PATRON: Stephen Billington, actor
ALL PLAYS A-Z
All Plays
A-Z by Title
700 Mile Situation
Ingram Noble
M6 /F2
One act, drama
The story following the whirlwind relationship of Ross Edwards and Dom Murphy. Follow their story from Glasgow to London and the events that will change the course of their lives over two weeks.
A Fishy Tail
Marc Harris
M2/F2 (one aged 9)
Short, drama
The dramatic rescue of a girl on the Cornish coastline is linked by the account of an elderly man, who has waited to tell a similar story most of his life.
Can they convince those who doubt them that the incredible events, connected by many decades apart, really happened?
‘A very uplifting piece with some intriguing twists and turns. I very much enjoyed the fantasy elements that became evident towards the end of the piece’. Underscore Studios
A Good Boy
Danny Dice
M1/F0 (a woman could deliver the narrator's direct female speech)
Monologue, drama, comedy
School bores troublesome teenager Luke. He addresses Max, who’s regarded as ‘a good influence.’ Lockdown has enabled them to spend time together. Luke is a ‘harder to place’ child in foster care, awaiting his annual review.
Why is his foster carer, Rob the knob, behaving strangely?
“Important and original-unexpectedly moving” M6 Theatre judges, Love in the Time of Corona competition.
A Kind of Marriage
Charles Leipart
M5/F3
Full length, drama
E.M. Forster, the British novelist lived a homosexual life concealed from public awareness.
By the summer of 1931, aged 52, Forster has taken as his male lover a young bisexual London policeman, Bob Buckingham. Into Forster’s love affair with Bob, enters a young nurse May Hockey. May and Bob begin a passionate love and sexual relationship. Forster, along with his own hidden homosexuality, must face the bisexual preferences of his new lover.
Adrian's Wall
Nick Wilkes
M6/F1
Full length, comedy drama
Adrian has worked in an office for a long time; the same desk, the same telephone, the same office window. Having just turned forty he’s decided that the time has come to change the view.
He sets out on an hilarious journey to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall, and finds far more than just backpacks, blisters and bricks.
A school reunion, a few military ghosts, and a short eighty-four mile wander, what could possibly go wrong?
Agnodice
Vanessa Lee
M4/F7
One act, historical
The story of Agnodice, an Athenian gynaecologist who lived during the 4th century BC, believed to be one of the first female doctors in Western history.
AIBU?
Danny Dice
M1/F2
Short, comedy drama
‘Why does something as simple as sex have to be so complicated?’ A mother posts on mumsnet.com. Is she being unreasonable rejecting her invisible* husband’s endless sexual advances? Should she leave him?
Two posters with opposing views give contradictory advice.
*Timesaver! Skip this if you’re not comfortable with invisible characters. Or dishwashers.
As the Crow Flies
Ingram Noble
M10/F11
Full length, drama
Follow the lives of Bricklethwaite’s most notorious residents through the weeks of abuse, war, baby daddy drama, inappropriate makeup names, and psychic readings that will change the lives of the residents alive and departed.
Believe
Baz Stilinski
M6/F8 (Please note some characters can change gender as required. Jamie is a young role. Ensemble is also required which can include some of the characters. Some characters expected to sing)
Full length, comedy
Two life-long friends are reunited. One is an angel on a mission to try & save the other. The other is an atheist & doesn’t know his friend has died.
Can a group of angels get someone to believe before it is too late or will the past prove to be the biggest barrier?
Between Two Rivers
Michael Lucchesi
M3/F2
Full length, drama
An AWOL Marine returns home to help his sister deal with an abusive father.
Blast from the Past
Marc Harris
M4/F4 or M3/F4
Full length, drama/light comedy
Take one actor who wants to act; a brother, daughter and neighbour who want him to; another daughter who doesn’t, and an actor - who can’t!
The scene is set for an entertaining, poignant and humorous drama about family relationships, ageing and hope.
Body of Knowledge
Craig B. Holland
M1/F1
Short, dark comedy
A dull day in the morgue is interrupted when an Aussie mortuary worker tries to remove a body without the proper paperwork.
Camp
Kay Andrews-Kuhn
Large Cast
Full length, panto
This original, feel good panto takes place at Sandy Shores Holiday Camp in the early 70s (when hair was long, platform heels were high & flares were wide).
The highlight of the season is the grand talent contest which attracts a young man who wants to be a star & a mysterious stranger who may not be all he seems.
Join the party for a show packed with laughs, songs, romance, mystery & nostalgia which is completely, overwhelmingly, undeniably CAMP.
Care Free
Steve Dimmer
2F/1M
One act, black comedy
Peggy & Pat have been partners for many years. Peggy's decline in health, both physical and mental, means she's had to enter a care home.
Late one morning Pat visits her and experiences Peggy's fluctuation in mental health until her tolerance reaches breaking point.
The play examines the relationship between the two women, exploring themes of love, loyalty and the situations the elderly have to endure as they reach the end of their life.
Casting
Nick Wilkes
M3/F1
Full length, comedy
Julius is an award-winning gritty Director. Raymond is an independently wealthy posh Producer. Their much-anticipated production of Hamlet is about to premiere but their Hamlet and Ophelia have run off together.
They have until 6pm to overcome this problem or the money gets pulled. Such is the state of arts funding, such are the problems of casting!
Christopher Marlowe's Henry
James Lewis Huss
M7/F5 (+2-4 non speaking men)
Full length, comedy (Mock Tragedy)
This is a mock Renaissance tragedy based on the life of Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of King Henry VIII and one-time contender for the crown of England.
Henry was married at 15, died at 17, and NEVER consummated his marriage. A greater tragedy has yet to be written.
This is not just a comedy about sex and erectile dysfunction written in blank verse, it is a story of a love that grows out of friendship.
M4/F7
One act, historical
Inspired by the life and adventures of Clémentine Delait, an early-twentieth-century café owner and entertainer from the Vosges region in France.
Coming Clean
Anne Rainbow
M1/F2
Short, drama
Madge is an interfering mother-in-law, living with her son Lance and his wife Lily in the house she gave them.
Madge guesses daughter-in-law Lily is pregnant and is eager for the arrival of her first grandchild. She tries to persuade Lily to come clean about her condition and tell Lance. When Lance finds out, it’s Madge’s turn to come clean.
Cram
David Lydon
M3(1 boy)/F2
Full length, drama, black comedy
What is the true price of education?
Alec finds it just enough to live on, whilst his student Michael finds it an unwelcome distraction from his own imagination. Sally and Marcus are counting the cost of self-improvement whilst scouring the wreckage of previous dalliances, and Julia is trying to make sense of the logic of paying for education when you can get a perfectly good one for nothing.
Curtain Call
David Lydon
M8/F4 (1 vo)
Full length, comedy
It's the first night for Sir Andrew Samson's new play. The preview was a disaster, with the harshest critic in town giving it a terrible review.
In the audience are Michael & Fiona, a young couple. They are sitting next to another young couple, Lawrence & Charlotte, both of whom Michael hates & there's every chance the harshest critic in town might well be in the crowd.
What ensues is a very interesting first night...
Disconnected
Nick Wilkes
M3/F2
Full length, comedy
Norman is an island. Actually, Norman is a telecoms engineer and has been sent to the small island of St Peters to disconnect the old red telephone box, which is no longer commercially viable. The residents are not happy about it.
With a boat to catch and a job sheet to complete, will time and tide wait for Norman? Or like the island will he end up disconnected?
Edward, Mrs Simpson and Freda
Geoff Buckingham
M7/F4
Full length, drama
This epic play examines the two main romances of King Edward VIII.
We see Edward's days in WWI, his meeting with Freda Dudley-Ward & his arguments with parents Queen Mary & George V.
Following Freda's rejection, & with war looming over Europe, he seeks solace with American socialite, Wallis Simpson. PM Stanley Baldwin urges him to give her up but Edward remains undeterred, finally deciding to abdicate rather than risk a crisis.
Elysian Fields
Nick Wilkes
M6/F2
Full length, drama
Stephen Fields is having a bad day. In fact, he’s having the worst day possible.
Although waking in an unfamiliar place, he feels fitter, healthier and more relaxed than he has in years. Things could seem pretty good?
He just doesn’t know how he got here, who brought him, or why. Worse, he may never leave…
Fags, Shags, Festivals and Kebabs
Ingram Noble
M4/F3
One act, drama
Two sisters. One thinks they’re going to Rome. The other has planned the ultimate weekend at a Music Festival.
What could go wrong? Or what could go right?
Fit for Purpose
Catherine O'Shea
M0-3/F6-8
Full length, drama
In 2010 50 female asylum seekers’ held in Yarl’s Wood detention centre went on strike to protest the conditions they had to endure. It ended with violence & the women moved to Holloway.
Aruna & Kaela (13) a Somali mother & daughter are detained in Yarl’s Wood at the start of the strike. The stress of the journey & subsequent treatment by the UK Border Agency makes Aruna retreat into herself while Kaela tries to understand what's happened
Flood
Vanessa Lee
2 actors - either gender
One act, comedy, dark comedy, fable/folktale, radio drama, science fiction
The world has become submerged under water.
Icarus, with the help of his loyal sidekick Meander, is searching for their only remaining link to the humans of old: a box containing a priceless treasure.
Funny Faces 1: Heavenly Margaret
Steve Dimmer
1F
One act monologue, comedy drama
Sitting in limbo before entering the pearly gates, Margaret Rutherford, one of the most beloved actresses of all time, reflects on her life, her relationships with some of the giants of theatre & her career.
Funny & poignant, secrets about Dame Margaret's life will surprise her admirers.
This kinetic play is a true challenge
for any company. Combined with any other play in the FUNNY FACES
series, it makes for a great evening of theatre.
Funny Faces 2: Wot Sid Did
Steve Dimmer
M1
One act monologue, comedy drama
Holed up in his dressing room just before what will be his final performance, lovable rogue Sid James reflects on his life, his career, his affairs and his many addictions, all the while avoiding the painful memories of the lost love of his life, Barbara Windsor.
You will laugh, think & sympathise for this great flawed talent who is remembered for simply making us all laugh.
This kinetic play is a true challenge for any company.
Funny Faces 3: SIMply JOAN
Steve Dimmer
F1
One act monologue, comedy drama
Joan Sims was considered a happy actress, yet her life was one of highs & lows as she sought love & a face to meet her growing fame.
The show explores her career, her friendships with Kenneth Williams & other Carry On legends, her relationship with her parents & failed romnce.
This kinetic play is a true challenge
for any company. Combined with any other play in the FUNNY FACES
series, it makes for a great evening of theatre.
Funny Faces 4: Goodnight Irene
Steve Dimmer
F1
One act monologue, comedy drama
Looking back on her life, Irene Handl's acting career did not begin until her 40s & her successful life as a novelist began when she was 64.
Irene worked with all of the great actors of the day, including Sellers & Coward. Irene's constant optimism ripples through this play about the much admired yet private actress.
Combined with any other play in the FUNNY FACES series, it makes for a great evening of theatre.
Funny Faces 5: Conking Out
Steve Dimmer
M1
One act monologue, comedy drama
Actor, John Le Mesurier, reminisces about his life, his work, his love (and loss) of Hattie Jacques & his decency when his third wife began an affair with best friend Tony Hancock.
Tinged with humour, wit & warmth, this gentle man has a life story that is as fascinating as it is unique.
This kinetic play is a true challenge
for any company. Combined with any other play in the FUNNY FACES
series, it makes for a great evening of theatre.
Funny Faces 6: Going Through the Mill Again
Steve Dimmer
M1
One act monologue, comedy drama
Set on a psychiatric ward, this is a play about the genius of comedy, Spike Milligan, as he reflects on his achievements & the price he paid for them.
Packed with humour & melancholy, Spike's journey to s is full of jokes, depression & language that reflects his army background.
This kinetic play is a true challenge for any company. Combined with any other play is the FUNNY FACES series, it makes for a great evening of theatre.
Good for the Soul
Roger Lee
M2/F1
Short (approx. 10 minutes), comedy
Steph is a feisty young woman not to be taken on lightly. However, even she knows she’ll be in trouble for killing her boyfriend, Bim.
Befuddled but defiant she decides to make her confession, something she hasn’t done for a while…
‘Genuinely funny’ Suzanna Cardash, Scriptwriters & Co
The Undisposables Scratch Night, Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, Walthamstow
Pint Sized Plays Long List
Grammatically Speaking
Marc Harris
M2 - or any combination of either sex
Short, drama/ghost
Simon decides to carry out his first burglary, unknowingly breaking into his former school teacher's cottage.
Clive tries to convince Simon that everyone deserves a second chance but is everything as it seems?
The script relies on numerous sound effects to enhance the production and build the suspense.
Running time: Approximately 11 minutes.
In 2020, this reached the long list of Pintsized Plays
He, Haditcummin
Jo Smith
M6/F3
Full length, comedy/parody
Lord & Lady Ownalott are hosting their annual soiree, one dark and stormy night, inviting neighbours, Mr & Mrs Fortune, and the local clergyman, Reverend Churcher, for dinner. However, the guests get more than they bargained for when one of them ends up dead...
A hilarious, light-hearted, fast-paced stage play which gently pokes fun at the classic "whodunnit" format.
Hey L'il Man
Baz Stilinski
M5/F10
(Please note that there are small ensemble parts needed which can be doubled up 2 male and 2 male are young characters. Some characters expected to sing)
Full length, drama comedy
A journey of family life told through the eyes of a stranger who becomes involved when tragedy strikes. Join two families who experience life’s twist and turns, laughter and tears, happiness and sadness.
Even in life’s greatest tragedy, can a miracle still be found?
Hofstadter's Law
Danny Dice
M2/F0 (could be M3/F1)
Short, comedy drama
26.2 miles in under 26.2 minutes! Danny is convinced that running his first marathon with best friend B will enable him to write his first novel.
Why do two unexpected fellow competitors so unsettle Danny? Can Danny learn something from ex-world record holder Dr Ron Hill MBE? Why is B furtive about his wife’s texts? Will Danny and B’s friendship survive?
Hood
Kay Andrews-Kuhn
Large Cast
Full length, panto
Robin & his friend Flora Mopp are transported from a future where magic is forgotten to a bright new world in pursuit of a book of fairy tales. However, all is not sunny in the magic kingdom.
In the forest, a girl in a red hooded cloak & sparkly red shoes is being followed by a big, bad wolf.
In this funny, fast paced adventure, we meet characters from panto, fairy tales & 80s sci-fi, discovering the magic of music, laughter, friendship & love.
Hooley
Peter Cowlam
M8/F8/4 extras
Full length, comedy
Hooley runs a psychotherapy practice (unsuccessfully, as she remains only one step ahead of creditors). Her personal life fares little better, having bought a vicarage occupied by squatters who are impossible to evict.
Meanwhile Pollock, a client of Hooley’s, believes Hopkins, a religious fanatic, is about to commit murder, while Hopkins thinks the universe is caught between good & evil resulting in a life & death battle.
iBard
Nick Wilkes
M4
Full length, comedy
Andrew was an English teacher. He now cleans toilets. He has a wife, a child, half a cat, and isn’t quite making ends meet.
He’s decided that if Shakespeare was indeed ‘for all time’, then he must belong in the twenty-first century too. So Andrew is off to London to seek his fortune by bringing Will Shakespeare into the digital age. Is he Fortune’s fool, or is there method in his madness? That is the question.
Imagine
Baz Stilinski
M3/F2
(A voiceover of a news reporter is also required)
One act, comedy
(Please note that this play has also been adapted to be a pilot episode for television and has an alternative ending)
A family are trying to come to terms with isolation during the lockdown but with two teenage boys in the house, this is going to be a struggle for anyone.
Jitters
Nick Wilkes
M5/F2
Full length, comedy
Saying ‘I do’ is easy, but finding that special someone to say ‘Will you?’ is an entirely different proposal. It’s a big step, especially when it’s the second time around and the first ended in disaster.
A groom with a past, a best man losing his best mate, and a father of the bride with just a little too much pride. It’s fair to say they all have jitters.
Leverage
David Lydon
M3/F2
Full length, drama, modern tragedy, legal, morality
Archie is caught at a crossroads - does he defend the man most hated by the nation or let his career, and life, stagnate?
‘Leverage’ represents modern life and all that entails. The play discusses the difficulty of modern masculinity - does working alongside the embodiment of toxic masculinity make you guilty by
association?
Litter Hero
Nick Wilkes
M2
Full length, comedy
Mike has just been left at the altar. Forty, fat and jilted, you could say his life is rubbish.
With his girlfriend gone and a hole where the wedding once was he needs more than a happy meal to make him happy. So when he sees a drinks can littering a country lane, and gives it a good hard kick, how could he possibly imagine where it would end up?
LOL
Craig B. Holland
3 actors (any gender) and 2 actors to carry off a body
Short, dark comedy/absurd comedy
Two young people with smartphones encounter a crisis and struggle to do the right thing.
Looking For Mr Right
John Collings
M3/F1
Full length, drama - MATURE CONTENT
A mature prostitute works out of a flat owned by her pimp. Turns out the pimp is her son.
The pimp wants his mother out. Eventually the prostitute meets Mr Right & starts a new life.
The new man in her life, Barabbas, is abusive & the prostitute has a breakdown when he is arrested for murder & released. During her breakdown she is visited by Jesus, asking why Barabbas got away with murder when he was nailed to the cross.
Love is a Crocodile
Craig B. Holland
M6/F7 (or M3/F4 w/doubling)
Full length, comedy, romance
Down-and-out and living in a homeless camp, Cyrus and Phoebe wager over whether or not true love exists in the world.
They position themselves near a garden cafe and overhear the conversations of several couples in various stages of their relationships.
They search for clues behind the nerd date, the blind date, the first date, the gamophobe, and all those distractions that get in the way of love.
M
David Lydon
M3/F3
Full length, tragedy, adaptation,
‘M’ is a high-achieving Upper 6th student with a place at a good University lined up. She has lost Jason, the love of her life, to another girl in her year on the cusp of their school leaving party.
M only arrived at the school in the Sixth Form (and isn’t a native Londoner) whereas Jason and his new beau Sara-Jane have been at the school since they were eleven. M wants her revenge.
This play is inspired by Euripides’ Medea.
Men of the Empire
Bill Savage
M9/F2
Short, historical drama
After a prologue in present-day London, the scene takes place the night before the Battle of the Somme.
Two railway workers-turned-soldiers, one from Newfoundland and the other from Britain talk about their commitment to the cause.
Next we are taken to a hospital, where a nurse laments the carnage and what it's done to her generation.
An epilogue in modern-day Newfoundland provides an interaction between the generations.
Mom, I Smoke!
Bill Savage
M4/F4
Short, drama
In a series of vignettes, we see not only the choices and the effects of those choices made by a man (who appears only in prologue and epilogue), but also the genesis of society's view on cigarette smoking between the 1960s and 2010s. In most of the vignettes, this character is referred to either in the third person, or cast members break the fourth wall to address "him" directly.
Mr Wong's Wonderful Winged Delivery Service
Vanessa Lee
M2/F3
One act, comedy, radio drama
When the post office branch of his shop closes down, Simon Wong decides to open a bird-post service.
But things don't all go according to plan...
Nay, Remember Me!
Amelia Marriette
M15/F7 (Min without doubling 22, 13 with)
Full length, comedy drama
A fast paced comedy about the printing of the first complete works of Shakespeare – The First Folio of 1623.
In the play, Shakespeare appears as a ghost; actors become editors & a wayward apprentice turns order into chaos.
The play also propels the story forward to Washington DC in the 19th Century to unravel the story of the greatest collector of First Folios – Henry Clay Folger of the Folger Library.
Offshore
Peter Cowlam
M4/F3/3 extras
Full length, tragedy/drama
England is bound with the imaginary, war-torn African country of Kbandra.
Two people who can help Kbandra are Hillier & Keller, put together by TV show hosts, Alan & Moira. Hillier is a consultant in the oil business. Keller is an English aristocrat with ancestry going back to Elizabeth I.
Neither Westerner want to use their skills/resources to alleviate suffering, leaving naïve Hillier to justify his position.
On Our Way to the Fair
Bill Savage
M4/F5
Full length, drama
Two acts of this play take place in 1939, and one in 1964. All revolve, indirectly, around the New York World's Fairs of those years. It is a story of intra-family relationships, dreams shattered by the force of history, and of the aspirations of second-generation immigrants in America. The main theme involves the continuity of generations and of youth across decades.
Only Love Can Do That
Alison Roe
M1/F3
30 mins, drama
When a young refugee requires urgent medical care, some surgery at the Royal Berkshire Hospital must be postponed.
90-year-old Anna, a child refugee from Germany, is one of those affected. The other is Joyce, a cleaner with a view about foreigners that this situation can only reinforce. Throw in an African nurse & Anna’s grieving son Paul & the stage is set for a thought-provoking & compassionate exploration of modern-day attitudes towards migration.
Playing Solitaire
Michael Lucchesi
M1/F1
One act, drama
A daughter has to tell her father (a WWII vet) that he is no longer capable of living on his own.
Plot
Kay Andrews-Kuhn
M3/F2
30 mins, adult comedy
Backstage of a town hall, November. The local arts festival has commissioned a new musical, PLOT, expecting to see a drama about the events of 1605. Instead, it re-tells the gunpowder plot as a revenge tragedy led by Gay Fawkes.
The script is as terrible as it sounds & the songs are even worse. The actors fear for their reputations & ten minutes before curtain up, decide to set off the smoke detectors, forcing an evacuation.
What could go wrong?
Protect Yourself At All Times
Mark Whicker
M16/F6
Full length, drama
Curtis “The Hammer” Jerome is an aging boxer who is finally nearing a championship. He defeats Kiki Ortega, who dies in the aftermath of the fight. Confused by his emotions, he is angered when his promoter Eddie casts him as a killer to prop up his fame. He also struggles with his feelings for Christina, Kiki’s widow.
In the end he tries to reverse his plummeting career, and to learn to function with guilt and the self-absorption within.
Psychos Inc.
Vanessa Lee
M2-3/F4-5
One act, drama, mystery, thriller, science fiction
Psychos Inc. is a short thriller set in a world where memories are recorded, shared and sold publicly.
Carla is more than happy with her job at Psychos Inc., a powerful memory-recording company, but her husband Geoff, who is unemployed, has his doubts about the system.
One day, he is given the chance to make a change…
Running Wild Across Barren Ground
Anne Rainbow
M1/F1
Short/duologue, drama
A man and a woman, ex-lovers, meet in a bar, years after they split up and compare their experiences with lovers much older than themselves.
Say He Was a Soldier
Bill Savage
M5
Short, historical drama
Shortly after the Civil War, a young veteran of the war finds no place for him in post-war society, specifically because of his sexuality. He wanders into a town where he encounters a former officer.
The two have never spoken before, but they are united by their admiration for a former superior who died in the war. They discuss the past and the future, and in the end, each achieves a measure of peace.
Shakespeare's Robin V
James Lewis Huss
M18 speaking (7 non-speaking, can be paired with other roles)/F2
Full length, comedy
Shakespeare’s Robin V is a mock Shakespearean tragedy based on the legends of Robin Hood & the history of Richard the Lionheart.
A comedy in five acts, we follow Robin of Loxley as he struggles to convince his merry band of men to use their stolen wealth to save his true love, King Richard, from captivity in Germany before the dummy-prince John usurps the throne of England.
Shards
Catherine O'Shea
M2/F2
Full length, drama
It’s 2012 & the Shard is half completed. Matt, a wing dancer & Laura, a particle physicist hunting for the Higgs Boson particle, are negotiating online dating desperately looking for a connection.
On their first date there is catastrophe. We flit back & forth in time, with the Shard at different heights, witnessing the lives of swing dancers & particle physicists at different points.
Shards features live lindy hop dancing on stage throughout.
Stage Door Blues
Marc Harris
M2/F1
Short, comedy
Liz is determined to wait until she has her theatre programme signed. Robert is impatient, and persists in undermining her and Russ, an actor, because of her infatuation with him.
Can they overcome their differences and bickering, and is Liz able to hold on to her secret?
A fun script with a plot twist half way through.
Running time: Approximately 17 minutes.
In 2019, this reached the short list of Pintsized Plays.
Tailoring Hitler
Charles Leipart
M3/F2
One act, historical drama
Demagogues aren't born. They’re made-to-measure.
A cold rainy April evening in Munich, Germany, 1919. A wounded WWI corporal and self taught public speaker arrives in Munich with political ambitions. But Adolf is in definite need of sartorial advice. Members of Munich’s wealthiest Social Elite are charmed. They decide to lend a hand in giving this young man some much needed style and polish.
The Fall
Michael Lucchesi
M1/F1
One act, drama
A married couple living in Poland reveal secrets kept 20 years.
The Get Out
Nick Wilkes
M8/F5
Full length, comedy
The curtain has fallen, the performance has concluded and the audience are on their way home. For some however, the evening has only just begun...
Props to pack away, furniture to move, scenery to take down, lights to lower, ropes to haul, a lorry to pack, a romance to conclude, and no accidents please...!
A technical comedy about keeping the show on the road.
The Ghost of Blackstoke Manor
Jo Smith
M3/F2
Full length, dark comedy/ghost
Blackstoke Manor has been empty for years which has been great fodder for urban legend. They say the ghost of Ebenezer Blackstoke roams the halls, desperate to protect his manor from unwanted guests.
The gruesome stories don't seem to affect Will who drags his wife and brother-in-law to investigate the house.
If the derelict house wasn't creepy enough, an old friend of Ebenezer Blackstoke turns up to confirm the tales of terror.
The Girl Who Collects Clouds
John Collings
M1/F2
Full length, drama
A young girl's father dies suddenly. She stares out of the window imagining her father’s soul, living in the clouds.
Her mother, also to escape the pain of her bereavement, throws herself at the first man that comes along. The mother moves in with the new boyfriend, leaving the daughter, only to find out that the new boyfriend is abusive.
So the mother returns to the daughter, finishing the play with a happy ending.
The Heist
Jo Smith
M6/F3
Full length, comedy
Bored of life and tired of being down on his luck, Eddie Smith gathers his not-so-merry men for one last heist.
If tempers aren’t frayed enough as the has-beens dust off their stocking masks and plan the raid of a lifetime, a surprise appearance from a skeleton in the cupboard threatens to throw a spanner in the works.
The Other Woman
Steve Dimmer
1M/1F
Full length, drama
Wally Stott is a band leader & Shirley Bassey’s MD. Stott's wife, Christine starts to notice some odd things; her stockings disappear, lipstick marks that isn't hers etc. She believes that Wally's having an affair & leaves him. Wally confesses that he identifies as a woman & has kept this secret all his life. Christine is shocked.
The play ends in an optimistic way as they realise the love they have is deeper than the labels of ‘man’ & ‘woman.’
The Revenger's Tragedy
Amelia Marriette
M24/F3
Full length, drama
Vindice appears holding the skull of his dead fiancée, killed by the Duke as punishment for refusing his advances. Vindice meets with his brother, Hippolito who agrees to help in his quest for revenge. Hippolito informs him that the Duke’s son, has requested a “pander” to help win the affections of a chaste virgin.Seizing his chance, Vindice disguises himself as the pander & takes on the mission—but to his horror the virgin is his sister.
The World's Greatest Dance Teacher
Ingram Noble
M1/F11
One act, drama
The World’s Greatest Dance Teacher is the only “Dance Moms” play endorsed by Abby Lee Miller.
This original story by Ingram Noble follows the world-famous Dance Studio as they prepare for the first competition of the season.
This is Where We Get Off
Ingram Noble and Heather Spiden
M2/F4
Full Length, comedy drama
“Welcome to Bricklethwaite. Located in the heart of the North of England, this bustling town is the perfect place to explore with over six hundred years of history, beautiful scenery and famous attractions."
This Is Where We Get Off follows the lives of an ordinary family dealing with the return of a sick relative. How long will it be until cracks start to show in this family unit?
Three Feet
Nick Wilkes
M3/F1
Full length, comedy
Albert works the night shift, a porter at an Isle of Man hotel. Comfortable by himself and content in his work he deals with the guest’s night-time requests.
So when two new staff are assigned to his shift he finds that more than his space is invaded. He might cope with the wisecracks of a Liverpudlian lad, but what will he do with a woman!
Is more than two company, is less than three a crowd, and will Albert ever stand on his own three feet?
Three Losses
John Collings
M3/F0
Short, drama
Three Losses is a short play about 3 losses in a man’s life.
M8/F4
Full length, drama (costume)
The true story of Spencer Perceval, Britain's only PM to be assassinated.
We follow his eventful premiership as he deals with the madness of King George, the feckless Prince Regent, the belligerent Napoleon Bonaparte & a host of enemies at home, culminating in his murder.
We examine his support for William Wilberforce & the motives of the murderer John Bellingham & the possible culprits who urged him to do the dastardly deed.
Through a Glass Darkly
Nick Wilkes
M2
Full length, drama
The Prime Minister has been assassinated.
At a state banquet a high-ranking church official, well-known to the nation and with no previous animosity towards the government, picked up his knife, extended his arm past the Prime Minister’s throat, and drew the blade back towards him…
To Build a Wooden O
Nick Wilkes
M9/F3
Full length, comedy drama
It’s 1598 & Will Shakespeare needs a new theatre.
He & his company are stuck at the ageing Curtain Theatre in the wrong part of town, whilst south of the river business is booming & theatres are packing in pounds & pennies a plenty.
Against this backdrop an audacious plan is hatched with the highest of stakes, life or death, all whilst Will is writing a new little history piece called Henry V.
Transient
Catherine O'Shea
M2/F2
Full length, drama
Germany, 1945. The war is over. Four young people meet in an underground office, sharing the obsessive pastime of reading the lists that will tell them who died & who may be alive.
As they search for answers the world changes beyond recognition as the enemy forces carve up the war-ravaged country they once knew.
Borders appear where there where none before & they find themselves trapped between imaginary countries as Germany is swallowed up.
Violette - The Fight for Freedom
Geoff Buckingham
M8/F5
Full length, drama (one act version available)
Violette Szabo was a great heroine in WW2 working for the Special Operations Executive in occupied France.
We visit her early days in London, her marriage to French soldier Etienne, her quest for revenge against the Nazis & her ultimate sacrifice when she is shot by a firing squad.
Thoroughly researched & including anecdotes from Violette's daughter, this epic play can prove a blockbuster for a drama group.
Wasters
Nick Wilkes
M3/F1
Full length, comedy drama
Peter lives in an alley at the back of the supermarket. Has done for years. He knows that at six o’clock every day the food arrives. Food that is past it’s sell-by date, which the supermarket throws out.
Mostly warm and mostly dry, his existence is one of cardboard, coffee and chatting to his friend, the bin. He is king of his road…
… and then David arrives.
Welcome Home
Roger Lee
M2/F1
Short (approx. 20 minutes), drama
Jimmy has just been released after serving twenty years in jail for murder. Greg was a toddler when his father went away and although Jimmy wrote to say he was coming home Greg didn’t respond.
Jimmy does not get a warm welcome when he arrives and slowly discovers how much has changed over the years and how it will affect his future.
'Very touching' Spotlight Theatre, Bridlington - Rehearsed Reading
When I Have Fears
Anne Rainbow
M1/F3
Short, drama
While the other inmates enjoy watered-down wine, a once remembered and much-loved poem provides Peter with the perfect route out of a Hotel for the Elderly.
And life goes on.
Whenever the Day Comes
Bill Savage
M2/F2
Short, drama
The latest tragedy in a family stricken by tragedies hits a young man especially hard in 1938, but a few years later, now a World War II veteran, he meets a mother and her daughter, with whom he shares both dread and hope.
Who's Afraid of the Booker Prize?
Peter Cowlam
M4/F3/3 extras
Full length, comedy/satire
Marshall Zob, a well-known novelist’s main frustration is that, although frequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, he's never actually won it.
His latest novel is longlisted but he & his agent, Cornelius Snell, fear that Zob won’t win without clever publicity scheme. The best that Snell comes up with is a reading at the South Bank complex.
However, Snell has hatched a plan to maximise coverage of Zob's reading: a public riot.
Wolf Like Me
David Lydon
M2/F3
Full length, drama, black comedy, modern tragedy, music
Punk legend, Robin O is on the cusp of being relevant again – she's finally clean enough to tour, her fans are returning after years of neglect, & there is the promise of new material on the horizon. Yet she seems determined to see this long-overdue revival go down in flames.
Faced with the prospect of a reunion with her former band mate, her love of music is enough to conquer any personal demons. Surely?
You Bet
Pete Harrison
M6/F1
One act, comedy
Based on a true story, the customers and staff of a 1970's betting shop devise and carry out a betting 'coup' that nets one of them a small fortune.
You in Your Small Corner
Steve Dimmer
M2/F2
Full length/black comedy
After the end of her marriage Christine moves in with her manipulative, scheming mother, Mon & her lodger, Gregor.
On Christmas night a remark by Mon threatens Christine's new romance with Paul. Unable to control her temper, Christine hits Mon.
Although there's no more violence, Christine begins mistreating Mon, eventually drugging her. Gregor sees this & tries to put an end to it but Mon refuses to believe him, siding with her daughter.