Little Eagles (NHB Modern Plays)

Fifty years after Yuri Gagarin's first orbit around the Earth, Little Eagles tells the fascinating and little-known story of Sergei Korolyov, chief designer and unsung hero of the Soviet space programme.

Under Korolyov's leadership the 'little eagles' of the USSR beat the Americans in the early stages of the space race, achieving a series of firsts, including the first human in space.

Rona Munro's gripping play illuminates the life and work of a brilliant engineer who struggled to meet the military demands of his ruthless political masters, whilst devoting as much time as possible to his real passion, exploring outer space.

Little Eagles was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2011.

'What Munro gives us is not just a tribute to an unsung hero but a fascinating study of Korolyov's growing conflict with the military and political machine... a gripping story' - Guardian

'It's all terrific dramatic material' - Daily Mail

'Some speeches are verbal wonders' - Arts Desk

'Wry humour, and charged emotional moments... remind us of the writer who penned both Bold Girls and Iron' - Herald, Scotland

Auteur

Rona Munro has written extensively for stage, radio, film and television including the award-winning plays The James Plays trilogy (National Theatre of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain), Iron (Traverse Theatre and Royal Court, London), Bold Girls (7:84 and Hampstead Theatre) and The Maiden Stone (Hampstead Theatre).

Other credits include Scuttlers for Manchester's Royal Exchange, The Last Witch for the Traverse Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival, Long Time Dead for Paines Plough and the Drum Theatre Plymouth, The Indian Boy and Little Eagles for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Pandas for the Traverse in Edinburgh. She is the co-founder, with actress Fiona Knowles, of Scotland's oldest continuously performing, small-scale touring theatre company, The Msfits. Their one-woman shows have toured every year since 1986.

Film and television work includes the Ken Loach film Ladybird Ladybird, Aimee and Jaguar and television dramas Rehab (directed by Antonia Bird) and BAFTA-nominated Bumping the Odds for the BBC. She has also written many other single plays for television and contributed to series including Casualty and Dr Who. Most recently, she wrote the screenplay for Oranges and Sunshine, directed by Jim Loach and starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving.

She has contributed several radio plays to the Stanley Baxter Playhouse series on BBC Radio 4.