All new people (Bloomsbury Publishing)

All New People is a slick, lively and contemporary comedy written by award-winning screenwriter and well-known actor Zach Braff. The dead of winter, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Charlie, has hit rock bottom. Away from the rest of the world, this perfect escape is interrupted by a motley parade of misfits who show up and change his plans. A hired beauty, a fireman, and an eccentric British real estate agent desperately trying to stay in the country all suddenly find themselves tangled together in a beach house where the mood is anything but sunny. This pithy piece portrays a scenario of attempted suicide with mordant humour, where a basis of social alienation leads to unexpected connections. The richly-drawn characters are quick-witted and narcissistic yet self-aware and the dialogue is fluid and witty. All New People is centred around a clever concept which works as a catalyst for both angst-fuelled scrutiny and morbid humour.