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| A Forty-Minute Henry IV Part 2 by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 21. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 24. Minimum total without doubling = 43. No chorus. This is a story about a male-dominated society. This does not preclude inventive casting! |
| Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Second Part of King Henry IV', with the original text cut down to 40 minutes.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | King Henry IV is facing rebellion on a scale close to civil war. Meanwhile, his son and heir, Prince Hal, is spending his youth carousing and brawling in taverns in the company of the wastrel Falstaff. If a successful transition is to be made, the old king needs to keep the kingdom together and his son needs to reform. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A Forty-Minute Henry V by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 20. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 23. Minimum total without doubling = 29. Chorus. As usual for Shakespeare's time, there's a dearth of female characters, which does not preclude inventive casting! |
| Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Henry V', with the original text cut down to 40 minutes.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | King Henry the Fifth is at war with the French, and facing daunting odds. He rallies his troops, wanders amongst them in disguise to find what they really think, then leads them, once more, unto the breach. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A Forty-Minute Henry VI Part 1 by Shakespeare, adapted by Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 17. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 19. Minimum total without doubling = 31. Chorus. Shakespearian theatre, history and war conspire to leave few female roles. Don't let that put you off! |
| Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | One-act adaptation of Shakespeare. Other plays in this series are abridgements. This is an adaptation (Bill Tordoff felt that it worked better with the verse form used throughout), hence both script and performances are subject to copyright licensing. |
| Synopsis | Subtitled 'The Wars Of Henry VI And Joan Of Arc'.
Henry V has died, but his dukes continue to prosecute his war in France. Joan of Arc arises to lead the French. The English lose ground as they bicker amongst themselves and the first quarrels of the Wars of the Roses begin. Henry V1 is crowned and the fortunes of war change again...
Despite all the fighting and infighting, the play also has room for some moments of broad comedy. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A Forty-Minute King John by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 19. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 23. Minimum total without doubling = 33. Chorus. Characters include Arthur, aged 8 and Blanche, aged 14. |
| Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'King John', with the original text cut down to 40 minutes or so.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | War amongst the descendants of King Henry II with Henry's wife, the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, supporting her son, King John, whilst the King of France, mendaciously, backs Arthur, the young son of John's elder brother. John's treatment of the captured Arthur causes his barons to rebel and join forces with a French invasion. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A Forty-Minute Richard II by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 14. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 19. Minimum total without doubling = 32. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'The Life and Death of King Richard II', with the original text cut down to under 40 minutes.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | King Richard II is approached by both Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, who wish him to judge a duel between them. Both Richard and John of Gaunt oppose the duel, but Richard agrees to oversee it. As the duel commences Richard interrupts and banishes both men from England. Mowbray predicts this as the first act leading to Richard's downfall. Following John of Gaunt's death, Richard appropriates all his money and lands. As Richard plots a war on Ireland, the nobility seek to overthrow him and place Bolingbroke on the throne. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| Hats Off! - The Musical by Sue Gordon |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 7. Minimum total without doubling = 9. Chorus. A nucleus of seven actors, backed by a chorus (with no size limitations) singing the songs. |
| Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | Sheet music for seven songs (original lyrics to Victorian period music) is supplied with the Producer's copy of the script. |
| Style | Musical for children (could also be staged by adults for kids). Whilst by length we would class this as a one-act play, it is split into two acts and an interval is advised so that the single set can be redressed to mark the passage of time! |
| Synopsis | Mrs. Green is the real driving force behind 'Barker's Bonnets' a milliner's shop in Victorian England. However, she faces unemployment when Mr. Barker sells up to emigrate. A secret scheme is hatched to allow her to continue - and to thrive in the modern world of the 1870s. (The script tells an engaging story whilst exploring the novelties, inventions and social nuances of the Victorian world. This would fit well with the English National Curriculum Key Stage 2 History Topic, 'The Victorians'.) |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Extras | The following additional items are available (at extra cost) to go with this script:
** A 'rehearsal CD' with piano arrangements of songs from the show
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| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| Hats Off! - The Play by Sue Gordon |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 7. Minimum total without doubling = 7. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 45 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Play for children (could also be staged by adults for kids). Whilst by length we would class this as a one-act play, it is split into two acts and an interval is advised so that the single set can be redressed to mark the passage of time! |
| Synopsis | Mrs. Green is the real driving force behind 'Barker's Bonnets' a milliner's shop in Victorian England. However, she faces unemployment when Mr. Barker sells up to emigrate. A secret scheme is hatched to allow her to continue - and to thrive in the modern world of the 1870s. (The script tells an engaging story whilst exploring the novelties, inventions and social nuances of the Victorian world. This would fit well with the English National Curriculum Key Stage 2 History Topic, 'The Victorians'.) |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| Henry VIII Meets His Match by Roger Hurn |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 0. Minimum Female roles = 0. Minimum total with doubling = 8. Minimum total without doubling = 23. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 14 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | An assembly piece for schools with simple settings, based on an old folk tale. |
| Synopsis | Henry VIII decides to make an example of an Abbot living the high life so sets him the task of solving three riddles within a year and a day. The Abbot hasn't a clue, so sends a clever shepherd, who is his double, to answer for him. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A History Of The Olympic Games - A Class Play by Sue Russell |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 9. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 30. Minimum total without doubling = 37. No chorus. Characters include a Greek god and a horse! |
| Run Time | Around 20 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A short play for a full school class. |
| Synopsis | The history of the Olympic Games, beginning at the ancient games with a personal appearance by Zeus, followed by a whirlwind tour of the modern games, complete with a selection of famous medal winners. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| A History of the Olympics - Readers' Theatre by Sue Russell |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 4. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 6. Minimum total without doubling = 36. No chorus. Six plays with six characters in each. |
| Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A set of six mini-plays (with run times around 10 minutes) designed for 'readers theatre' (i.e. use for small group reading), though they could also be performed as plays. No set requirements. Producer's Copy includes a quiz for each play. |
| Synopsis | Olympic history, comparing the ancient games to the modern olympics and studying the development of the modern Olympic games through references to events, sportsmen and controversies. |
| Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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