Professional Quests

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Professional Quests

We support wherever possible the work of professionally produced, but hitherto unpublished, playwrights, and this is one initiative that does exactly that.

11@11 Quest

Background In 2018 Stagescripts Ltd celebrated the 10th anniversary of its founding and decided to mark the event in some way. One of the tenets on which the company operates is to support the writers and composers of works that, for whatever reason, whilst having an inherent theatrical and commercial value, have been unable to gain wide exposure on a West End or Broadway stage or maybe a national tour, and are therefore mainly unknown quantities to a wider theatre audience. The idea emerged that one way to celebrate its 10^th birthday would be to run a quest for ten plays that had been professionally produced but had then been ‘put back in the drawer’ and thus denied the publicity needed to bring them again to a producer’s attention. Thus began the 10@10 Project during which we saw a heightened awareness occur in society at large that single use plastics were anathema, the use of which should be curtailed as much as possible. Using that analogy, we asked the question: “Why are plays any different; surely the amount of creative effort and investment is largely wasted if plays or musicals only get one production”. Admittedly there is no long-term ecological damage in our activity, but the principle of not wasting resources and effort surely applies. Various logistical difficulties within the company extended the project into 2019, so 10@10 became 11@11 with the advantage that one extra play could be included. A call for submissions was made and once the cut-off date had passed the scripts were read by a team of readers. Each script was read by multiple readers to allow for individual subjective opinions to be tested and eventually the final eleven surfaced from the others to be taken forward for publication and licensing.
The Selected Plays
	Almost Forever But by Robert Farquhar COMEDIC DRAMA (2m, 2f) 80 mins approx Denise is forty, and lonely, and living in London. She has a string of failed relationships and is wondering what to do with her life. She is returning home one evening when she picks up an impulsive, young man, Paul, hitch-hiking. His life is in a moment of extreme change. This chance meeting is the beginning of an intense, deeply romantic experience that will shake both of them to the core.

	Battieman Blues by Oscar Watson DRAMA (2m) 90 mins A black man is followed home from a gay bar by another black man he'd noticed there. The visitor claims not to be gay and becomes violent when he doesn't get what he wants. The tables are turned with unexpected consequences.

	Better Together by David Weir DRAMA (1m, 3f) 90 mins Two years after the vote for Scotland’s independence, Arlene is as passionate as she was on the day her family voted no. Now 18, she announces her own defiant act of freedom. Meanwhile, sister Shona, left holding the baby when her husband goes to jail, pursues a different kind of independence. One family faces the consequences of promises made, and decisions about where their loyalties lie.

	Citizen George by Brian Weaving DRAMA (5m) 85 mins An innocent man is thrown into prison. Because he is black, he is at first treated with contempt by gaoler and fellow inmates. However, when they get to know him and recognise his achievements, despite his colour, they come to admire him. When the head of government demands his death, they are prepared to risk their own lives to save him

	Hungry Ghosts by Tim Luscombe DRAMA (1m, 7f) FULL LENGTH Formula One driver Tyler Jones arrives in Shanghai for the Grand Prix. It might as well be Moscow or Melbourne. He’s happy to toe the corporate line so long as he can race. But when he meets and falls for Chinese dissident Pin-de, racing ambition suddenly seems futile set against Pin-de’s struggle for survival. How can he square his newfound awareness of life and death in China and help Pin-de, without losing everything he has?

	In The Shadow Of The Mountain by Felicity Huxley-Miners COMEDIC DRAMA (1m, 1f) 90 mins approx Rob stands on the edge of oblivion just as the chaotic Ellie careers into his life. They desperately need each other but is Ellie, who’s struggling with her own Borderline Personality Disorder, really the best person to try and help?

	Thank You by Catrin Evans DRAMA (1m, 2f) 80 mins An anxious couple meets in a crowded station. They haven’t seen each other for nearly 20 years. Ella has to talk to Mike about something, but she knows it won’t be easy. What follows is highly charged drama about what happens when culture and language change in the midst of people's lives, leaving them drifting in a world where they can no longer think of themselves as they did before.

	That Was All by Francis Grin COMEDIC DRAMA (1m, 1f) 60 mins approx A woman tries to find herself in different people, meditations, diets, therapies – but nothing really changes. When she meets ‘El Divino’, a world-renowned healer, she’s not expecting much. And as predicted, the healing feels like a sham. He’s got nothing to cure her with. Or does he? “That Was All” is a one woman show which tackles issues of grief, identity and the possibility of self-acceptance in a chaotic world.

	The Golden Fucking Years by Adrian McLoughlin BLACK COMEDY (1m, 2f)apx 85 mins Helen and Gordon are married, bored expats in retirement on the Mediterranean. Is this their golden years? Sexy younger Cath arrives and finds herself amidst their lives in unexpected ways. Helen and Gordon follow through with their interest in Cath but it upsets their perceptions about themselves and their age - and nearly causes a death. Two of them go onto new lives we know not where. The third - well there's always gin and tonic on the balcony.

	Under A Foreign Sky by Paula B Stanic DRAMA (3f) 75 mins London Heathrow - three young arrivals - three different destinies. A snapshot look at what really happens to young migrants trying to start again in a new place. A story of immigration, exploitation and trafficking. A fast-paced piece that's part detective story, part relationship drama. For audiences 13+.

	We Are The Lions, Mr Manager! by Neil Gore DRAMA (7m, 1f or 1m,, 1f min) 90 mins ‘We Are The Lions, Mr. Manager!’ is the remarkable story of Jayaben Desai the inspirational leader of the 1976-78 Grunwick Strike. She not only stood up for workers’ rights and against oppression with selfless dedication, but with her steadfast resolve, she turned the dispute into a national movement for human rights and dignity inspiring future generations.