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A Fifty-Minute Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 20. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 24. Minimum total without doubling = 36. Chorus. Large numbers of speaking roles, many appearing on stage at the same time. Flexibility in the non-speaking roles, with Roman nobility and a whole army of Goths (who probably dressed differently in Roman and Shakespearen times). |
Run Time | Around 50 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Titus Andronicus', with the original text cut down to 50 minutes or so. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | When Roman general Titus Andronicus returns victorious from the wars against the Goths, he resolves to be king-maker, rather than taking the role of emperor for himself. Having lost many of his sons in the fighting, Titus has the eldest son of Tamora, captive Queen of the Goths, sacrificed to the gods. When Tamora is freed by the new Emperor, she and her lover Aaron set about avenging themselves - a feud that is tragic for all concerned. Bill Tordoff started this series as abridgements for primary schools. We think that some of the themes in Titus are too adult for that demographic! Asides: This is not for the faint-hearted, though John Webster probably enjoyed it, and Mrs Lovett would have learned a thing or two. |
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 Fifty-Minute White Devil by John Webster abridged by Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 10. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 14. Minimum total without doubling = 35. No chorus. Characters include a small boy and optional non-speaking attendants, etc. |
Run Time | Around 50 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of John Webster's 'The White Devil', with the original text cut down to 50 minutes or so. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | In his pursuit of Vittoria, the wife of old Camillo, Duke Brachiano abandons his wife, Isabella, then connives with Vittoria's brother, to have Isabella and Camillo murdered. Isabella's brother, the Duke of Florence, and his ally Cardinal Monticelso - Camillo's cousin - set out to get revenge. (We're in Grand Guignol territory. This isn't going to end happily for anyone!) |
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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Fighting the Kaiser with Catapults by S. J. Edwards |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 6. Minimum total with doubling = 9. Minimum total without doubling = 9. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 24 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | One-act drama written for performance by older youth theatre students (16-19 year olds). Can be performed on minimal sets. |
Synopsis | A series of vignettes follows three different men, their relationships with the women in their lives and their involvement in the First World War. The scenes take place at various intervals between 1914 and 1916. |
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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Find the Lady by Helen Sharman |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. Written for two men and two women, but each taking several roles. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | One act play. Minimal set, with only a dressing table and clothes rail, plus a sofa and table arrangement that remain onstage throughout. Contains very mild swearing. |
Synopsis | An actress struggles to contain the character of Lady Macbeth as the play both infects and reflects other parts of her life. |
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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The Fire Pit by John Harper |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 1. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. One adult male, three teenagers with playing ages of around 14. |
Run Time | Around 10 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Hard-hitting, thought- (and discussion-) provoking short play. |
Synopsis | Church elder Nigel takes his 14 year old daughter Jessica and two of her male friends on a weekend camping trip. Jessica doesn't want to share a tent with Nigel, and only one of her friends can spot the telltale signs of child abuse. |
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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First Drop of Rain by James Brosnahan Screenplay version placed in the Semifinals (top 1%) of the Austin Film Festival. |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 4. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 9. Minimum total without doubling = 10. No chorus. Cast of 4 women, 2 12-year-old girls (one with doubling) and 4 men. |
Run Time | Around 125 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Full-length historical drama. An entertaining exploration of the characters and the times. (First published 2021, revised edition published 2024.) |
Synopsis | When an aspiring author sets out to write her first novel, the gendered prejudices of 18th Century London come for her, leaving her to decide between marrying her suitor in surrender or being as brave as the female protagonist she has written. Based on the true story of Frances Burney. |
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 |
Awards | Click here to see the awards won by (productions of) this script. |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Five Black Marks by Deborah Hugill Production by Allerton Players won Best Production, Best Actress, Best Technical Achievement award and the Audience Award at Richmond Drama Festival 2014 |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 0. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 3. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. Three on-stage characters and one recorded voice. |
Run Time | Around 28 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | An atmospheric supernatural drama. |
Synopsis | Three friends are spending the night in an abandoned school on Halloween. A teacher died in fire there, many years ago, and at least one of the girls is hoping the ghost will appear. What they don't know is how the fire started. |
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 |
Awards | Click here to see the awards won by (productions of) this script. |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Five Days in May by Geoff Bamber |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 1. Minimum total with doubling = 3. Minimum total without doubling = 3. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 15 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Fifteen-minute play for kids, one of whom is confined to a wheelchair. Structured in five acts. In theory a number of locations, but these can be indicated with the minimum of set. |
Synopsis | When Sarah's disabled cousin Josh comes to stay with her, she introduces him to Billy, her would-be boyfriend. Josh is appreciative of Sarah's fussing concern for him but welcomes Billy's company and, much to Sarah's despair, the pair of them immediately form an unlikely bond. |
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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Five Minutes by Mike Plumbley |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. Two adults and two children (could be played by four kids.) |
Run Time | Around 5 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Very short play. Single set, simple props. Part of the Emotions collection of shorts. |
Synopsis | Two teenagers are out late at night in the rain, they've missed the last bus and the only phone they have can't get a signal. Both their single parents are worried but can't agree on action. |
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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The Flag by Neil Walden |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 1. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 3. Minimum total without doubling = 3. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 25 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Easy-to-stage one-act drama for three actors in one simple office set. |
Synopsis | A school in 1930s England is set to welcome an ambassador from Nazi Germany, whose child is one of the pupils. Headteacher Mrs Mayhew wants to fly the Nazi flag for the visitor's arrival, but young teacher Miss Tait raises an objection. A good period drama with a sharp focus on an area of pre-WW2 history that's often overlooked - how a lot of British people were generally welcoming towards the Nazis, or at least apathetic about their politics, in the years before the war. It also has some relevance to the contemporary debates around flags. |
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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