Completely Staged

Starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen (or Michael Sheen and David Tennant), along with a fantastic roll-call of A-list cast members, the British television comedy series Staged has been the international hit to emerge during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Filmed using video-conferencing technology; the series follows the two thespians playing fictionalised versions of themselves as they try to rehearse a play during lockdown. Of course, the rehearsals go completely awry; the frustrations of working remotely and the psychological impact of the ongoing crisis bleeding into their everyday lives. 

Delivered in fourteen quarter-hour segments, Staged records the disintegration of two household names as they struggle to behave professionally in the midst of overlapping boredom and chaos. Their fragile egos take incessant beatings; their liking for one another is stretched to the limit. And yet, in spite of the constant tug and pull between Tennant and Sheen (or Sheen and Tennant), what emerges is a series of joyous snapshots of a friendship evolving despite the pixelated prison they (and we) are forced to live in.

Unbound are delighted to present Completely Staged, the show's official companion, containing the complete text of the screenplays from Staged’s writer and director, Simon Evans, and co-creator, Phin Glynn. With a foreword from writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, this handsome hardback is crammed with more than 100 images (many never seen before) – from photographs, screenshots and illustrations, to pages from the musical score and tips on how-to-draw-a-pineapple-David-Tennant-style – along with Simon Evans’s exclusive director’s notes. The book has been compiled and edited by Staged's co-producer Victor Glynn and Sophie Goldsworthy.

Completely Staged is a must-have for every Staged fan and compulsory reading for anyone who’s ever wanted to learn how to summon a haggis.

Pledge now to reserve a first edition of Completely Staged  – plus exclusive rewards –  supplied to subscribers before the official publication date: currently scheduled as September in the UK and November in the US and other overseas territories.

‘A delicious comedy series…unstoppable comic energy…rambunctious entertainment of an unusually high order…’
New York Times 

‘The sharpness of the script and the skill of the actors makes us feel as if we are eavesdropping on the affectionate bickering of two fed-up friends.’
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Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail 

‘Wickedly clever and bitchily delightful…It is like The Trip with the crucial exception that it’s actually funny.’
Camilla Long,  Sunday Times 

‘Delectable drama…the whole thing is a treat. Watch it.’
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The Stage

‘Comedy heaven”
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Deborah Ross, Mail on Sunday

 ‘The best lockdown show I’ve seen so far.’
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Dominic Maxwell, The Times

 ‘Wry, witty, dramatic and fun’
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TV Times

 ‘The purest 15 minutes of joy I've had in the last three months.’

Viv Groskop, Front Row, BBC Radio 4

 ‘Hugely refreshing…grand fun.’
Observer

‘Staged belongs in a time capsule…it’s hilarious, endearing and all very resonant. In other words. It was altogether divine.’
Los Angeles Times

 ‘Genius lockdown drama…Pure joy.’
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Daily Mirror

 ‘Every episode bristles with comic lines, winning believability.’
The Spectator

 “Funny and funnier’
Daily Telegraph

 ‘As a cultural artefact Staged is going to be fascinating for many years to come.’ Guardian