First drafts are always revealing. One thinks back to the early manuscript of David Copperfield. The original was filled with adjectives and verbs that never appeared in the final product (having been deemed unsatisfactory by Dickens), and told a tale fascinatingly distant from the one we know today. Out of the Margins, an auction of “first and special edition” plays and drafted scripts, provides similar insight into the editing and rewriting process of our most acclaimed artists. The selection is drawn from over 50 playwrights—including annotated works from Richard Curtis and Sir Mark Rylance—and reveals the development behind Wicked, Leopoldstadt, and Antony and Cleopatra, among other plays. The auction benefits London’s Good Chance Theatre, an organization that helps refugee artists. —Jack Sullivan

The Out of the Margins auction will take place online from September 15 until October 6. Select items will be on view at Christie’s London, beginning September 21st.