I found Val Taylor's "Stage Writing: A Practical Guide" lived up to her titular boast. I have read several books on playwriting and Taylor's covers all the major topics. She looks at four elements of drama (movement, action, conflict and juxtaposition) and how these can be used to create exciting theatre. It's certainly a very refreshing slant and gave me food for thought with my own work. She helpfully advises on how to format plays for the UK market and gives practical tips on how to squeeze the juice out of a scene.
Each chapter has practical exercises to illustrate the concepts and techniques she's talking about. These are also brilliant ways to generate new ideas and encourage you to start writing. Her advice is applicable to the first-time writer as well as the more experienced. She uses examples from contemporary British playwrights during the book, rather than the tried and tested American heavy weights or 19th century Europeans. This makes the book seem more relevant in its approach and introduces some radical new ideas for how to approach scenes.
However, I withhold a star because her writing style has a tendency to lapse into the rather arid and academic. I found it hard to concentrate during lengthy paragraphs which could have been delivered more succinctly. That aside, I appreciated what Val Taylor had to say as she clearly understands what makes good drama.