Methuen Drama £7.50 (rrp £9.99)

How The World Began is a sharp, thoughtful and mysterious play set in a small town in rural Kansas that’s been ripped apart by a tornado. Faith and science clash as a biology teacher newly arrived from Manhattan is confronted by her damaged, articulate pupil Micah.

Des Kennedy directed it at the Arcola Theatre in a production supported by his Out of Joint Directing Award bursary, and it also received an American production that played in California and New York.

“Sparks fly spectacularly in this drama by the American writer Catherine Trieschmann. A pregnant biology teacher who has offended small-town creationists begins to fear for her own survival and that of her unborn child. The play is gripping, disturbing and relevant. Trieschmann’s writing is taut and laced with irony”
The Times