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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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| Kids in Lurve by Bill Siviter |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 4. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 8. Minimum total without doubling = 15. No chorus. Lots of flexibility for either doubling characters or splitting the narrator's role amongst several actors. |
| Run Time | Around 20 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Rhyming play, delivering a rapid, modern and informal version of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Multiple scenes, but little required by way of set or props.
Set in the north-west midlands, but could easily be moved to your home town! |
| Synopsis | Bianca is sweet and pretty. All the lads fancy her. But standing in the way, there's Bianca's acid-tongued sister, Kate, and who can tame Kate?
Well, since there aren't many lads called Petruchio these days, the modern-day volunteer is Shane.
The course of true love never did run smooth (but that's another story). |
| 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 Lear by Geoff Bamber |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 9. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 14. Minimum total without doubling = 14. No chorus. The number of roles can be increased by adding soldiers (the King of France in particular would make good use of them.) |
| Run Time | Around 55 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Short modern-English version of Shakespeare's tragedy. (Whilst the plot is all there, there are more comic moments than the bard envisaged.) The author has structured this in 13 acts, but don't let that fool you. |
| Synopsis | An ageing King Lear intends to retire and hand over his throne to one of his squabbling daughters. The Earl of Gloucester, on the other hand, does not intend to retire but his scheming son, Edmund, wants to take over the title anyway, even if it means by-passing the rightful heir, his brother Edgar. The two families' affairs become linked and a violent tale of treachery, jealousy and blind ambition ensues.
Despite the body count running into double figures, this is a 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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| 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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| Love's Labour's Lost [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 10. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 17. Minimum total without doubling = 18. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare comedy.
(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 | Ferdinand, King of Navarre, has decided that he and his court will devote three years to an ascetic life of studying, fasting, and forswearing the company of women. However, he has forgotten that the Princess of France and her retinue are due to visit. So, will the court pursue asceticism or pretty women? |
| 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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| The Merchant of Venice [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 9. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 16. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Every word is Shakespeare's, but the cast list has been reduced, with four minor characters and all servants/court officials removed.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | Bassanio needs money so that he can court the noble lady Portia. He goes to his friend Antonio, who helps negotiate a loan from the moneylender Shylock. If the money is not repaid, Shylock will demand a pound of Antonio's flesh. This leads to a court case with an unexpected judge.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| 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 Merry Wives of Windsor [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 16. Minimum total without doubling = 20. No chorus. 17 speaking parts (playable by 13 actors) plus at least three fairies, who might be played by doubled by some of the speaking roles, if they are not busy doubling other people. |
| Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare comedy.
(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 | Down on his luck, Sir John Falstaff arrives in Windsor and plots to turn his fortunes around by seducing the wives of two wealthy gentlemen. But the wives detect his unscrupulousness and put their own scheme together to humiliate 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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