping this family secret yet divided in their opinions of it.

In addition to some on-page explanatory notes and the play text itself, this edition contains sub-headed analyses of themes, characters, context and dramatic devices, as well as background information on the playwright.

The Methuen Drama GCSE Student Editions never lose sight of their readership, and offer students the confidence to engage with the material, explore their own interpretations, and improve their understanding of the works.

Charlotte Keatley is best-known for her play My Mother Said I Never Should, which has been named by the National Theatre as one of The Significant Plays of the Twentieth Century. More recently, Charlotte Keatley's play Our Father premiered at the Watford Palace Theatre. She has written for radio, television and film, and has won the George Devine Award, Manchester Evening News Best New Play Award, a Time Out Award, and was nominated for an Olivier Award as Most Promising Newcomer.

Sophie Bush is a Lecturer in Performance at Sheffield Hallam University and has previously taught at the Universities of Sheffield, Huddersfield and Manchester Metropolitan. Her research and teaching interests lie in the history, practice and politics of contemporary British Theatre. Her doctorate, on the work of Timberlake Wertenbaker, was awarded by the University of Sheffield in 2011, and in September 2013, her first book The Theatre of Timberlake Wertenbaker was published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama; she is also the author of My Mother Said I Never Should GCSE Student Guide (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2016). She maintains an involvement with practical theatre-making, as director and devisor.