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A Forty-Minute Troilus and Cressida by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 16. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 19. Minimum total without doubling = 34. Chorus. Plenty of scope for extras, as we have the population of Troy and the entire Greek army looking on (and occasionally getting involved in the fray - some of the spear carriers get to use their spears!) |
Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Troilus And Cressida', 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 | The Trojans are trapped in their city as Greek warriors like Ajax scour the battlefield. Troilus, youngest son of the Trojan King Priam, is distracted from the battlefield by his pursuit of the beautiful Cressida. Just when Cressida has submitted to his advances, she is used as part of a prisoner exchange and sent to join her father (who is camped with the Greeks). During one of the periodic truces, Troilus witnesses Cressida in a dalliance with Greek hero Diomedes. Enraged, Troilus takes to the battlefield in pursuit of Diomedes, whilst the petulant Achilles takes on the noble Trojan Hector. Shakespeare uses the siege to question notions of fidelity and chivalry. |
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 Winter's Tale by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 9. Minimum Female roles = 6. Minimum total with doubling = 15. Minimum total without doubling = 28. Chorus. The characters are adults plus one child and, famously, a bear, whose only role is to exit in pursuit of Antigonus (for an offstage lunch appointment - although only one of the parties is hungry.) |
Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale', 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 | Leontes, King of Sicilia, suspects his wife Hermione of having an affair with Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. (Herminone and Polixenes are innocent.) Polixenes escapes Leontes' wrath, but Hermione does not and is imprisoned. Hermione gives birth to a daughter, but Leontes does not believe the child, Perdita, to be his and sends her abroad. She is abandoned on the coast of Bohemia (a feat which would be frowned upon these days, owing to Geography) and Perdita is brought-up by a Shepherd. Time (making a guest appearance) moves the play on sixteen years, and Florizel, son of Polixenes, meets and falls in love with Perdita, the shepherdess, thus setting-up the inevitable reconcilliation and happy ending. |
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 V Revisited by David Baldwin |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 23. Minimum total without doubling = 39. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 65 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A full length revised version of the Shakespearean play. |
Synopsis | Shakespeare's famous play about the battle of Agincourt is updated, and Chorus reveals and explains the historical facts. The essentials of the original play are covered and the 'St. Crispin's Day' speech is retained unaltered. |
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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Julius Caesar [75-Minute Abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 7. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 32. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 75 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 75-minute abridgement of Shakespeare's Roman history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | 'Beware the Ides of March!' 'Caesar shall go forth.' 'Et tu, Brute?' 'Brutus is an honourable man.' 'Revenge!' 'This was the noblest Roman of them all.' |
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 Killing Of Richard by Roger Mathewson |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 6. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 9. Minimum total without doubling = 9. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 77 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A two act drama with a single (rehearsal stage) set. |
Synopsis | Casting is in progress for Shakespeare's Richard III. Obnoxious leading actor Richard is auditioning for the part of King Richard, in opposition to Harry Richmond. In a subtle mirroring of the Bard's work we witness Richard's end. |
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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King Henry IV, Part 1 [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 7. Minimum Female roles = 1. Minimum total with doubling = 10. Minimum total without doubling = 23. No chorus. Most of the doubled roles are male (so the numbers without doubling are 18M, 2F, 3 Either), but of course you can cast whoever you like. There are options to increase the cast size with non-speaking court retinue. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | King Henry, two years after seizing the throne, is looking less secure as his erstwhile supporters, principally the Percy family from Northumberland, turn against him. The play follows the course of their rebellion until the decisive Battle of Shrewsbury. |
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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King Henry IV, Part 2 [60-Minute Abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 35. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | After the Battle of Shrewsbury, Falstaff is sent with Lord John of Lancaster to deal with the rebellion in the north. King Henry, who has been ill for some time, dies after a reconciliation with Prince Hal, who, as Henry V, abjures his former friendships. |
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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King Richard the Second [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 26. No chorus. All the doubled roles are male (so the numbers without doubling are 22M, 4F), but of course you can cast whoever you like. There are options to increase the cast size with non-speaking court retinue. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | King Richard II, badly advised, banishes Henry Bolingbroke. When Richard seizes the property of John of Gaunt, Henry's father, Henry returns to get restitution. He builds a strong following against the unpopular Richard, who surrenders the crown, is imprisoned, and murdered. |
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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Macbeth [a 60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare abridged by Dwayne Lawler |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 10. Minimum total without doubling = 15. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', with the original text of around three hours cut down to 60 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | Witches, prophesies, murders, battles and ghosts. Shakespeare's Macbeth compressed to the compass of a small cast. |
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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Master Shakeshafte by Peter Parkinson |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 13. Minimum total without doubling = 18. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 84 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A full length play, with a variety of settings, generally indicated by furniture and atmosphere. |
Synopsis | There is much speculation over the 'missing years' of Shakespeare's life, and this play offers a glimpse into what may have happened if the bard of Avon really did spend time as a tutor in Hoghton Hall, before becoming a playwright in earnest. There are numerous nods to familiar plays and characters, and also lines or titles which may delight an alert audience. |
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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