One Act Black Comedy
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(1f) apx 25 mins
Maggie is happily settled into her life. Settled with husband, Harry; settled into their comfortable house in a small cul-de-sac; settled with her circle of friends and settled with her high standards of behaviour. When something unsettling though happens to one of her friends, the effect of it builds up a tidal wave around her which smashes through her comfy existence, destroying it forever. |
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(1f) apx 35 mins Winner - Best New Writing, Buxton Festival Fringe : 2003
Ruth is in her forties. She travels with baby Eve, a slowly dwindling mountain of baggage and a distinct lack of self-esteem on a somewhat fraught train journey to see her grown-up son. We hear the story of Eve through Ruth’s inner thoughts and outer utterances in this bitter-sweet comedy of lost love and lost luggage. |
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Ashes To Ashes by Anne Gawthorpe & Lesley Bown
(2f) apx 45-50 mins
A two-handed black comedy that charts a descent into murder and madness. Margaret and Divora are lifelong friends, but what happened between Margaret and her husband Max, and is she asking too much of Divora? The play explores the see-saw relationship of two women held together by a shared past. |
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(1f) Each play apx 20 mins
A compelling series of 12 monologues telling the amusing, acerbic and utterly absorbing stories of the lives of twelve female ex-pats living in Spain, each with a different reason for emigrating there. |
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(2f) 50 min or 60 min version available. Nominated - Manchester Evening News Award (Best Play) : 2006
Dark secrets hidden in the grey mists of time are reluctantly revealed in this excellent black comedy, set in a small village in 1880's Russia. On the bizarre discovery of an empty coffin in Anya's lodgings, she and friend Sonia are goaded into recollecting some things they'd rather forget from their earlier years. |
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One Act Comedy
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(2m, 2f) 50 mins
Mrs Freebody has copied every detail of Mrs Lightfoot’s living room - or has she? Then Mrs Lightfoot reports the disappearance of her husband and twelve children. Mrs Freebody is responsible - or is she? Constables Boulter and Cadbury investigate, and are just about to make an arrest for kidnapping, body snatching and mass murder when the truth is revealed. |
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(6f, 1m/f) 35-40 mins
Marion, an enthusiastic young lecturer, is determined to foster better communication among the college staff. She enlists the help of her colleague Kath to re-arrange the chairs in the staff-room, hoping it will encourage the staff to talk to each other. Meanwhile, long-serving lecturer Mrs Douglas and newly-appointed Tessa become involved in a feud about where each should sit. Moving the chairs has unforeseen consequences; feelings are hurt and tempers rise, Kath gives up her job, and Mrs Douglas has a break-down. For some people, insignificant things can have an importance which others don’t always appreciate. |
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(3f) 40-45 mins
It’s a singles night, and Jan and Meg are taking a break in the Ladies Room. Jan is criticising Tara, unaware that Tara is hiding in one of the toilet cubicles. When Tara’s presence is revealed a fight ensues and Jan confesses the reason for her jealousy. Then Meg discovers that the door to the room seems to be locked, and the succeeding series of mishaps and misfortunes ruins Jan’s appearance and assurance. Tara eventually manages to open the door, but on the threshold of escape they find that Meg is trapped in one of the cubicles. |
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(3f) 40-45 mins
It’s Jan’s wedding reception, and Meg, Jan and Tara are taking a break in the Ladies Room. Feelings run high because Jan suspects that Tara was involved with new husband Mike. They find that the door to the room is jammed, and a succession of mishaps involving faulty wiring, leaking pipes, a rat and pieces of cake follow. Rescue is imminent when the lighting fails and the pipes burst, bringing a wet end to their miserable evening. |
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(2f) 60 mins
Where is the centre of Great Britain? The big British island, the one with Scotland at the top. If you had a cardboard cut-out of it, where could you balance it on a pencil’s point? One woman knows, and this Christmas she’s going there. She’s going there alone. Mary Christmas, a seasonal comedy drama of life’s endings, and new beginnings. |
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(4f) 45 mins
Everything normally runs so smoothly at the Little Gissing Art Group’s ‘Annual Exhibition and Competition’ in the village hall, but this year it’s all going wrong. There are mishaps, misunderstandings, all sorts of complications and some really very shocking revelations! ‘Rude Awakenings’ is a comedy – with a tear or two – that revolves around the loves, lives and losses of four very different women. “A perfect piece ... captivating, funny and really quite moving.” |
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(4f, 3m/f) Prize Winner
The cleaning ladies in the municipal art gallery enjoy their work, but rumours of government cut backs threaten to upset their cosy regime. In the face of adversity they come up with a solution that not only secures their futures and helps to save the gallery, but also ensures that their lives will never be quite the same again. |
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(9f) Prize Winner
The village drama group has lost all their men. The future looks bleak until a bright, young director agrees to help them out. The suggested solution at first shocks the straight-laced villagers, but then becomes the vehicle which gets the cash flowing back into the groups desperate bank account. |
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(8f) 50 mins (Sequel to 'The Ladybirds' above but can be played on its own)
Once again the all female cast do not have men to enhance their drama group, so finding a suitable play for the coming season is, once again, a headache. But then, along comes Francesca, a professional director, who brought them success the previous year. Not only does she provide a challenging play with an all female cast but promises to take it (and them) to the Edinburgh festival. However, there are certain elements in the quiet backwater of Plumpton that will not make life easy for this adventurous group of ladies. |
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One Act Comedic Drama
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(4f) 55 mins Prize Winner
When four old school friends meet up again after thirty years at a Bay City Rollers tribute concert it soon becomes apparent that you can take a girl from her teens but you can't take the teenager from the girl. Old tunes and old flames die hard and live again in this tale of memories and music. Laugh, cry and shang-a-lang along with Liz, Karen, Debbie and Bev; and get swept away by this entertaining, touching and revealing drama. |
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One Act Drama
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(5f) approx 45 mins
A one act play for five women (four in their forties and one in her sixties) all of who are named after flowers. A group of friends revisit their old school on Founders Day and solve a twenty-five year old mystery, the disappearance of the of the 'Daphne Rackham Trophy For Poetry Reading', but this has tragic overtones. |
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Conkers by Alice Underwood
(3f) apx 50 mins Prize Winner
A mother and daughter, estranged for seven years following the mother’s sudden desertion from the family home, meet unexpectedly in a health spa. Amidst an atmosphere charged with resentment and angry recrimination is reconciliation out of the question? |
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(6f)
Six women working in a factory on the evening shift fantasise about getting away from the boredom of their jobs. When Corinne returns from holiday, it’s revealed that she has in fact secretly spent the time with her co-worker Tessa’s lorry driver husband, after which she quickly becomes a pariah. A jackpot win on the Lottery creates the opportunity for all of the women to resolve their individual problems, some more satisfactorily so than others. |
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(4f) apx 40 mins Prize Winner
Three women seek shelter in an inner city hostel for the homeless. On this cold winter night, each has a different reason for being there. Two of them are having to come to terms with recent events which have shattered their lives. The other cannot forget her failing because once a year for fifty years she has been vividly reminded.
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(1f) apx 30 mins
Bored with her factory job, Sara attends an audition and is amazed when she gets a part. Through this catalyst she attends drama school and afterwards lands an acting job touring Welsh schools, both of which provide her with valuable new life skills. Her bubble is burst though, when she gets no more acting jobs and has to retrun to the factory. A superb single-hander for a competent actress.
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(5f) Apx 40 mins
Leanora - a 'difficult' patient, has been moved from one nursing home to another, and the new staff are not too happy with her. During a visit by her daughter and grand-daughter, some family skeletons are revealed. Forced into a corner by all around her, Leanora decides it is time to tell the 'truth' behind the rift.
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(8f) Apx 40 mins (Could be doubled down to 6f)
Ann (and her daughter, Beth) arrive in 1942 from Wales, to escape the bombing and work in her sister Pat's hotel. The work is demanding, and Pat works them hard. Each of the women has a battle to fight and fears to conquer. The brown felt hat is a symbol of good times, of well-being, of self esteem and of magical escape. It is a prop which helps the wearer to escape the ugliness of war.
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