'Everything human beings do finishes up bad in the end. Everything good human beings ever make is built on something monstrous. Nothing lasts. We certainly won't...' Based on his experience as a teacher, Stephens describes his play as ' The History Boys on crack'. It explores the underlying tensions and potential violence in a group of affluent, articulate seventeen year old students. Contemporary and unnerving, with elements of The Catcher in the Rye , Punk Rock follows the story of seven sixth-formers as they face up to the pressures of teenage life, while preparing for their mock A-level exams and trying to get into Oxbridge. They are a group of educated, intelligent and aspirational young people but step-by-step, the dislocation, disjunction and latent violence simmering under the surface of prosperity is revealed. “Simon Stephens has created a stark, bracing and eventually brutal portrait of adolescent relationships in his new play Punk Rock” ― Mark Shenton, Daily Express, 13.9.09 “Stephens's play...confronts young people as they really are, and builds inexorably towards its tragic and violent climax.” ― Michael Billington, Guardian, 9.9.09 “Simon Stephens evokes the twilight world of the teenager with scary vividness” ― Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 9.9.09 “Simon Stephens' powerful and compelling new play” ― Michael Coveney, Independent, 10.9.09 “Simon Stephens's cracking new play” ― Benedict Nightingale, The Times, 10.9.09 “This riveting new work confirms Simon Stephens as one of the most important and exciting British playwrights working today' : 'compassion, insight -- and theatrical panache' : 'The writer's perfectly calibrated setup leads auds to some of the biggest, most complex questions of our times” ― Karen Fricker, Variety, 09.09.09 “Simon Stephens... writes funny and cruel banter which strikes a truthfully juvenile tone.” ― Matilda Battersby, Independent, 13.09.10 “The piece is gripping, shocking and ferociously funny as anxieties jitter, hormones fizz and misery festers in the library of a Stockport private school.” ― Sam Marlowe, Time Out London, 16.09.10 “A fierce and eventually shocking story that really taps into the anxieties of teenage youth” ― Mark Shenton, Sunday Express, 19.09.10 “Teenage issues such as eating disorders and bullying are highlighted, but so deftly that there's no hint of a "yoof" play...The dialogue zips along, and students love it.” ― Teaching Drama For more than twenty-five years Simon Stephens' work has been widely translated and produced throughout the world. He has won many Awards including Olivier and Tony Awards for new plays. His 2026 play An Ark staged by Tim Drum Collective at the Shed in New York was one of the first plays ever written for Mixed Reality . His radical adaptation of Uncle Vanya, Vanya, starring Andrew Scott ran in London's West End and at the Lucille Lortel , New York between Autumn 23 and Spring 25 and was screened to phenomenal success on NT Live and NT Home. His adaptation of Jose Saramago's Blindness was made into a light and sound installation that was produced internationally during the Covid 19 pandemic. His most famous play is his adaptation of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He has had thirty five original plays produced professionally. He has written new English language versions of masterpieces by Chekhov, Ibsen and Brecht, collaborated with the world's leading theatre practitioners (Patrice Chereau, Ivo Van Hove, Marianne Elliott, Katie Mitchell) and produced original work throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. He has been Artistic Associate at the Lyric, Hammersmith and Associate Playwright at the Royal Court Theatre. He has taught playwriting workshops in five continents. He has presented four series of the celebrated Playwright's Podcast from the Royal Court Theatre. He is a Professor at the Writing School of Manchester Metropolitan University. His book A Working Diary was published by Methuen Bloomsbury in 2016. He lives in East London with his wife, three children, their snake, two cats and two dogs. Used Book in Good Condition