A Higher Education by Angela Pressland(2m, 2f) apx 1hr 45mins - Two Act split providedPatrick is suffering in his job and in his private life, and he badly needs comfort - female comfort. Summer is determined to complete her university degree, and if she can't get the money one way, she will try another. Their encounter is explosive for both of them. |
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American Venus by Leslie Mildiner(3m, 4f) apx 70-75 minsIs it better for a film star to burn out or to fade away? How do you feel if you’ve done both? Sixty years after her silent flame flickered so brightly, Louise Brooks now spends her days in doubt and remorse. Few actresses had the visceral, visual impact she enjoyed, nor did they have the unique combination of intellect and beauty that enabled Louise to transcend the self-made mess of her Hollywood years to become an icon; her posters and postcards the gateway experience to a face that to this day compels attention and repeated viewing. |
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Battieman Blues by Oscar Watson(2m) 90 minsA 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. |
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Better Together by David Weir(1m, 3f) 90 minsTwo 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. |
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Chamberlain (Peace In Our Time) by David Robinson(3m, 1m/f) 60 minsNeville Chamberlain is a Prime Minister desperately seeking peace who becomes known for ushering in war. The scene is the cabinet room of Number 10 in the dramatic run up to Chamberlain broadcasting to the nation and announcing that the country is to be at war with Germany. Broodily waiting in the ante room is an impatient Winston Churchill longing for his moment. What is going through the peacemakers mind as he prepares for his infamous moment in front of the microphone? World War Two songs are cleverly interspersed throughout. |
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Choking The Butterfly by James Johnson(2m, 1f) apx 75 minsTeenage conjoined twins Betty and Barney are left to their own devices in an abandoned button factory after an operation to separate them. Set free and equipped with money, can the twins survive separately, yet stay together? |
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Citizen George by Brian Weaving(5m) 85 minsAn 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 |
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Enigma by Ian Macauley(3m) 60-65 minsA young student gets a lot more than he bargained for when he takes on a day's temporary work helping out an elderly council workman at a cemetery in London. Buried there is General Komorowski, who led the Polish uprising against the Nazis in 1944. Visiting the grave is an elderly Polish resistance fighter consumed by guilt at his betrayals under torture. The student becomes privy to long-concealed secrets that put him in personal danger. |
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Exit Routes by Liz Turner(6f) apx 70 minutesSix female factory workers dream of escape, but when the lottery win delivers only peanuts, reality strikes back. Taking every day as it comes and sharing jokes and insults, can their group spirit stand up to the shocks of betrayal and theft - and does lightning ever strike twice? |
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Never Any Fruit by Dougie BlaxlandWinner: The Watermill Theatre, Raising New Voices, Best New Play, 2010 |
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On Raglan Road by Tom O'Brian(2m, 1f) Using Patrick Kavanagh's poem of the same name, this play sets out to describe the often tortuous relationship between himself and Brendan Behan and brings his doomed relationship with Hilda Moriarty into sharp focus. |
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Thank You by Catrin Evans(1m, 2f) 80 minsAn 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. |
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The Chimes by Charles Dickens adapted by Derek Webb(8m, 3f or 4m, 1f with doubling)'The Chimes' is the second of Charles Dickens' Christmas books, published in 1844, a year after 'A Christmas Carol' and makes an excellent choice of play for the festive season. 'The Chimes' tells the story of humble Toby Veck, ticket porter, who spends his life running errands for other people, while trying to support his daughter Meg. |
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The Condor And The Maiden by Dermot Murphy(3m, 3f) Apx 65 minsWhen Pedro gets back to Bolivia from Argentina he tells Lucía, his sister-in-law and her daughter, Clarisa, they must get off his long absent brother’s land. Lucía is determined not to give into him, but she is pregnant by his younger brother, Domingo, and owes money to an NGO. A hail-storm destroys her crop of flowers, and Pedro is abusing Clarisa. Maritza, the community worker, shows her how she can keep her house and her land. |
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The Start Of Something by Jamie Lakritz(3f) 60 or 70 minute versions Prize WinnerWhen Amy finds a letter, lost and forgotten under her floorboards, she becomes obsessed with finding the unknown recipient. But in doing so, she sets in motion a chain of events which resurfaces a long-forgotten secret. As three women tell their stories, we begin to realise none of their lives will ever be the same again. |
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The Massacre by Elizabeth Inchbald(6m, 3f, 3m/f) 60 mins Part of Our Regency RepertoireRiots have led to a bloody genocide in the metropolis; the violence is quickly spilling beyond the city walls and engulfing the provinces. Trapped inside their home, one rural family must decide what action to take: to fight, to flee or to throw themselves on the mercy of their aggressors. Their debate and consequences of their actions are a thought provoking insight into the nature of human violence and mob mentality: what choices do we really have when, on both sides, fear and hatred have taken hold? |
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Under A Foreign Sky by Paula B Stanic(min 2m, 3f) 75 minsLondon 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+. |
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We Are The Lions, Mr Manager! by Neil Gore(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. |
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