PATRON: Stephen Billington, actor
A-Z by Title
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
M1/F2
Short, comedy drama
‘Why does something as simple as sex have to be so complicated?’ A mother posts on Mumsnet asking if she is being unreasonable for constantly snapping at her husband whenever he pesters her for sex. She sometimes gives in to his demands and asks if she should leave her husband.
In the light of #MeToo, is it ever acceptable to expect sex in a long term relationship?
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?
M10/F5
Full length (approx. 2 hrs), comedy (Mock Renaissance Tragedy)
Ben Jonson’s Dogsbody is a mock Shakespearean tragedy in blank verse based on the real life history of Sir Henry Norris.
A comedy in five acts, it tells the story of King Henry VIII’s best friend & political ally, executed after being accused of sleeping with Anne Boleyn. Henry lived a tragic life with shit upon his hands before he died with it upon his name.
A shittier tragedy has yet to be written.
M3/F2
Full length, drama
An AWOL Marine returns home to help his sister deal with an abusive father.
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.
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.
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!
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.
M4/F3
Short, comedy, Murder Mystery Event
The Cloak & Dagger pub is hosting a quiz night with their regulars. Arthur Lager, the landlord, has chosen the occasion to announce he's moving to Italy to open a new restaurant and bar with his latest conquest - Delilah from the Brewery. Problem is, he hasn’t told his current partner, Sue, who's on holiday with Arthur’s daughter, Amber.
But when they return unexpectedly all hell lets loose!
M2/F2
Full length, dark comedy
Matt and Louise having come into money decide to buy a house in a very upmarket area. However, they soon attract the attention of the neighbours, Michael and Vicky.
One power struggle leads to another as each couple tries to outdo the other. Matt and Helen feel the need to protect themselves with alarms and flood lights and CCTV – but have they taken things too far? Both couples seem on a collision course. The question is who turns first.
M5/F3 (M4/F3 with doubling)
Short, comedy, Murder Mystery Event
Come Die With Me takes place in the arrival/dep. lounge of a budget airline co. at a local airport. When the Captain is found squashed to death under the front wheel of his plane, arguments ensue - was this was an accident or murder? Inspector Grey, on secondment from the French police, is called in to solve the mystery.
Expect affairs, drug smuggling shenanigans & audience participation in this fun script.
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.
M2/F2
Short, drama
A Priest is torn when his brother confesses to a serious crime in the confessional. Should he keep his brother’s secret or break the seal of confession? What unfolds challenges his and our beliefs that we can accept the truth, even when it is unpalatable.
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.
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...
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?
M1/F1
Short, Comedy
Love in these modern times – when Liz’s husband buys her a robot to keep her company they both might get more than they bargained for.
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.
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…
F2
Short, drama
Being geographically lost leads to sisters finding each other at long last.
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
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.
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 13 minutes.
In 2020, this reached the long list of Pintsized Plays
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
M2/F1
Short/one act, comedy
Fresh out of Music College a brother and sister with their friend formed a Music Trio and began to make their mark. Then the friend won a music competition and left the other two in the lurch.
Now some thirty-five years later the brother and sister are scratching out a living – he marking exam papers, she giving piano lessons, until the friend returns to ask a favour. Then all the old enmities come bubbling to the surface.
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?
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?
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.
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.
F4
Short, drama
Four female miners give voice to their endless experience of digging the mines. Talking choir format.
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.
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...
M3/F4 or M4/F3 or M3/F6
Short, comedy Murder Mystery Event
The Happy Wanderer and its hapless crew are about to set sail for a one-night taster cruise to promote its recent refurbishment. But the Captain makes a few enemies when he reveals some of the crew’s secrets. Soon tragedy strikes as he's seen in the water, Accusations fly as to who could have thrown him overboard .
Was he thrown or was it an accident? And was it really the Captain that went overboard?
M7/F4 or M6/F5
Short , comedy, Murder Mystery Event
The Rusty Spur saloon is short of customers and Diamond Lil is looking for big spenders.Dirty Dick arrives wanting to buy up the bar, with Wyatt Twerp in hot pursuit.
Lil’s daughter is getting married, but Peaches upsets everyone with startling revelations.
Lil is found murdered, and her twin sister Sapphire arrives to try and sort out this tragedy.Can the Milky Bar Kid help or is he here just to give out the chocolates?
M5/F2
Short, comedy, Murder Mystery Event
A book signing has been arranged for Ray Bentos, a well-known author. Unfortunately, he won't be there in body because he's just been murdered. But his soul is alive and well and although he can't be seen or heard by the suspects, he is able to present himself to the library guests (ie the audience).
The family argue amongst themselves over who could be responsible for Ray's death. And hidden secrets start to be revealed...
M6/F3 or M4/F5
Short, comedy, Murder Mystery Event
Gordon Bennett runs a run-down hotel, but he has plans to get it into shape.It seems he has cousins helping out but is it really Gordon in disguise in order to give the impression he has more staff? The plot thickens when some guests are invited to an all-expenses paid meal and overnight stay by a mystery benefactor.
Revelations are made, tragedy strikes and mayhem ensues as Gordon tries to uncover who is behind it all.
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.
M1
Monologue, comedy
1 minute monologue. Script available on request.
A senior whose adult daughter regularly reproaches him for reading The Daily Mail is buying his copy. Surprised to see an eligible man also buying a copy, the senior wishes his daughter could witness this. But his ‘conversation’ with the younger man does not go quite as planned.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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…
10 characters - M4/the rest can be either M or F
Short, comedy
A news broadcast with a fairy tale twist (part of the news desk series).
Here at ‘L8 Nite News,’ Phil, the anchor man and Stan, the roving reporter bring you all the latest info on your favourite fictional characters.
Tonight, join us for the first annual fun run between the hares and the tortoises. Who will win? Tune in and find out…
Read an extract of the play here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
M2/F2/NB1
Full length, drama
This is an absurd feminist play focusing on the liberation of the suppressed female voice & spirit.
Luce is asleep & dreams her way through the play - the stage represents her subconscious. The further the play, the further down Luce's suppressed psyche - a blocked yet unruly inner world full of her painful memories & feelings.
In meeting with her painful feelings & repressed memories, Luce goes through an intense & transformational process.
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.
M1/ - other 3 characters can be M or F
Short, comedy
Jim is dead but he’s also got a phobia about heaven. He can’t even bring himself to say the word. So, where does he go now?
M2/F1
Short, comedy
Have you ever thought about what it’s really like to be a magic mirror? The things they see and hear would be enough to drive anyone to drink!
Well, one mirror has had enough of all the lies and that can only mean one thing…
Read an extract of the play here.
M2/F1 plus 2 other characters that could be M or F
Short, comedy
It’s the age-old struggle between good and evil. With a human soul at stake, this clash between the forces of heaven and hell will be played out…at the local bus stop.
Read an extract of the play here.
M1/F1
One act, drama
A married couple living in Poland reveal secrets kept 20 years.
F5
Short, drama
The Five depicts the ten years preceding the commencement of what would be Hilma af Klint's life work of paintings; later to be classified as ground breaking, and western art history's first ever abstract paintings.
The Five was a group of women holding regular seances in which they communed with spirits. The decade long work of The Five was instrumental in preparing Hilma for her forthcoming mission. The Five centers on these consequential seances.
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.
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.
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.
M3/F1
Short, comedy
A news broadcast with a fairy tale twist (part of the news desk series).
Here at ‘L8 Nite News’ Phil, the anchor man and Stan, the roving reporter bring you all the latest info on your favourite fictional characters. Tonight, join us for the great boat race between the Owl and the Pussycat.
Read an extract of the play here.
M4
Short, comedy
A news broadcast with a fairy tale twist (part of the news desk series). Here at ‘L8 Nite News’ Phil, the anchor man and Stan, the roving reporter bring you all the latest info on your favourite fictional characters. Tonight, join us for an exclusive interview with Trevor (a very large troll) and Rumplestiltskin (a very small man) to find out just what effect fake news has had on their lives.
Read an extract of the play here.
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.
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?
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
M1/F2 plus one male v/o
Short/one act, black comedy
George & Martha are living on a university campus somewhere in the Mid-West. They seem to have the ideal lifestyle that is until Alice comes to call. Then they all have a take on what happened that afternoon. But who is telling the truth?
Winner of Sterts Cornish One Act Play competition 2012 as well as Segora Competition in 2015: “Excellent piece of craziness... a zany tour de force.”Gordon Simms adjudicator Segora.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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PATRON: Stephen Billington
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