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
ADMISSIONS by Joshua Harmon
Full-length Drama, F3 M2, Present day, 978 0 573 70748 3, £10.99
A new play from Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other) that explodes the ideals and contradictions of liberal white America.
Sherri Rosen-Mason is head of the admissions department at a New England prep school, fighting to diversify the student body. Alongside her husband, the school’s Headmaster, they’ve largely succeeded in bringing a stodgy institution into the Twenty-First Century. But when their only son sets his sights on an Ivy League university, personal ambition collides with progressive values, with convulsive results.
A Bunch of Amateurs by Nick Newman, Ian Hislop
Full-length Comedy, F4 M3, Present day, 978 0 573 11373 4, £9.99
5 STARS “terrific comedy packed with killer comic dialogue… plety of twists and turns” Whatsonstage.
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – along with his inner Lear!
MRS BEETON SAYS… by Eamonn O’Dwyer, Helen Watts
Full-length Musical, F5 M3, Between 1854 – 1865, 978 0 573 11664 3, £9.99
A new musical based on the life and times of Isabella Beeton…
‘As with the commander of an army, so is it with the mistress of a house.’ Isabella Beeton was only 23 years old when she penned these words in “Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management”, first published in 1861. She could not have predicted how they would resonate with the women of England, nor could she have imagined how her name would become synonymous with culinary expertise and domestic bliss for generations to come.
Mrs Beeton Says…is a charming and vibrant musical examining the life and legacy of this extraordinary woman: a spirited journalist, a tireless entrepreneur, and if not a perfect homemaker, then certainly a queen of organization. In a world where a woman could not vote, own a house, nor even ride a bicycle, Mrs Beeton’s book gave the women of England something they desperately wanted: a bit of control.
PROOF by David Auburn
Full-length Drama, F2 M2, Contemporary, Chicago, 978 0 573 11685 8, £9.99
Catherine has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, Robert. When he dies she has more than grief to deal with: there’s her estranged sister, Claire, and Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that Robert left behind. And a further problem: how much of her father’s madness – or genius – will Catherine inherit?
Gwyneth Paltrow starred in this Pultizer Prize-winning play which opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 2001.
SHAFTED! by John Godber
Full-length Drama, F1 M1, Docudrama/Historic, 978 0 573 11623 0, £9.99
Shafted! moves forwards and backwards over time, starting after the Miners’ Strike in 1984. Act I demonstrates the depression and hopelessness which engulfed a West Yorkshire mining village post the strike and the plethora of menial jobs which Harry found in order to try to make a living. By the late 1990s Dot had suggested they move to Bridlington to start a new life running a Boarding House. Act II starts in 2016 with Dot suffering from cancer, immobile in a wheelchair, the act moves backwards through the success of the boarding house and their new life together, to the time they left Upton to run the boarding house in the 1990s.
Time and Tide by James McDermott
Full-length Drama, 978 0 573 03109 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.
Norfolk’s bootiful. Miles of coastline, endless sea, endless sky. So much space to dream big dreams. But… yeah: there’s nowhere round here to make those dreams come true.
May runs a crumbling caff on the end of Cromer Pier. Her delivery man Ken is losing customers to Costa. Her head waiter Nemo is desperate to leave Norfolk and tread the boards in London. Nemo’s unrequited love Daz is burying his head in the sand over his best mate leaving.
Time and Tide is an LGBTQ-themed comedy drama about a Norfolk community struggling with change. The play was longlisted for The Bruntwood, Papatango and Verity Bargate Playwriting Prizes and was developed on Park Theatre’s Script Accelerator Programme 2018 before having its world premiere at Park Theatre in February 2020.
TRIAL BY LAUGHTER by Nick Newman, Ian Hislop
Full-length Comedy, F2 M6, 19th Century, 978 0 573 11595 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.
Following critical acclaim for The Wipers Times, Ian Hislop and Nick Newman have once again taken inspiration from real life events for their new play Trial by Laughter.
William Hone, the forgotten hero of free speech, was a bookseller, publisher and satirist.
In 1817, he stood trial for ‘impious blasphemy and seditious libel’. The only crime he had committed was to be funny. Worse than that he was funny by parodying religious texts. And worst of all, he was funny about the despotic government and the libidinous monarchy.
THE WIPERS TIMES by Nick Newman, Ian Hislop
Full-length Drama, F1 M6, 1910s / WWI, 978 0 573 11351 2, £9.99
A stage adaptation of the award-winning BBC film by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. 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.
The true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme, interspersed with comic sketches and spoofs from the vivid imagination of those on the front line.
In a bombed out building during the First World War in the French town of Ypres (mispronounced Wipers by British soldiers), two officers discover a printing press and create a newspaper for the troops. Far from being a sombre journal about life in the trenches, they produced a resolutely cheerful, subversive and very funny newspaper designed to lift the spirits of the men on the front line.
Nick Hern Books
T: 020 8749 4953
W: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk | E: info@nickhernbooks.co.uk
F: NickHernBooks | T: @NickHernBooks
1972: The Future of Sex by The Wardrobe Ensemble
Full-length Play, F4 M3 multiple characters (large cast possible), 1970s, flexible staging (ideally with live musical accompaniment), 978 1 848 42847 8, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
It’s 1972. Ziggy Stardust is on Top of the Pops, Penny is writing an essay on Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Christine is watching Deep Throat and Brian is confused. Devised by the creators of amateur hit Education, Education, Education, this entertaining show incorporates the company’s trademark theatricality, irreverent humour and ingenuity to tell the story of three couples having sex for the first time – and a country on the brink of a sexual awakening. Perfect for groups looking for a fun and energetic ensemble piece.
“Terrific work… Funny, true and a little bit heartbreaking.” The Guardian
Apologia by Alexi Kaye Campbell
Full-length Play, F3 M3, Contemporary, single interior (kitchen), 978 1 848 42053 3, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Kristin Miller is an eminent and successful art historian. As a young mother she followed her politics and vocation, storming Parisian barricades and moving to Florence. Her birthday should be a time for celebration but, when her two sons deliver their versions of the past, everyone must confront the cost of Kristin‘s commitment to her passions. A sharp, perceptive and political family drama.
“A fascinating play that tackles, head on, the subject of women, ageing and motherhood… eviscerating and funny.” The Times
Collapsible by Margaret Perry
Full-length Play, F1 M1, Contemporary, minimal requirements, 978 1 848 42839 3, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
A funny, furious, award-winning one-woman play about holding on in this collapsing world, with a fantastic central role for a female performer. Essie’s lost her job. Her girlfriend’s left. But she’s alright. Except lately she feels more like a chair than a person. One of those folding chairs. Solid one minute. And then.
“Compelling… the images pour forth in a lava flow of language.” New York Times
Flights by John O’Donovan
Full-length Play, M3, Contemporary, single interior (abandoned building), 978 1 788 50314 3, £7.99 epub (£6.40 direct from publisher)
A haunting and funny drama about bereavement, brotherhood and breaking away from your past. On a dark and stormy night, three men gather for the anniversary of a childhood friend, killed in a road accident when they were seventeen. Expecting a crowd and tearing into the cans, the three slowly realise they’re the only ones coming. As they drink to their uncertain futures – and their receding youth – they’re forced to face up to the ghost that has held them together.
“Bleak, tender and shot through with stinging black humour… skilfully written.” The Stage
Machinal by Sophie Treadwell
Full-length Play (shorter versions available), F10 M14, 1920s, various interiors and one exterior, 978 1 854 59211 8, £8.99 (£7.19 direct from publisher)
NHB has just acquired the performing rights for Machinal, Sophie Treadwell’s bold, renowned 1920s masterpiece inspired by the true story of Ruth Snyder who, with her lover, murdered her husband and was sent to the electric chair. With a cast of over twenty characters, including a powerful central role for a female performer, Machinal is perfect for ambitious companies throughout the world looking to dazzle audiences with an intense theatrical experience, which is still strikingly relevant today.
“Gripping… doesn’t loosen its hold on the senses until its shattering climax.” The Independent
Sink by John O’Donovan
Full-length Play, F1, Contemporary, minimum req’, 978 1 788 50315 0, £7.99 epub (£6.40 direct from publisher)
A play of two voices for one actor, about memory, catastrophe and sacrifice. Bríd’s coming home to convalesce after drying out in rehab. Ciara’s headed west too, investigating a potential archaeological site on a parched area of bogland. How will Bríd cope in her old haunts? How will Ciara confront a past she thought forgotten? And will they unearth the hidden truth that binds them together?
“O’Donovan is a gifted writer, the lines curl about each other with elegance and depth.” Irish Independent
Snowflake by Mike Bartlett
Full-length Play, F2 M1, Contemporary, can be simply staged, 978 1 848 42817 1, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Three years ago, Andy’s daughter Maya left home, and they haven’t spoken since. But this Christmas, she might be coming back. Andy knows she’s going to stay. Maya knows she’s not. Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake is an epic story about generational conflict, fathers and daughters, and whether we’re living in the best or worst of times. This insightful family drama is a bittersweet alternative Christmas show from the writer of Contractions and TV’s Doctor Foster.
“A Christmas show that feels simultaneously festive, caustic, refreshingly woke and authentically heartwarming… tremendous fun.” WhatsOnStage
The Tyler Sisters by Alexandra Wood
Full-length Play, F3, Contemporary, minimal requirements, 978 1 848 42927 7, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Three women, forty years, one ever-evolving bond. The Tyler Sisters is a funny, heartening exploration of time, and the unassuming moments that make up our lives. Alexandra Wood’s innovative play explores the deep and unruly waters of sisterhood. Spanning over forty years, this lovely and well-crafted play offers an exciting challenge for three female performers.
“Wood’s spirited story of modern womanhood reminds us that the blood-bond of sisterhood has hard edges… refreshing… emphatically contemporary.” The Guardian
The Unreturning by Anna Jordan
Full-length Play, M4 doubling (large mixed cast possible), Contemporary, minimal requirements, 978 1 848 42787 7, £9.99 (£7.99 direct from publisher)
Three young men are coming home from war. Their stories, set at different times over a hundred years, are beautifully interwoven in Anna Jordan’s The Unreturning, a play that explores the complexity of masculinity, and the profound effect that war has on young people’s lives. When experience has shattered you into a million pieces, will home help to put you back together again? A moving and beautiful piece offering meaty roles for four male performers, or a large mixed cast.
“A feverishly intense drama… visceral and insightful.” Time Out
Music Theatre International (Europe)
T: 020 7580 2827
W: www.mtishows.co.uk | E: shows@mtishows.co.uk
F: mtieurope | T: mtieurope
The Bridges of Madison County
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.
Book by Marsha Norman.
Based on the novel by Robert James Waller.
Based on the best-selling novel, and developed by the Pulitzer- and Tony Award- winning creative team of Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World) and Marsha Norman, The Bridges of Madison County captures the lyrical expanse of America’s heartland along with the yearning entangled in the eternal question: “What if…?” Winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score and Orchestrations, this sweeping romance about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross will leave audiences breathless.
Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy, looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm when her family heads to the 1965 State Fair. When ruggedly handsome, National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid, pulls into her driveway seeking directions, though, what happens in those four days may very well alter the course of Francesca’s life.
With a soaring score and a heartbreaking story, The Bridges of Madison County is a touching and powerful addition to any theatre’s season. The tour de force roles of Francesca and Robert are a dream come true for any actor, while the ensemble is rich with characters that tell their own individual stories and receive plenty of focus onstage.
Elf The Musical
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin.
Music by Matthew Sklar.
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin.
Based on the New Line Cinema film by David Berenbaum.
A title known the world over, Elf The Musical is a must-produce holiday musical that can easily become an annual tradition for any theatre. Based on the cherished 2003 New Line Cinema hit, Elf features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (Disney’s Aladdin On Broadway, The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).
Buddy, a young orphan mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list, and his step-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.
This modern day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
Josef Weinberger Ltd
T: 020 7927 7322
E: shows@jwmail.co.uk | W: www.josef-weinberger.com
The Fulstow Boys by Gordon Steel
Full-length Drama Comedy, F3 M10, Interior/Exterior, 978 0 856 76380 9
At the turn of the centenary of the armistice, the award-winning writer of Studs, A Kick in the Baubles, Albert Nobbs and Grow Up Grandad gives us this comedy-drama that is based on true stories from the town of Fulstow, Lincolnshire in 2005, and the Great War. When Sky News and the rest of the world’s press descends on a small village in Lincolnshire all hell breaks loose. Why doesn’t the village have a war memorial? And what are they going to do about it? Determined to right a wrong that has been hanging over Fulstow since the First World War, the tenacious Nicola Pike leads the village committee to make a decision that threatens to tear the community apart … but Graham is desperate to cure his constipation, Maurice’s back is playing up and Moira is furious that someone else has been asked to make the chocolate cake at the forthcoming fete. Set across two time frames, the tale of a village’s monumental decision is both heart-breaking and hilarious.
Bloomsbury – Methuen Drama
T: 01256 302699
W: www.bloomsbury.com | E: direct@macmillan.co.uk
F: BloomsburyPublishing | T: @bloomsburybooks
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.
Enter the code QUESTORS35 at checkout online at: www.bloomsbury.com to apply a 35% discount.
(Valid until 31 May 2020)
Our Country’s Good (Based on the novel ‘The Playmaker’ by Thomas Keneally) by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Editor: Sophie Bush
Student Edition, 978 1 350 09788 9, £9.89 (online price)
Australia 1789. A young married lieutenant is directing rehearsals of the first play ever to be staged in that country. With only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who may be about to be hanged, conditions are hardly ideal…
Winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988, and many other major awards, Our Country’s Good premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1988 and opened on Broadway in 1991.
“Rarely has the redemptive, transcendental power of theatre been argued with such eloquence and passion.” Georgina Brown, The Independent
Oberon Books
T: 020 7607 3637
W: www.oberonbooks.com | E: permissions@oberonbooks.com
F: OberonBooksLondon | T: @oberonbooks
Antigone by Lulu Raczka
F2, 978 1 786 82885 9, £9.99
The war is over.
The dead have been buried. The traitors have been punished. People feel more alive than they have in a long time. They are ready to start again.
But Antigone is not. She will not move on, and she will not forget. She will drag everyone back if she has to.
Lulu Raczka’s searing adaptation of Sophocles’ classic text hands the reins to the young women at its heart, creating something messy, irreverent and vital.
Ask Me Anything by The Paper Birds
F3, 978 1 786 82864 4, £9.99
The Paper Birds invited young people to “ask them anything and now they’re trying to come up with the answers.
Inspired by the magazine problem pages they read growing up in the 90s and 00s, in Ask Me Anything, The Paper Birds become the agony aunts. Using the real letters sent to the company, this verbatim show explores what young people think, want and worry about today.
Set in our teenage bedrooms, this is a show about what different generations can learn from each other whist celebrating teenagers, grandparents and everyone in between, who, like us, are still figuring it all out.
Blood Wedding by Barney Norris
F3 M3, 978 1 786 82980 1, £9.99
A Wiltshire village, 2019. Rob and his fiancée Georgie are checking out the village hall for their wedding reception. Rob’s mum wonders if they are rushing into things. Just when they begin to talk her round, an old flame who could shatter the wedding plans turns up, and very soon Georgie’s past is making her question who really is the love of her life…
Barney Norris’s explosive retelling of Lorca’s classic tragedy sets the action firmly in a modern day village community that’s rocked by revelations and gossip.
Can I Help You? by Philip Osment
F1 M1, 978 1 786 82851 4, £9.99
Philip Osment’s final play, Can I Help You? is a magical realist examination of the role race and gender have to play in mental health and suicide.
An off-duty English policeman is about to throw himself off Beachy Head when he is met by a Ghanaian woman carrying a laundry bag and a cat box. Over the course of one night, two disparate characters learn what it truly means to be touched by the magic of hope.
Idol by Jamal Gerald
978 1 786 82859 0, £9.99
A daring and unapologetic examination of religion, pop culture and Black representation.
Who would you rather pray to? Beyoncé or white Jesus?
Jamal grew up Catholic in a Caribbean household, but would rather light a candle and worship celebrities than white saints. Combining African diasporic ritual, music and storytelling, Idol is a spiritual journey that asks what happens when you don’t see yourself represented – featuring a host of celebrity appearances.
Passengers by Kit Redstone
F1 M2, 978 1 786 82872 9, £9.99
Max wants to tell you a story. He’s not entirely sure why or even who he is: savage, peacekeeper or critic. But he’s hoping you’ll be able to help him.
A dark comedy about the epic battles and alliances within the psyche, and the beautiful power of the mind to protect itself from pain.
The Rage of Narcissus by Sergio Blanco
M1, 978 1 786 82855 2, £9.99
When writer Sergio arrives in Ljubljana to give a lecture on Narcissus, the first thing he does after checking in to his hotel room is get on an app and look for someone to have sex with. A few hours later, once Igor has come and gone, Sergio spots a dark brown stain on the floor. Looking closer, he sees that it’s a blood stain. And looking around, he discovers more and more blood stains all over the room.
As he begins to investigate, he gets drawn deeper and deeper into a dark murky world of desire, infatuation and murder. Perfect material for the new play he’s trying to write – if he can get out of Ljubljana alive…
Scrounger by Athena Stevens
F2, 978 1 786 82895 8, £9.99
Everyone likes to make speculations about Scrounger. Scrounger doesn’t care. A successful online personality, she’s got more power from her bedroom than anyone on the Southwark estates could dream of. She’s educated, she’s ballsy, Scrounger is a woman who knows how to make change happen. That is, until an airline destroys her wheelchair.
Inspired by real events and a lawsuit initiated by Stevens herself, Scrounger drives towards the realities of how Britain is failing its most vulnerable and the extreme cost paid by those seeking justice.
Since U Been Gone by Teddy Lamb
978 1 786 82861 3, £9.99
When friends die and pronouns change, what’s left of the memories that don’t fit anymore?
Brought to life with storytelling, an original pop music score, and way too many America’s Next Top Model references, Since U Been Gone is a moving and powerful autobiographical account about childhood co-stars, teenage rebellion, growing up queer in the mid-noughties, and finding yourself while losing a friend.
So Many Reasons by Racheal Ofori
F1, 978 1 786 82853 8, £9.99
Melissa is having a bit of a crisis. This bold, funny and honest piece explores the reasons why: starting with her mum, God and sex… What happens when we realise mums don’t always know best?
Told by a first-generation British-Ghanaian woman on the hunt for an orgasm, Racheal Ofori’s brave and exuberant So Many Reasons explores cultural and generational shifts, religion and sexuality.
“Ofori’s excellent writing fuses poetry and prose to allow each character to vividly leap off the page.” The Stage
Trainers …Or the Brutal Unpleasant Atmosphere of this Most Disagreeable Season: a Theatrical Essay by Sylvan Oswald
978 1 786 82857 6, £9.99
The only rule is to break the rules.
In a parallel present, two queer radicals meet in the fallout of The Second American Civil War. If love is the most radical act, can their desire survive the revolution?
Based on Montaigne’s intellectual love affair with political thinker Étienne de La Boétie, Sylvan Oswald’s brand-new play Trainers is a visionary story exploring the different ways we can connect as lovers, activists, and humans.
TSL Drama
W: tslbooks.uk/drama | F: TSLpublications | T: @TSLpub
Against the Tide by Stephen Baker
6 monologues, F3 M3, Simple settings, 978 1 912 41642 4, £5.18
All the characters in Against the Tide are fictitious, reflecting individuals who see situations very differently to mainstream society; and who, due to circumstances, feel isolated and somewhat estranged even from those around them. Politics features in Queen of South Faxby and Moving with the Times, and in a previous work, The Waiting Man. This no doubt is due to 12 years spent in the political arena of local politics. Although light hearted, some of the characters lead quite sad existences.
Connie’s Lovely Boy by Beatrice Holloway
1 Act, 25-30 minutes, F2 M1, Sitting room & entrance hall of an elderly woman’s house, 978 1 912 41695 0, £5.28
Connie’s son Paul comes to visit after a long absence. Recently released from prison, Paul suggests to his mother that he’s been away on business. Emma, Connie’s friendly neighbour decides to visit and there is an encounter between her and Paul, including mention of a robbery which happened the day before… How far does a mother go to protect her boy?
Beatrice Holloway is a playwright and author. The London Borough of Hillingdon library service has published two of her children’s stories and awarded her with a Certificate of merit — ‘In recognition of an outstanding contribution to the Arts’. Beatrice was also awarded a Lottery Grant to write a commissioned historical play: Commoner to Coronet.
Small Mercies by Melville Lovat
2 Act comedy/drama 90 minutes, F2 M4, Flat and shop – single stage setting (diagram provided), 978 1 912 41625 7, £5.26
In Small Mercies, people’s lives hang well and truly in the balance.
Shop owner Donald and wife Andrea are desperate people with a failing business. They decide to pay an arsonist to set fire to the shop so they can claim on the insurance and start a new life. Little do they know that two late customers have inadvertently been locked inside! As the two couples, each with their own very different problems, touch each others’ lives with unexpected results, the dark comedy, pathos and fragility of existence shines through in this ultimately uplifting play.
Small Mercies developed as a continuation of Melville’s one act play, The Lamp and includes much of The Lamp’s text whilst focusing mainly on the furniture shop owner, Donald and his family.
Trust by Christopher X Morris
1 Act, grotesque, 20 minutes, M2, Bright pink room, 978 1 912 41686 8, £4.99
Boris decides to take his life into his own hands by kidnapping his ex-lover Jay. Despite the gruesome circumstances, Jay and Boris form a sense of trust, which Jay can use to his advantage. With trust comes vulnerability. And when you’re vulnerable anyone can take advantage of you … Boris learns this the hard way.
Christopher is an author, producer, and playwright with a love for the surreal and intense. His plays often involve grotesque subject matter, and can be very cheap to produce. His work has been performed in several One Act Festivals, the “Hudson Guild Theatre”, and the “NYSummerfest2018” where, TRUST, was acknowledged for Most Creative Play and Best Short Play.