New Plays, Books & Musicals
Our regular up-to-date selection of recently published books as well as new or re-released plays and musicals, many of which are now available for amateur performance.
To find out more about the availability of any specific performing licenses please make contact with or visit the relevant publisher’s website.
Samuel French (A Concord Theatricals Company)
E: licensing@concordtheatricals.co.uk
E: customerservices@concordtheatricals.co.uk
W: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
F: ConcordShows | T: @ConcordUKShows
THE ALTERNATIVE by Michael Patrick, Oisín Kearney
Full-length Drama, Modern day, 978 0 573 11681 0, £9.99
This title is not currently available for performance. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.
What if Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom? What if Home Rule had passed? What if there was no War of Independence? No Civil War? No partition? What if the island had only one soccer team?
The year is 2019 and it is the eve of the Referendum. British Prime Minister Ursula Lysaght is returning to her hometown of Dublin to convince voters to Remain. With the threat of chaos in the streets, and personal conflict behind the scenes, the final debate is set to begin at BBC Dublin: Should Ireland leave the UK?
THE BUTTERFLY LION by Michael Morpurgo, Anna Ledwich
Full-length Play, 978 0 573 11682 7, £9.99
This title is not currently available for performance. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.
When Bertie is sent away from the African farm of his childhood to school in England, he leaves behind not only his beloved mother and the beautiful land, swarming with wildlife, but also his best friend – a white lion he rescued as a cub.
Bertie’s struggle to adjust to his new life in harsh, grey England is alleviated only by a chance friendship with the equally lonely Millie and his dreams of his treasured lion, now trapped in a French circus. But their remarkable journey is only just beginning, and the pair are destined to meet again.
The Butterfly Lion combines music, design and puppetry to bring a magical adventure to life: celebrating nature, friendship and the triumph of love. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s best-selling novel, which won the Smarties Prize and the Writers’ Guild Award, this stage adaptation was commissioned by Chichester Festival Theatre and written by Chichester Festival Theatre’s Writer-in-Residence Anna Ledwich.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens, Alan Harris
Full-length Play, Victorian, 978 0 573 11696 4, £9.99
This title is not currently available for performance. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.
It’s Christmas Eve and Ebenezer Scrooge is miserable – will he ever get into the Christmas spirit?
Set in North Wales, this version of Dickens’ festive classic tale explores a living, breathing Victorian community.
This adaptation by Alan Harris is a funny immersive family show filled with music and mystery that whisks away the audience to a dream world where anything can happen and ghosts are just around the corner.
LITTLE MISS BURDEN by Matilda Ibini
Full-length Drama, 978 0 573 13017 5, £9.99
This title is not currently available for performance. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.
They are the coolest, fiercest, most super talented girl band ever assembled: Big Sis and Little Sis are waiting for the third member of their trio to arrive. Little Miss is on her way. It just takes her a little bit longer.
At thirteen, Little Miss is given a gift which cannot be returned. She has to share her body and life with it. And she needs to find a way for the two of them to get along as they can’t both be Player One. Little Miss Burden explores rewriting your narrative and embracing your identity on your own terms.
Matilda Ibini’s coming-of-age tale smashes together 90s nostalgia, Nigerian family, East London and Sailor Moon to tell the sometimes tricky, often funny truth about growing up with a physical impairment.
THE WIND OF HEAVEN by Emlyn Williams
Full-length Play, 4M 4F, 19th Century, 978 0 573 01653 0, £9.99
Dilys Parry lives in Blestin, a Welsh mountain village which has no children and worships no god since a disaster snatched away all its youth.
Inconsolable since her husband died in the Crimean War, Dilys is gradually re-awakened to life when a prophet-like child working in her household is called by God to serve the world.
In the wake of vast social inequality and a mismanaged war, one small community rediscovers its lost faith, with startling consequences for the village, and the world beyond…
A parable about healing the wounds inflicted by a national trauma, The Wind of Heaven was first produced in the West End in April 1945, just three weeks before the end of the Second World War in Europe, starring Emlyn Williams himself.
It received its first London production in nearly seventy-five years at the Finborough Theatre, London, in November 2019.
Bloomsbury – Methuen Drama
T: 01256 302699
W: www.bloomsbury.com | E: direct@macmillan.co.uk
F: BloomsburyPublishing | T: @bloomsburybooks
Theatre Books…
Introduction to the Alexander Technique by Bill Connington
978 1 350 05295 6, £19.99
This practical guides for actors includes over 150 practical, easy-to-follow exercises to improve alignment, flexibility, and poise. The book is supported by a range of online videos demonstrating key exercises described throughout the book.
Questors, Jesters and Renegades by Michael Coveney
978 1 350 12837 8, £25.00 Hardback
The Story of Britain’s Amateur Theatre
This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford’s Renegades – tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting for an encore.
Between the two world wars, amateur theatre thrived across the UK, from Newcastle to Norwich, from Bolton to Birmingham and Bangor, championed by the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Sybil Thorndike, and J.B. Priestley. Often born out of a particular political cause or predicament, many of these theatres and companies continue to evolve, survive and even prosper today.
This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.
Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book – include The Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax Thespians; Lincolnshire’s Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent’s father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; Crayford’s Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Anglesey’s Theatr Fach, a crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwall’s stunning cliff-top Minack.
Methuen Drama (Bloomsbury) is pleased to offer readers a 35% discount on Questors, Jesters and Renegades.
Enter the code QUESTORS35 at checkout online at: www.bloomsbury.com to apply the discount.
Offer valid until 31 May 2020.
Screen Acting Skills by Roger Wooster and Paul Conway
978 1 350 09303 4, £18.99
This handbook addresses the fact that many screen actors beginning their careers lack the necessary pre-shoot preparation and knowledge of studio protocols that are required of them, and offers practical, focussed exercises that can be explored in low-tech workshop situations.
Music Fundamentals for Musical Theatre by Christine Riley
978 1 350 00175 6, £24.99
Offers a series of lessons in music fundamentals, including theory, sight-singing and aural tests, giving readers the necessary skills to navigate music and all that is demanded of them without necessarily having had a formal music training.
Plays…
Rough Magic Theatre Company, Edited by Patrick Lonergan
978 1 350 11979 6, £24.99
Celebrating the work of one of Ireland’s most daring theatre companies, this anthology gathers five plays by established and emerging playwrights. They include vibrant new adaptations of Peer Gynt and Phaedra alongside vital new dramas that explore issues of urgent contemporary concern, such as sex and sexuality, emigration and climate change.
The Sugar Syndrome by Lucy Prebble
978 1 350 17457 3, £10.99
Dani is 17. She’s looking to meet someone honest and direct. What she finds is a man twice her age who thinks she’s an 11-year-old boy.
Lucy Prebble’s debut play is a devastatingly and disturbingly funny exploration of an unlikely friendship, our desire to connect, and the limits of empathy.
Death of England by Roy Williams and Clint Dyer
978 1 350 16789 6, £10.99
After the death of his dad, Michael is powerless and angry. In a state of heartbreak, he confronts the difficult truths about his father’s legacy and the country that shaped him. At the funeral, unannounced and unprepared, Michael decides it is time to speak.
A powerful new monologue play by Roy Williams and Clint Dyer that explores family feelings and a country on the brink.
The High Table by Temi Wilkey
978 1 350 14718 8, £10.99
With her wedding to Leah drawing nearer, Tara’s future is thrown into jeopardy when her Nigerian parents refuse to attend. This kind of love is unheard of, they say. It’s not African. High above London, suspended between the stars, three of Tara’s ancestors are jolted from their eternal rest. Stubborn and opinionated, they keep watch as family secrets are spilled and the rift widens between Tara and her parents. Can these representatives of generations passed keep the family together?
Judgment Day by Ödön von Horváth, ad. by Christopher Shinn
978 1 350 15935 8, £10.99
This new adaptation offers a fresh take on the portrait of a society struggling to take responsibility for its actions in a search for public retribution, themes that still resonate in today’s societal climate.
American Moor by Keith Hamilton Cobb
978 1 350 16530 4, £10.99
A play that examines the experience and perspective of black men in America through the metaphor of Othello. It is a play about race in America, but it is also a play about who gets to make art, who gets to play Shakespeare, about the qualitative decline of the American theatre, about actors and acting, and about the nature of unadulterated love.
Nick Hern Books
T: 020 8749 4953
W: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk | E: info@nickhernbooks.co.uk
F: NickHernBooks | T: @NickHernBooks
Christmas Carol: A Fairy Tale by Charles Dickens, Piers Torday
Full-length Play, 4-9F 3-16M up to 10f/m, 19th Century simply staged, 978 1 848 42914 7, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Jacob Marley is dead. And so is Ebenezer Scrooge… In this reinvention of the timeless classic, Ebenezer has died and his sister Fan has inherited his money-lending business. At Christmas, she is haunted by three spirits who want her to change, but will she? Witty, urgent and empowering, this bold adaptation will prove a festive gift for amateur theatre companies seeking an original, female-led version with lashings of goodwill to all men – and women.
“Delightfully surprising and subversive… offers both the story, and its 19th Century writer, a welcome 21st Century transformation.” The Guardian
Hedda Tesman by Henrik Ibsen, Cordelia Lynn
Full-length Play, 4F 3M, Adapted for the present day can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42895 9, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
In this vital exploration of motherhood, power and sabotage, Cordelia Lynn breathes new life into Henrik Ibsen’s classic. After thirty years of playing wife, Hedda is bitter and bored. When her estranged daughter, Thea, suddenly reappears asking for help, the present begins to echo the past and Hedda embarks on a path of destruction.
This ingenious adaptation offers an older female performer the opportunity to dive into the iconic titular role.
“Lynn reveals how Hedda’s torment is just as applicable today as it was a century or more ago.” WhatsOnStage
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Rona Munro
Full-length Play, 3-6F 4-9M plus 1F/M (additional chorus possible), 19th Century ideally spare and non-naturalistic set, 978 1 848 42917 8, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
An eighteen-year-old girl, Mary Shelley, dreams up a monster whose tragic story will capture the imaginations of generations to come. Rona Munro’s imaginative retelling of Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece places the writer herself amongst the action as she wrestles with her creation and with the stark realities facing revolutionary young women, then and now. This version puts a fantastic role for a young female performer at the centre of the classic, with flexible casting for the Monster and scope for a large cast.
“An inventive feminist adaptation… an exploration and celebration of female creativity.” The Stage
nut by debbie tucker green
Full-length Play, 3F 3M plus one voice, Contemporary, can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42335 0, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
debbie tucker green’s play nut is a drama about a woman who wants to withdraw from the world. Elayne doesn’t want company but company won’t leave her alone. Everyone’s got an opinion but no one’s listening and things are starting to slip.
A powerful play for a company looking for great opportunities for black performers.
“Provocative, touching, darkly humorous… its understated power is remarkable.” Time Out
One For Sorrow by Cordelia Lynn
Full-length Play, 3F 2M, Contemporary single interior setting, 978 1 848 42761 7, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
During an attack on London, Imogen joins a social media campaign offering refuge to victims. Before her family have had a chance to discuss it, John is at their door. He isn’t what they expected. And although they’d never admit it to themselves, he isn’t necessarily what they want.
This pressingly topical socio-political drama sends up the modern manners of the middle class, and offers an opportunity for companies wanting to stage something challenging for performers and audience alike.
“A riveting, quicksilver, subtly manipulative thriller… electrifyingly plugged into the moment… a rich, fascinating work.” The Stage
Rathmines Road by Deirdre Kinahan
Full-length Play, 3F 2M, Contemporary can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42777 8, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
While hosting friends for drinks, Sandra comes face-to-face with someone she never wanted to see again. A play about secret trauma and public revelation, Rathmines Road is set over one evening that bristles with tension. Fraught, funny and ferocious, it testifies to the pain of carrying the memory of sexual assault throughout a lifetime. A challenging ensemble piece with a meaty role for a female performer.
“Kinahan’s rollercoaster script has an awful lot of important and necessary things to say. Thought-provoking and uncompromising.” The Arts Review
The Small Hours by Katherine Soper
Full-length Play, 8F/M (add’ chorus possible), Contemporary can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42896 6, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Written specifically for young people, The Small Hours formed part of the 2019 National Theatre Connections Festival.
It’s 1am. Eight young people are staying up through the night. Peebs and Epi are the only students left at school over half-term; former step-siblings Red and Jazz try to navigate their reunion; Jaffa tries to help Keesh finish an essay; Wolfie is getting up the courage to confess a secret to VJ. Set over four hours, where the choices are small yet feel momentous, this play offers rich opportunities for a large cast of young performers.
When They Go Low by Natalie Mitchell
Full-length Play, 6-10F 3-4M (larger cast possible), Contemporary can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42902 4, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Written specifically for young people, When They Go Low formed part of the 2018 National Theatre Connections Festival.
Reprimanded after social media goes into a frenzy over pictures of a girl at a party, Louise wages war on her school’s systemic misogyny. When she threatens popular boy Scott, things escalate horribly. Exploring everyday feminism, consent and the changing face of teenage sexuality in an online world, this topical drama offers rich opportunities for a large cast of all genders, with particularly strong roles for young women.
Music Theatre International (Europe)
T: 020 7580 2827
W: www.mtishows.co.uk | E: shows@mtishows.co.uk
F: mtieurope | T: mtieurope
KINKY BOOTS
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. Book by Harvey Fierstein. Based on the Miramax motion picture of the same name, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth
Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kinky Boots features a joyous, Tony-winning score by Cyndi Lauper and a hilarious, uplifting book by four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein.
Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola. A fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos, Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he’s meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible… and discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world.
Kinky Boots is full of opportunities for a theatre to flex their artistic muscles with elaborate costumes, exhilarating choreography and a truly moving and powerful story. A sure-fire crowd pleaser, Kinky Boots will have your audiences dancing in the aisle and discovering why sometimes, the best way to fit in is to stand out!
Smith Scripts
T: 0844 997 1000
W: www.smithscripts.co.uk | E: info@smithscripts.co.uk
F: smithscripts | T: @smithscripts
THE FOX by Tim Kenny
One-act Drama, 1M, 1M/F, Contemporary, £3.50 (online)
This play has won a national award and continues to be performed. An old man goes to a beach at dusk to see the foxes. A young police officer, send out to look for him, finds that his expectation of the aged people is turned on its head.
GARDENING LEAVE by Nicolas Ridley
One-act Drama, 2M 1F, Contemporary, £3.50 (online)
Bob is on ‘gardening leave’ but he’s anxious ‘to get back in the saddle’. Work is Bob’s life. For him, it’s an imperative, a compulsion. What is life without a job? It has to be the right job, of course. That’s not to say that money isn’t important. And although there’s no urgency, sooner would be much, much better than later. Which is why his meeting with Tom in a West End club is so important. Can Tom point Bob in the right direction? Better still, does Tom have any openings himself? The problem is … Well, there are lots of problems. Mistaken identity, cross purposes, a surprising revelation and a terrible let-down, for which free theatre tickets – gold dust though they may be – isn’t really sufficient recompense.
INVISIBLE EDDIE by Becky Kimsey
Full-length Comedy, 6M 3F or 4M 3F, Contemporary, £5.00 (online)
Eddie is an introvert who is still living with his sister Mary in her London flat. When he loses his job, Mary and her fiancé, George, decide to have Eddie hypnotised to make him feel ‘invincible’ around strangers. Unfortunately, the Hypnotherapist (who has had a few too many) mistakenly convinces Eddie that he is ‘Invisible’ around strangers instead. Throw in a cockney super, a lustful landlady, a blustering boss, a blind Bonny and a baited barkeep at the Cock and Poppy Pub and you’ve got yourself a cracking good British comedy!
MR TEN DAYS by Jon W. Baker
Full-length Comedy/Drama, 3M 3F, Contemporary, £5.00 (online)
Andy is a neurotic commitment-phobe. He prides himself on not doing relationships longer than ten days. Then he meets Emma; bright, attractive, optimist, and training to be a marriage guidance counsellor. Emma fixes relationships, Andy doesn’t do relationships
Do opposites ever attract? Can the man who never dates, date? And how does the psychologist get together with someone who declares psychology to be the dark art?
All will be revealed in this charming, very, very funny romantic comedy for the stage. It’ll make you laugh… and cry.
ROBIN HOOD by Jonathan Edgington
Full-length Comedy/Drama, Large Mixed Cast, 12th Century England, £5.00 (online)
Robin Hood is a two-act comedy-drama with a running-time of just under two hours which successfully premiered in Winchester in 2016.
Its narrative is driven by three ancient, irascible witches and the plot centres around their desire to obtain the ingredients for a spell which will make them all young again.
Expect the unexpected and lots of laughs in this swashbuckling new version of the much-loved tale!
Twelfth Century England. Weary from The Crusades, Robin of Loxley returns to Nottingham intending to marry his childhood sweetheart and claim his family inheritance. Instead he finds a much-changed world packed with romance, mystery, intrigue and dastardly deeds in which his archery and sword fighting skills and those of his new comrades, the Merry Men, are regularly put to the test…
This comedy/drama cleverly combines the traditional elements of the legend with brand-new material and characters in an exciting, fun-filled adventure.
Oberon Books
T: 020 7607 3637
W: www.oberonbooks.com | E: permissions@oberonbooks.com
F: OberonBooksLondon | T: @oberonbooks
Before I Was A Bear by Eleanor Tindall
1F, 978 1 786 82925 2, £9.99
On a rainy Wednesday evening, Cally sits at her local pub waiting for her best friend. She notices someone in the corner. She recognises them. It can’t be them though, can it? It isn’t. This doesn’t happen. She won’t go over. She won’t.
A darkly comedic coming-of-age solo play, Before I Was A Bear is a modern myth about friendship, the power dynamics of sexuality and hot TV detectives.
Bubble Schmeisis by Nick Cassenbaum
1F, 978 1 786 82994 8, £9.99
Bubbemeises: Noun. Yiddish; a grandmother’s story, a tall story, an old wives’ tale.
Nick Cassenbaum invites you into the warmth of the Canning Town Schvitz, East London’s last authentic bath house. Amongst the steam and ritual Nick will take you on a journey to find the place he belongs.
Bubble Schmeisis is full of intimate and personal true stories about identity, home and getting schmeised (washed) by old men.
I Can Go Anywhere by Douglas Maxwell
2M, 978 1 786 82910 8, £9.99
Stevie is a disillusioned academic who once wrote an unfashionable book on youth movements in Britain, now struggling to cope after a painful break-up. His misery is interrupted by Jimmy who lands unexpectedly on his doorstep beaming with excitement. Jimmy is 100% Mod: oversized military parka, fitted Italian suit, dessy boots, pork pie hat. The full package.
Jimmy is seeking asylum in the UK. With just a few days before the substantive interview that’s going to decide his fate, the stakes are high. So he came up with a brilliant plan. A plan that’s going to work against all odds. It has to work. He can’t go back. And Stevie has an important part to play.
Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury
3M 5F, 978 1 786 82938 2, £9.99
It’s Grandma’s birthday and the Frasier family have gathered to celebrate. Beverly just wants everything to run smoothly, but Tyrone has missed his flight, Keisha is freaking out about college and Grandma has locked herself in the bathroom. But something isn’t right. Who is watching them?
A radical examination of the power of spectatorship and the pressure of destructive preconceptions. Jackie Sibblies Drury’s 2019 Pulitzer prize-winning Fairview.
Hela by Mari Izzard
1M 1F, 978 1 786 82923 8, £10.99
Erin, a young mother, has lost her son – but no one will listen. Driven and desperate, she must find him by any means necessary. When everything – including justice – is determined by an algorithm, can data truly be trusted? Can deep-seated pain ever be defused? And how far will Erin be willing to go to see justice happen?
Mari Izzard’s debut bilingual play Hela is a dark and unsettling tale of dirty family secrets and vigilante justice.
A Kind of People by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
3M 4F, 978 1 786 82928 3, £9.99
Friday night and someone’s having a party. It seems like a laugh, but not everyone’s having fun. Nicky and Anjum want their kids to get into the best schools, and Gary is feeling the pressure after applying for a promotion. What happens when not everyone will get what they want?
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s new play about a group of working-class friends dreaming of a better life for their children questions the dream of class mobility, and what happens when the odds are stacked against you.
Land Without Dreams by Tue Biering, Sophie H. Smith (trans)
1F, 978 1 786 82906 1, £9.99
A woman walks onto the stage. She says she is from the future. She says that we have stopped dreaming. She says we can change everything. She says that she can help end all our dystopian nightmares. But we know plays don’t change the world. Right?
Land Without Dreams is a hopeful, funny and courageous new show by experimental Copenhagen-based theatre company Fix&Foxy.
Midnight Movie by Eve Leigh
978 1 786 82930 6, £9.99
A girl fights for her life in a lift. New Window. A protest in Trafalgar Square. New Window. A naked man in a bathtub. New Window. Janelle Monae, dancing.
The possibilities are endless. Even at 2am. That’s the thing about being Extremely Online: there’s no limit on where you can go.
Eve Leigh’s new play explores what the internet means for those who are disabled – what does an online life feel like to those whose bodies are deemed out of the ordinary by the rest of society?
Playstart 2: Short Plays from New Voices by Mono Box Ltd., Grace Tarr, Kiran Benawra, Vivian Xie, Maatin Patel
978 1 786 82920 7, £10.99
Four short plays by brand new writers, each of whom has been mentored by an experienced playwright and supported by the Mono Box team.
Ravens – Spassky vs. Fischer by Tom Morton-Smith
9M 3F, 978 1 786 82932 0, £9.99
Reykjavik, 1972. All eyes are on Iceland ahead of ‘the Match of the Century’: Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer. For the two contenders, the stakes have never been higher – the world title, unprecedented prize money, and stratospheric fame are all on the table.
But as the Cold War begins to heat up, each side of the Atlantic spots a major opportunity to demonstrate superiority over the other. So why hasn’t America’s knight in shining armour shown up? And why won’t Russia’s grandmaster listen to orders? As the two superpowers prepare their opening gambits in a proxy battle of ideologies, with sport as the weapon of choice, both sides find themselves undermined by their pawns, who seem oddly unwilling to cooperate.
Snow White Devised by the company
3M 3F, 978 1 786 82893 4, £9.99
In a wild and windswept land, far, far away, snow falls on a castle nestled amongst the trees, where a cruel Queen is assured by her magic mirror that her beauty surpasses all others. Until one day – when the mirror proclaims that Snow White, the Queen’s step-daughter, is the fairest in the land. Fleeing the Queen’s rage, Snow White runs deep into the forest, where she finds refuge with a motley crew of characters that accept her as one of their own, and show her a different way to live.
This joyful re-telling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale is about growing up, growing old, growing your own food, and why you shouldn’t trust a very shiny red apple.
Three Sisters by Inua Ellams, after Anton Chekhov
10M 10F, 978 1 786 82966 5, £9.99
Chekhov’s iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria in this bold new adaptation. Owerri, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War.
Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village, and the sisters long to return to their former home in Lagos.
Cressrelles Publishing Company Limited
T: 01684 540154
W: www.cressrelles.co.uk | E: simon@cressrelles.co.uk
If you would like to read a free-for-approval-purposes pdf, please email. Printed copies of these plays are also available via post at the usual approval rate.
My Name Is Oscar Wilde by Norman Holland
A stark, powerful play. For a flexible cast of up to nine men and four women. Duration is fifty-five minutes but can be cut for Festival performance.
My Name Is Oscar Wilde sees the famous playwright and wordsmith facing the harsh realities of incarceration in Reading Gaol. He takes refuge in memories of his earlier triumphs and his subsequent fall from grace.
Pieces of Hate by Richard Franks
For three men and three women. Running time is approximately 50 minutes. This one-act, very dark comedy won the Scarborough Theatre-In-The-Round Festival in 1978, adjudicated by Alan Ayckbourn.
Judi and Thomson are about to host a fancy-dress party to introduce themselves to their new neighbours. From this simple plotline, the play gathers momentum and drama. Unbeknownst to our hosts, who have troubles of their own, the other two couples are inter-connected, with a tense back-story. The black humour is funny without becoming sick. The characters, their individual ‘kinks’ and the constantly fluctuating relationships between them are a source of amusement.
Poppy by Leonard Rogers
Poppy is a one-act comedy for two men and two women in their twenties. Running time is approximately 45 minutes.
Young, flirty Poppy, a figment of Mike’s imagination, materialises at the most awkward moments! Mike’s wife exorcises the problem, only to benefit Rodney!
Post Mortems by Jill Hyems
A one-act play for two women in their forties.
Post Mortems is a dissection of a widow’s downward spiral following the death of her beloved husband. Eight months of grief and isolation have driven Gerda to a total breakdown and Jan is to be part of her macabre suicide plot. Performed on TV and radio. A marvellous play by the talented author of the TV series, Tenko.
Spotlight Publications
T: 01383 825737
W: www.spotlightpublications.com
E: wwpanto@gmail.com | F: spotlightpublishing
Robin Hood & the Babes in Verse by Dave Buchanan
5M 6F 4M/F, Castle, Village square and Forest
The Babes come to visit their uncle, the Sheriff of Nottingham, little suspecting that he is planning their demise. But never fear, help is at hand! – in the shape of Robin and his Merry Men, plus Lady Marian, and Nanny Dame Dannii (with two Is).
The plot combines the Babes-lost-in-the-forest story with the Robin Hood legend. Musical highlights include parody lyrics of songs by Abba and The Village People, and one from The Sound Of Music. The comedy comes thick and fast with the comedy hitmen and Robin’s motley crew of Men in Tights. Plus, a really villainous Sheriff, and an unforgettable Dame!