MBA - Theatreplays


	THEATRE PLAYS

	78th STREET THEATRE LAB A collective of performers from New York whose plays are devised from real life stories. THE MAN IN THE FLYING LAWNCHAIR Previous performances: New York, Edinburgh Fringe. A true story of a man, who, thinking it’d be cool to spend a summer afternoon floating above his neighbours’ garages, tied some weather balloons to a lawnchair. Having miscalculated, he rocketed up, where he was seen at eye level by airplane pilots coming in to land.
	RUKHSANA AHMAD Rukhsana was born in Pakistan and is now based in South London. She has been a professional writer for many years and was co-founder and until recently Artistic Director of the Kali Theatre Company. SONG FOR A SANCTUARY Cast: 5f, 1m Set: 3 Length: 1 hr 40 mins Previous performances: commissioned by Monstrous Regiment and performed at Worcester May 1991, revived for a national tour beginning at the Lyric, Hammersmith. Produced for BBC Radio 4. Nominated for International Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Radical refuge worker, Kamla, is infuriated by newcomer Rajinder whose religious commitment and conformity to tradition leads to clashes over issues of culture, faith and identity with fellow residents. Lost in their battle for the soul of her young daughter, Savita, both women forget the dangers of a breach of security, with disastrous consequences. Reviews: ‘Rukhsana Ahmad’s play about marital violence is an intelligent, absorbing study of an Asian woman trapped by tradition.’ The Independent ‘It deals soberly with the issues and richly with the detail of everyday life in the refuge… it is the achievement of this painful passionate play to have drawn back the curtain …(on married life)’ Evening Standard ‘.. too many issue-centred dramas lack the complex ring of truth, but this is an absorbing exception.’ City Limits RIVER ON FIRE Cast: 3f, 3m Set: Bombay 1992 Length: 1 hr 40 mins Previous performances: First performed at Lyric Hammersmith October 2000. Runner up for International Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Desperate for work, Kiran is thrilled when Indian film director, Waheed, casts her as a Mogul Princess in a Bollywood film version of Antigone scripted by her mother. But Bombay is not the tinsel town she expected. Real life throws her off balance when Hindu Muslim riots erupt in the city and she finds herself drawn into a battle with her own family in a situation where life begins to imitate art Reviews: ‘This production represents a typically high-paced, provocative and absorbing piece of drama.’ Metro Life ‘River on Fire is ripe with tensions and once it is fired up, it crackles with them.’ Time Out ‘When, asks Ahmad, does a perfectly reasonable religious belief turn into violent fanaticism? And is tolerance just the product of uncaring indifference? River on Fire casts a warm glow of humanity on such questions, and refuses the temptation of giving easy answers. Deftly staged by Kali … it is full of passion and dignity. While the debates .. are clear and compelling, the play also bravely grapples with big spiritual ideas about what becomes of us when we die.’ Tribune BLACK SHALWAR Cast: 1f, 2m Set: 4 Length: 50 mins Previous performances: First performed at Oval House Theatre 1999. Sultana, a feisty prostitute, falls in love and surrenders her independence to a dreamer who persuades her to give up her lucrative post in Ambala Cantonment and move to metropolitan Delhi. Soon, he turns to mysticism and she begins to lose her own grip on reality. She is jolted awake when she discovers that the charming Shankar whose courting has comforted her loneliest moments has been sleeping with her best friend too. Reviews: ‘… a fascinating fable set in 40’s pre-Partition India.’ The Stage ‘Black Shalwar, Rukhsana Ahmad’s striking adaptation of Manto’s romantic classic… …cutting edge theatre at its best.’ What’s On - Pick of the Week THE MAN WHO REFUSED TO BE GOD Cast: 3f, 2m Set: simple sets Length: 1 hr 35 mins The Man who … tells the story of the Anglo-Indian philosopher Krishnamurti's tortured affair with Rosalind Williams, the wife of his compatriot and business manager, Rajagopal. All three are old friends caught in a triangle because of their affiliation with a curious cult, Theosophy. Krishna rejects the role of Messiah imposed upon him by the cult his and patron and foster mother Annie Besant, sheds celibacy and begins a spiritual quest that leaves his dearest friends and allies wondering if he is a saint or a sinner PARTNERS IN CRIME Cast: 2f, 2m Length: 40 mins Previous performances: Performed in June as part of LIFT 2004 A British company is on tour in Lahore with a Shakespeare play. The lead actress, Sara Stevens has a special interest in Pakistan because her mother is Anglo-Indian. She had meant to visit her grandfather’s family who still live there. But things go horribly awry when an incident occurs in the auditorium sparked off by a minor act of protest in the repressive, over-armed atmosphere in the country. The arrest of her dresser, Razia, for the suspected theft of Sara’s passport leads to a fresh spiral of violence that builds to a surreal level of horror ending in a scene where things are no longer what they had seemed to be. LAST CHANCE Cast: 3f, 1f child, 1m child Set: 3 Length: 45 mins Previous performances: Commissioned by British Council Dhaka and performed as part of the International Women’s Day in Dhaka Sheela, a 29 yrs old actor visits her mother Shabnam and ailing grandmother, Zainab in Dhaka laden with expensive gifts. 12 yr old Razia is waiting for a new mobile phone. Her grandmother is longing for Sheela to get married this time but she announces that she must return to a part in a big Bollywood cross-over movie. To her mother’s rage she is still not ready to take her daughter 12 yr old daughter Razia back with her. Shabnam is weary of the responsibility and the child is running out of her control now. As they argue the family’s darkest secret that Razia is Sheela’s daughter, not her sister, bursts into the open hurting both the child and the grandmother. Zainab trips and goes into diabetic coma. As they nurse her Sheela and Shabnam come to a painful reconciliation -Shabnam decides to concede to her daughter’s will yet once more and she and Razia are left waiting for the prodigal’s daughter’s next visit. THE GATE-KEEPER’S WIFE Cast: 2f, 3m Set: Posh bungalow and zoo Length: 50 mins Previous performances: National tour with Alarmist Theatre opening at Hawth Theatre, Crawley 1996 Annette, bored with her childless middle class existence as a postcolonial memsahib takes up supervising feeding times at the zoo on a voluntary basis only to be stumped by Tara, the thieving gate-keeper’s wife. Tara claims that Annette’s favourite cheetah, Heera is a saint who will not eat if Tara’s children go hungry. In a moment of epiphany she is forced to confront the unhappiness that is consuming her marriage. Reviews: ' …a powerful presentation of a woman’s journey in self-knowledge through a mixed race marriage…’ The Barnet Press Series Young people’s theatre by Rukhsana Ahmad NEW CONSTITUTION Cast: 1f, 2m Set: 2 Length: 50 mins Previous performances: Toured schools and Theatro Technis, Camden Mungoo, a horsecab driver is labouring under the delusion that the British are abdicating power when the Home Rule Ordinance is activated. Only to discover on the morning of April 1st that nothing has changed. RECALL Cast: numerous Set: 3 Length: 35 mins Previous performances: Performed by Middlesborough Youth Theatre Group, 1989 An innocent Asian man and his English wife face the wrath of a rioting mob who attack and burn down their curry restaurant because a black man is suspected of murdering a white. The couple flee to Newcastle start all over again. The painful memory of the nightmarish attack is relived by their daughter who assembles family history from photographs and newspaper cuttings. PRAYER MATS AND TIN CANS Cast: numerous Set: 2 Length: 70 mins Previous performances: Performed at Worcester Arts Workshop by drama students and community members. Two young girls, an Italian and a Pakistani strike up a friendship at a time when the newest wave of migrant workers is finding it hard to survive in a country that is determined to downsize its factories. Earlier migrants, Italians, look all set to return. A story of generational conflict and culture shock set in a climate of redundancies and change.
	DEBORAH BREVOORT Deborah is a member of New Dramatists and lives in the United States. THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE Cast: 2m 5f Length: 2hrs This play deals with the Lockerbie tragedy at the end of the investigation, when the authorities are now ready to dispose of the remains from the crash. The women of the town insisted that they should be allowed to wash the clothes from the suitcases of the deceased and return them to the families. The clash between them and the American authorities got little press coverage when it happened a couple of years ago, but forms the premise of this compelling piece. This play won the silver medal in the Onassis International Playwriting Competition in 2001 and was awarded the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award. It received its world premiere in New York City in 2003. JEREMY BURNHAM Jeremy has written for many British television series and has won awards for his children’s drama including CHILDREN OF THE STONES and A LITTLE PRINCESS (BAFTA award 1988, Best Children’s Drama). He has also written feature films including a Hammer Horror. DEAD ON CUE Cast: 5f, 7m Set: minimal Length: 2 hrs 20 mins An audience participation thriller. The theatre studio becomes a TV studio with cameras, cables etc from which a live chat-show is being transmitted. A murder takes place during the show in full view of the audience. The police arrive, question everyone and roll back the tape because it’s not just a question of whodunit – but how? SHROPSHIRE LAD Cast: 1m Set: minimal Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: scheduled for spring ’04 at the Ustinov Theatre, Bath. A.E. Housman talks about his life, poetry and the love that inspired it.
	LEWIS DAVIES Lewis Davies runs his own publishing company in Wales. He was the winner of the Rhys Davies Award in 1998 and his travel book FREEWAYS was the winner of the John Morgan Writing Award in 1995. FOOTBALL Cast:2m, 1f Length: 50 minutes Sets: 1 Previous performances: Edinburgh Fringe 2004, Hen and Chickens Theatre 2005 Three friends meet and uncover their obsessions with success, wealth, football and a David Beckham football shirt. MY PIECE OF HAPPINESS Cast: 4f, 6m Previous performances: first production 1998 Sean and George are mates. Sean has finally found a job. It’s only delivering papers but it’s a job and he wants to keep it. George has had a job for years, he looks after Sean. Sarah is Sean’s girlfriend. She’s old enough to have a boyfriend now, she’ll be twenty three next birthday. Sarah wants to go to London. Her mother and father used to go to London. Sarah’s mother likes Sean. She is not too sure about George. A play about love, friendship and delivering papers. Reviews: 'An understated, keenly observed work of compassion and delicacy. A fine play.' The Stage. SEX AND POWER AT THE BEAU RIVAGE Cast: 1f, 2m Previous performances: first production 2003 In 1929 the young welsh writer Rhys Davies was invited to meet the desperately ill DH Lawrence and his wife Frieda in the South of France. Reviews: 'From this coming together of contrasting characters Lewis Davies has fashioned a compelling play. He digs deep into the tortured soul of the novelist who rails against just about everything, particularly those who see him as a pretentious pornographer following the ban on Lady Chatterley’s Lover. His free-spirited wife protects and inspires him but cannot calm his agonized spirit. The arrival of the young homosexual Davies from the Welsh valleys sets up tensions that bruise all three' The Stage WITHOUT LEAVE Cast: 2f, 2m Previous performances: first production 1998 A thirty minute drama about a deserter hiding in a barn during the First World War.
	ANDREW DOYLE Andrew was born and raised in the Midlands into a Northern Irish family. He has worked as a stand-up comic at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and the Canal Café Theatre in London, and also done a great deal of acting. Besides gaining a D.Phil. in English Literature, he has written for NewsRevue, Britain’s longest-running satirical current affairs sketch show. From 1992-6 he was a member of Prelude Theatre Company, Solihull, involved with acting, devising plays, and giving drama instruction for young children. BORDERLAND Previous performances: Touring production by 7:84 Theatre Group, September 2005 This is a funny, edgy piece about two Northern Irish brothers who’ve grown up with death, talked about it all their lives and never had it really become real to them – until now. SHAMLET Previous performances: Canal Café Theatre, C-Central, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2003. A farce about a company performing a Shakespearean play. Reviews: 'Set to be comedy classic.' Edinburgh Evening News. 'One of the funniest hours on the fringe.' Theatre Guide London. 'Shamlet is a cheerful and unpretentious facical comedy from a company that knows how to please an audience. How many other shows are able to boast joyful applause at the end of each scene. It is easy to see why Shamlet is universally loved by Edinburgh audiences and critics alike.' Culture Wars. 'An ‘in your face’, no holds barred feast of brash and wickedly funny comedy…Top flight fringe comedy.' The Stage. 'Must see comedy drama…Written and directed with a fine precision by Andrew Doyle.' Fringe Report.
	ROBERT ELLISON and ROBERT CARTER Robert Ellison is a theatre journalist, and had a sell-out run of his first play, Commanding Voices, in Hampstead. Robert Carter is an actor (as Robert Francis). JOE ORTON’S LAST LAUGH Cast: 5m, 1f Length: 2 hrs This highly entertaining play is the story of the Kenneth Halliwell and Joe Orton. Going deeper than just Orton’s diary alone, and no mere repetition of the film Prick Up Your Ears, it shows the dynamics of the relationship. Halliwell was a very able man, and had a profound influence on Orton. Orton, in turn, built fantastically on the foundation Halliwell gave him. It’s a fascinating story, and an often hilarious one, for all that it ended in tragedy. There’s a big audience for Orton’s work, as well as a gay interest, and 2007 is the 40th anniversary of Orton’s death. There are excellent parts for the two male leads and for an older actress. The script is wholly original, and the authors have also already had the script legally vetted.
	LISA EVANS Lisa was until 1979 an actor in radio and television as well as stage. She has performed at the National Theatre, and also worked in America. She was Resident Writer at the Theatre Centre in 1983/4 and at the Temba Theatre Company in 1986/7. Since then she has been dividing her writing time between the stage, film and television. BETTER THAN BURNING Cast: 6f (5 Asian, 1 white) Length: 2 hrs Told over 16 years, this is the story of three generations of a Punjabi family living in Britain – the gaps they experience and the bridges they make – cultural, emotional and generational. CHRISTMAS WITHOUT HERODS Cast: 5f Set in prison in South America. Four women are held without trial, the 5th guards them. EAST LYNNE Cast: 3f, 2m An adaptation of the Victorian novel seen this time from the point of view of the main character, Lady Isabel Vane, who was punished beyond mercy by her original author, Mrs Henry Wood, for the crime of passion. FACE VALUES Cast: 4f Set in Kent in the summer of 1983, this play focuses on the women involved in the mining dispute.GETTING TO THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN Cast: 4f, 3m When Danielle was a child, three women loomed large in her life: her gritty, responsible mother, her wild-child aunt and their best friend. Now a young woman herself and facing the break-up of another relationship, Danielle takes stock of her childhood years – of an absent dad, of her fascination with a neighbourhood “bad boy” – and uncovers a story of everyday heroism and the strange tricks that memory can play GLAD Cast: 5f, 1m Length: 2 hrs A play about women and madness focusing on the life a Mancunian woman born at the turn of the 20th C, her relationships with her inmate friends and with her son. JAMAICA INN Cast: 3f, 5m Length: Full length Previous performances: Salisbury Playhouse 2004 Evocative, atmospheric and chilling, this adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's classic has murder, mystery and malevolence. In Jamaica Inn, at the heart of the bleak Bodmin Moor, young Mary Yellan soon discovers mysterious goings-on in teh dead of night. But worse is yet to come as Mary finds herself helplessly ensnared in the deadly activities taking place around her. MOTHER’S DAY Cast: 2f Sets: 1 Length: 1 hr What happens when a daughter arrives home on mother’s day, pregnant. ONCE WE WERE MOTHERS Cast: 7f, 1m Length: Full length Previous performances: September 2004, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-Under-Lyme A moving and powerful play about the joy and the heartbreak that motherhood brings to three very different mothers. Ali was always going to be a dancer. She was still dancing the day she gave birth. Careful Kitty, housewife and mother, sits in her silent home and waits for the daughter who doesn't return. And Milena, desperate to protect her children and carrying a terrible secret. THE SHADOW OF LIGHT Cast: 3f, 2m Based upon the life of Madeleine Smith – a middle class Glaswegian woman who scandalised and intrigued all levels of Victorian society when she was tried for the murder of her lover, and then acquitted on a verdict of Not Proven. The play explores the lives behind the façade of respectability and questions the abuse of power, where evil starts and who ultimately is responsible. THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL Cast: 3f, 2m, 1 child. An adaptation of Anne Bronte’s ground-breaking novel which centres on the fate of Helen Huntingdon, forced out of her home by the brutality and infidelities of her drunken husband, and who proceeds to make a life for herself and her young son, Arthur. VILLETTE Length: Full length Previous performances: For production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 2005 Dramatisation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel VINDICATION Cast: 2f, 2m Length: 2 hrs The story of Mary Wollstencraft – a women of passion – and the woman who writes about her. Two different times, two different love stories. The same struggle. Plays for younger casts and audiences by Lisa Evans CRIME OF THE CENTURY Cast: 3f, 2m Set in rural Suffolk at the time of Captain Swing and the rural uprisings of the 1920’s and 30’s, this is the story of Maria Marten (famous as a victim) and her younger sister Ann, who made a different choice and met a different end. Juniors up. INSIDE OUT Cast: 4f (doubling) Length: 1 hr 15 mins The effect on herself and her family when a single parent is sent to prison for a petty offence. Upper juniors-lower secondaries. LUCKY COUNTRY Cast: 4f Set in Australia this play with music tells a story of two stolen children, of the theft of their land, and of their culture. It is as story of Aboriginal black Australians, the first people of the “lucky country” and their relationship with the land, their mother. Juniors up. SLAP Cast: 2f, 2m Set in the early 1980’s, this play tells the story of a Cambodian refugee who comes to live with a mother and son by the ocean in the USA. It is a play about loss and bereavement. Upper juniors up. STAMPING, SHOUTING & SINGING HOME Cast: 4f (black) The play was inspired by the life of Sojourner Truth, the well known abolitionist and early feminist. It tells the story of her fictional great, great granddaughter, Lizzie Walker, and her transformation from child to adult activist in the southern states of America. Through the songs and stories of the women in her family Lizzie comes to understand the importance of her own past and her place in history. Young Audiences. TAKING LIBERTIES Cast: 3f, 1m Length: 1 hr 15 mins Previous performances: Set in the mid 19C, this play is about two working class northern families who win a lottery and move to a chartist farm in the south. Also using songs we trace what becomes of them when the dream is auctioned away. Upper juniors. THE PEARL Cast: 2f, 2m An adaptation with music of John Steinbeck’s novel. Secondary upwards. THE RED CHAIR Cast: 6f Length: 90 mins A play with music set in a remote village in China between the 1927 revolution and Mao’s Land Reform. Seen from a young peasant girl, Puchao’s viewpoint, using stories old and new – we witness her and her village’s struggle to change as revolution beings an end to oppression with new freedom and new choices. Juniors up. UNDER EXPOSURE Cast: 4f (3 black, 1 white) Length: 1 hr A white sports photographer visits Cape Town, S. Africa and meets a family living in Crossroads Squatter camp. Using songs and stories we learn of their lives under apartheid. Juniors up.
	LILIE FERRARI Lilie Ferrari worked in the South of France and California before gaining a masters degree in French literature. She then went to work at the British Film Institute and subsequently began her career as a full time writer. THE WHITE ROOM Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Sets: 1 or more Length: 1 hr Previous performances: Staged at the Tristran Bates Theatre, directed by Jean Stewart, with Camille Coduri, Christopher Fulford and Julie Graham. " I hear that in 1968 Edie Sedgwick and Valerie Solanas met in the hospital on New York's Ward Island, where Valerie is under examination to find out if she is rational enough to stand trial for shooting Andy Warhol, and Edie is struggling to recover the sanity she lost in the Warhol years. Do they discuss Andy? Do they compare grievances? I wish I could tell you, but I don't know...." Ultraviolet: My Years with Andy Warhol. Two women meet in a New York mental hospital. They are strangers, but they have one thing in common: the man who made them famous for fifteen minutes. One of five plays selected for the Writers Guild Theatre Showcase.
	GABRIEL GBADAMOSI With a rich heritage that comes from being both black and irish, Gabriel is a poet, essayist and playwright. He founded the Irish Irregulars Theatre Company and acted as literary director for the Siol Padraig Irish Arts Festival. He was Mobil Writer-in-residence at the Manchester Royal Exchange and has been involved in play writing internationally. ABOLITION Cast: 5+ Set: flexible Length: 2 – 2 hrs 30 mins Previous performances: Arts Council Writers' Bursary (1987); Bristol Old Vic and Paines Plough (1989) A slave ship gets into difficulties during the battle for abolition of the slave trade. ESHU'S FAUST Cast: 8+ Set: 1 Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: Cambridge Arts Theatre and Faculty of English, Cambridge (1992) An African Faust enters a Christian church pursued by the powerful devil of his own culture. HOTEL ORPHEU Cast: 2 Set: 2 Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: Verlag Der Autoren (Frankfurt 1994); Schaubuehne am LehninerPlatz, Berlin (1994); Culturporto, Lisbon and Teatro Rivoli, Porto (1997) A black and a white Angolan flee the civil war in the hold of a fishing trawler; they land in Lisbon, stateless, dependent on each other and still fighting. OGA'S ARK Cast: 7-8 Set: 1 Length: 2 hrs Previous performances: Commissioned by Nitro After their bus crashes, the survivors of an African theatre troupe rehearse a new version of their play The Animals are Taking Over, but most of lead actors are dead in the wreckage. SHANGO Cast: 6+ Set: flexible Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: Mobil Writer's Bursary (1988); De Nieuw Amsterdam (1997) West African tale of love, magic and violence bursting out of the young and old people left behind in a decaying community.
	KAREN HARTMAN Karen Hartman is a member of New Dramatists and teaches at Yale. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Royal National Theatre. New York Magazine says of her "The able dramatist Karen Hartman writes with pithy incisiveness and an astute ear". GOING, GONE This is the story of a sports commentator in the States in the 1030s, and is an affectionate and warm portrait of this very imperfect man, his growing family and the immediacy of live sport. GUM Previous performances: US This is a story of seduction and subversion – in the form of bubble gum. It could be set in any country where there is a restrictive society. Both thought-provoking and highly entertaining. Reviews: 'A beguiling, sensual, witty, impassioned, deeply moving and brightly burnished gem.' The San Francisco Examiner. THE MOTHER OF MODERN CENSORSHIP This is a one-act play which sometimes accompanies this play.
	PAUL HERZBERG Paul was born in South Africa. He first trained in film, main subject scriptwriting; then as an actor at the University of Cape Town; and after moving to London, at LAMDA. Paul has acted in many productions, including playing Papa Louw in his own play The Dead Wait (Manchester Royal Exchange) and recently in Anthony Sher’s play I.D. at the Almeida. He began writing in 1981 with Sweet Like Suga in which he performed, in London and Canada. Since 1992 he has devoted himself to both careers. THE DEAD WAIT Cast: 2f, 3m Set: one Length: A powerful play about the relationship between a young South African soldier and the wounded prisoner he is forced to carry on his back out of Angola bullied by his unrelenting sergeant. THE DEAD WAIT is about South Africa’s hidden war and touches on its later…healing after the end of apartheid. Previous performances: Published by Oberon Books. Shortlisted 1996 Verity Bargate Award. 3 Manchester Evening News Nominations: best new play, best production, best performer (won). Performed at: Grahamstown Festival, Market Theatre South Africa, Royal Exchange Manchester and workshopped at the RNT Studio.
	MARTYN HOBBS Martyn is the great grandson of Sir Jack Hobbs, the cricketer. He graduated in English Literature from Sussex University, and from 1982 till 1993 taught English and lived in Florence. He is now based in Oxford. A HISTORY OF THE MACHINE Cast: 4m or 3 + 1f Set: one Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: Fringe First Award (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh) With the creation of his Nerve Automaton, Herr Kirchner’s life is transformed. But a triumphal Grand Tour of Europe is derailed in Rome by the death of a pope, and their journey descends into madness and a kind of death. CARNEVALE Cast: 2f, 3m Set: one Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: Teatro Le Laudi, Florence On his deathbed in Missolonghi, Byron is haunted by feverish dreams of his past. What had driven him from England first to Italy and finally to Greece? Was it his incestuous relationship with his half sister Augusta, or something even more unspeakable, punishable with death by hanging? MACQUIN’S METAMORPHOSES Cast: 1f, 4m Set: one Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Macquin exacts his revenge on his past by reworking Ovid’s Metamorphoses, subjecting each of his enemies to a fitting metamorphosis. But when his past catches up with him, Macquin is forced to undergo his own transformation. MAPPA MUNDI Cast: 3m + 1 extra Set: one Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: A heretic and a writer share a small cell. But when a new inmate arrives, Fintan and Cello’s settled world is turned upside down. This new prisoner is Marco Polo. And from their life-and-death struggle to survive, our own world directly springs. MASACCIO Cast: 1f, 5m Set: one Length: 1 hr 30 mins Masaccio, a Renaissance whirlwind, was one of the most revolutionary artists of all time. His death at the age of 26 in Rome was no accident. A thriller of art, politics and popes. MONKEYTRAP Cast: 2f, 4m Set: one Length: 1 hr 30 mins Nicholas Crabbe returns from Venice to start a new life in England. But he is a victim of his vanity. Nicholas is led into a labyrinth of temptation and danger, and at the at the heart of every maze waits the Minotaur. THE GOLDEN AGE Cast: 2f, 5m Set: one Length: 1 hr 30 mins In which the dreams of a mid-ranking civil servant in Byzantium are unexpectedly realised; the ancient Greek Gods return from exile in pursuit of their old power; a corrupt political order is threatened with overthrow; and the promised Golden Age isn’t quite what it was cracked up to be.
	ARLENE HUTTON Arlene Hutton is a member of New Dramatists and lives in New York. ACADEMIA Cast: 4f, 3m Set: minimal Length: 90 mins Previous performances: readings and workshops at Ensemble Studio Theatre (Octoberfest, 2002). A collection of short pieces about university life:- *POOH TAKES A SABBATICAL, an ageing professor learns lessons for life from his daughter’s dissertation topic. OFFICE HOURS, two office mates test their friendship. CLASS DISCUSSION, a male colleague is warned about his liaisons with women students. EURIAL PASS, on her way abroad a student discovers a lot about her mother’s college days. TENURE TRACKS, a committee tries to oust a colleague who hasn’t kept up with technology. REMEDIAL LESSONS, both are victims of campus politics, but who is more handicapped – a graduate student with cerebral palsy or her tightly-wound professor? AS IT IS IN HEAVEN* Cast: 9f Set: minimal Length: 90 mins Previous performances: A portrayal of upheaval caused when the utopian existence of an 1830s Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of ‘newcomers’ claiming to see angels. Reviews: '…powerful and insightful…a thought-provoking piece, the message being that often we need not look as far as heaven to see angels here on earth…' The Herald. 'Hutton deals even-handedly with her characters, viewing them all with sympathy and respect, finding ample comedy in the tensions of their closed community yet offering no pat solutions or final answers.' LA Weekly. I DREAM BEFORE I TAKE THE STAND AND OTHER PLAYS Cast: 1f, 1m Set: minimal Length: 20 mins Previous performances: Alice’s Fourth Floor (1994), Red Earth Ensemble (1995), InterAct (1996), Bloomington Playwright’s Group (1997), The Journey Company, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (1995), Piccolo Spoleto (1997), New York Fringe Festival (1997), Philadelphia Fringe Festival (1998). This is a collection of seven short new plays by one of America’s most promising new playwrights. Seven journeys examining our ability and inability to communicate with each other. From the absurd to the sharply cutting, Huttons’ plays offer a witty and disturbing outlook on life, that makes us realize that there is often more than we think behind the seemingly banal. Reviews: ' …a riveting piece of theatre. The writing is pithy and fierce.' New Jersey Independent. 'A defense lawyer cross-examines a woman on her appearance in a sexual assault case – so distorting a perfectly innocent walk in the park. This has the makings of a feminist classic.' The List. LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC Cast: 1f, 1m Set: minimal Length: 90 mins An Appalachian wartime romance. 1940. On a cross-country train carrying the coffins of Nathaniel West and F. Scott Fitzgerald, love blooms between two Kentucky natives. Previous performances: Douglas Fairbanks Theatre (1999), 78th Street Theatre Lab (1999), Artstation, B Street, Circle, Coyote, Florida Studio Theatre, ManBites Dog, Miniature Theatre of Chester, Nebraska Rep, People’s Light and Theatre Company, Powerhouse, Riverside, Shipping Dock. Reviews: ' …a gently calming little play, reminiscent of Thorton Wilder. Associated Press. Terrific…a sharply-written triumph.' The Stage '…a character study that has originality and charm…wonderfully authentic ear.' Backstage' '…as close to theatrical perfection as mere mortals can achieve.' Charleston Post and Courier. SEE ROCK CITY Cast: 3f, 1m Set: minimal Length: 90 mins WOMEN@WORK Cast: 5+f Set: minimal Length: 90 mins Previous performances: Vital Theatre (2001). Developed at New Dramatists with the help of a grant from Loyola Marymount University. A collection of short pieces:- *VERO BEACH, a humerous look at three women in a resort boutique, dealing with beauty and ageism. PUSHING BUTTONS, (Actors’ Theatre of Louisville Heideman finalist, an absurdist nightmare. IN THE MIND’S EYE,* a quick glimpse at a power struggle over an eye chart. *CUBICLES,* (Actors’ Theatre of Louisville heideman finalist), a funny view of romance and co-workers. *TESTTIME,* an absurdist monologue in which a teacher gives the wrong test to the wrong class. *CAFETERIA, an observation of three friends threatened by layoffs. A CLOSER LOOK, (Samuel French Short Play Festival winner) a study of backstage at a TV talk show. Reviews:* '…an engaging collage of interwoven stories of women in the workplace. OOBR. …brilliant…' Theatre Reviews Unlimited.
	LINDA MARSHALL-GRIFFITHS Linda holds a Masters Degree in Creative Writing with Distinction from Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds (1997) and currently lives in Yorkshire. LOWDOWN Previous performances: Premiered at West Yorkshire Playhouse 2003 A streetwise hip-hop extravaganza with a large cast, designed for youth community production. . POMEGRANATE A woman returns to her childhood home, a Welsh mining town, to find her mother doesn’t recognize her, and it’s filled with the ghosts of the past.
	TONY RAMSAY Former marine insurance clerk, executive officer (GPO), gardener, chauffeur, tractor driver, fruit packer, shipping clerk, barman, nursing auxiliary, language teacher, journalist, FE lecturer etc. Now writing full time in Norfolk. MESSAGE FROM NEPTUNE Cast: 2f, 3m Sets: Length: 2 hrs Previous performances: A black comedy of science and discovery in which an unsung astronomer in a run-down attic in Cromer discovers the existence of Neptune. He might have become famous for it if only life - in the shape of a psycopathic debt collector, a beautiful woman dying of cancer, a seamstress who wants to become a scientist, and a helpful colonic irrigationist - hadn't kept getting in the way. THE BLUETHROAT Cast: 2f, 3m (doubling) Sets: Length: 2 hrs Previous performances: Set on the north Norfolk coast in 1890 and the present day. An obsessive Victorian bird collector appears in a tiny coastal village in search of the elusive bluethroat for his collection. During the course of the hunt a young girl is murdered. A hundred years later a bird illustrator in crisis brought on by a loss of faith in his work arrives in the same place and begins to uncover what happened to the girl. His obsession with a barmaid at the local pub has uncomfortable echoes of the bird collector's obsession with the bluethroat. Reviews: shortlisted for the Peggy Ramsay award
	ELSPETH SANDYS New Zealand born Elspeth Sandys became a fulltime writer in the early 1970s and also worked as an editor for several publishing houses. THE DAY THE ANGELS CAME DOWN Cast: 5f, 3m Set: simple Length: 2 hrs Previous performances: it is currently on a short list with the Melbourne Theatre Co.. It has also been sent to The Manchester Exchange and Hampstead Theatres. Set at the beginning of the twentieth century in Melbourne at the time of Federation: a family story played out against the background of the call for independence from Britain, the growing feminist (suffragette) movement, and the effects of late Victorian capitalism. The driving idea of the play is a scam carried out by Maud, an ex-prison inmate, on Gloria, a wealthy heiress. The unexpected consequences of this scam provide both the humour and the dramatic tension of the play. Reviews:

	LAURA STRAUSFELD Laura is a lawyer in New York. SNATCHES Cast: 2f Length: 1 hr Previous performances: New York, Edinburgh Fringe, New End in London. This is the audacious editing of the transcripts of Monica Lewinsky’s phone conversations with Linda Tripp into a single, damning play about betrayal.
	ANDREW TAYLOR After varied careers including being in the army, Andrew trained as being a theatre director leading him to an MA in film at Sheffield. He was the artistic director of a Yorkshire based touring theatre from 1991-1997 before leaving to concentrate fully on writing and directing. SACRED ACRE This is a play which comes out of Andrew’s own experience and is a strong ensemble piece about army recruits: a group of individuals in extreme circumstances, all with a different response but ultimately all moulded to absolute obedience, even to the ultimate sacrifice.
	LISA TIERNEY-KEOGH Lisa studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York in 1999, and last year was Writer-in-Residence at Mount Temple School, Dublin. Her first play, EVE AND ADAM, was shortlisted for the Rough Magic / Dublin Fringe Festival SEEDS Project 2001, and got Lisa a nomination for the Stewart Barker Trust / BBC Awards for New Writing 2002. She recently won the Irish Times / ESB Theatre Awards Bursary. ASH WEDNESDAY Cast: 3m 1f Length: 2 hrs Set in Dublin, this is about four 20-something friends living together in a house. They have a laugh together, enjoying life and getting by. But one night Jimmy forces them to face their denials and problems, giving them a chance to throw out old baggage and sort themselves out – if they can rise to the challenge. A very funny and moving piece.
	PETER TINNISWOOD Peter Tinniswood, author, playwright and broadcaster was born in Liverpool. He worked as a journalist and then wrote for the satirical BBC show THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS and also for Ned Sherin and David Frost. Peter died in 2003 after a long, well chronicled battle with cancer. Despite losing his voice to the cancer, his illness marked an explosion in his theatre and radio writing. I AND THE KING Cast: 2f, 2m Set: 2 Length: 1 hr 45 mins Previous performances: New work ON THE WHOLE IT’S BEEN JOLLY GOOD Cast: 1m Set: 1 Length: 1 hr Previous performances: Hampstead Theatre London Sir Plympton Makepeace backbench Tory MP has been ‘booted out’ after 60 years of dedicated service in the House. 60 years of dedication to mediocrity and sexual dalliances. Sir Plympton leads us down memory lane recalling his involvement in all the major events of the century, but his proudest claim is that he ‘never did any harm’. Reviews: ' …one of our funniest writers.' Benedict Nightingale, The Observer. ' …By the end you know Plympton well, and like him enormously. In this portrait Tinniswood has created a fascinating and compelling piece.' Charles Spencer: Daily Telegraph. NAPOLI MILLIONARIA Set: 2 Previous performances: Adaptation of de Fillipo’s original for The National Theatre, directed by Sir Richard Eyre and starring Ian McKellan and Claire Higgins THE LAST OBIT Cast: 1f Set: 1 Length: 1 hr 10 mins Previous performances: Pleasance, Edinburgh. New End Theatre, Hampstead. Millicent has been computerized. After a lifetime’s work in the Obituary Department of The Morning Telegraph she has been made redundant. The firm however, has allowed her to go out in style – she can write her last obit in her own hand with her own fountain pen. But whose obit will it be? She plunders her memories, her fantasies and her long friendship with the daft and the dead before she makes her decision. Reviews: 'Riveting and moving.' The Stage. 'Utterly extraordinary.' The Scotsman. 'Magnificent.' The Herald. THE MONUMENT Cast: Set: 2 Previous performances: Adaptation of de Fillipo’s original. THE SCAN Cast: 1f, 1m Set: 1 Length: 45 mins Previous performances: Bristol Old Vic Studio THE VILLAGE FETE Cast: 4f, 4m Set: 2 Length: 1hr 45 mins Previous performances: The Scarborough Reviews: Winner of Sony and Giles Cooper Awards CROAK CROAK CROAK Cast: 1f, 2m Set: 1 Length: 45 mins Previous performances: Bristol Old Vic Studio This is a double-bill of short plays (*The Scan* and *The Voice Boxer) which was written in response to the author’s fatal illness. Reviews: '…jam-packed with black humour and challenging ideas…'* The Stage. WILFRED Cast: 2f, 1m Set: 2 Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: The London YOU SHOULD SEE US NOW Cast: 3f, 2m Set: 2 Length: 1 hr 30 mins Previous performances: The Scarborough
	RHIANNON TISE Rhiannon began writing plays when she joined the Royal Court Young People’s Theatre. She studied at the University of Glasgow, graduating with an MA in Theatre, Film and Television studies in 1998. While at university she joined the 7: 84 Writer’s Group. She writes regularly for Y Touring and her first radio play THE WALTZER won the Richard Inisim Award. CHASING ANGELS Cast: 2m, 2f Two teenagers leave their no-hope town to stay in city with their friend Joanne, a down-to-earth chambermaid. They spend a star-struck evening with pop idol Justin Angel. A play about hopes and dreams, growing up, being yourself and about friendship and teenage love. HEADSTONE Cast: 1f, 3m Length: 1h 30m Previous performances: Feb 2004, Arcola (Y Touring) A yuong woman is haunted by death of her asylum seeker boyfriend on a rough estate. Her ex, Seb, wants her back, but he may know more about the death than he is saying. A play about unrequited love, anger, betrayal and dislocation. Reviews: 'It was a brave decision - and one that pays off handsomely – on Tise’s part to tackle the subtleties of what follows, rather than what precedes, the murder of an asylum seeker on a sink estate.' Fiona Mountford: The Evening Standard. 'Tise writes well about the tensions between individuals.' Michael Billington: The Guardian. PLAYING GOD Cast: 2f, 3m Lila is awaiting a kidney transplant. She has a difficult relationship with her mother and adores her doctor, Drake. An uneasy friendship strikes up between her and struggling teenager Tenny, who cares for his brother Simon. THE SILENT TIME Cast: 1f, 2m Previous performances: performed at Royal Court young writer’s festivals. A man is haunted by his sense of failure. As his relationship with his girlfriend becomes more strained, a second man appears more and more. A play of disintegration.
	RACHEL WAGSTAFF Rachel recently graduated from RADA and St Andrews University, and has also worked as a scriptwriter for Hewland/Sky One. Rachel is currently working on a new play. In the meantime, she has become part of the core group at the Soho Theatre and is currently on the playwriting course at the Royal Court. THE SOLDIER Cast: 4m Length: 1hr 45m This debut play has had a highly successful run in Edinburgh and London, and a sell-out run at RADA, and garnered excellent reviews. Best known for his patriotic war sonnets, little is known of Rupert Brook’s extraordinary life and intriguing death. Set during World War One, this compelling play explores the cult of celebrity, boundaries between idealism and prejudice, friendship and love.
	MARK WHEELLER Mark teaches Drama at Oaklands School in Southampton. Although his name is not well-known outside of schools and colleges, he is one of the most-performed playwrights in Britain. ARSON ABOUT Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr A night at the fair for Kylie becomes something more dangerous when those she is with suggest they break into a nearby building. Kylie becomes scared and leaves alone… in the darkness she cannot find her way out… she is unaware that an arsonist is “playing” with fire that night in the very same building. BIRTH MOTHER Cast: 4f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr 20 mins “We are the sum of our past but we don't need to live there.” Linda has a secret. Although her husband, Ringo knows about it, her daughter, Alyson, remains unaware. Suddenly a letter arrives which leads to an incredible reunion of Linda and her Birth Daughter. The secret is revealed. This prompts Linda into a re-evaluation of the way in which she treats her daughter Alyson. CHUNNEL OF LOVE Cast: 11 f, 8m & 6m or f Set: Length: 1 hr 40 mins Previous performances: Selected for and presented at the 1993 Sunday Times/BBC National Student Drama Festival. A bi-lingual play (80% English & 20% French). Lucy is fourteen. Everything in life is going well for her. She hopes to become a vet and is working hard to gain good grades in her GCSE exams. Suddenly these plans are thrown into confusion as she discovers she is pregnant. She faces a series of major decisions, not least of which is what to tell the father ... a French boy she met on the School Exchange. Professional & amateur rights are available . Reviews: 'French with tears ... the bi-lingual elements give this play an added dimension ... the context and the action means that no-one loses the thread of the story.' Sue Wilkinson: Southern Evening Echo. DAN NOLAN - MISSING Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr The tragic true story of Daniel Nolan’s disappearance in Hamble on January 1st/2nd 2002. 'When our Dan went missing we assumed that his face would be absolutely everywhere, appeals on national TV, and everyone would be aware... it wasn't like that for us.' Pauline Nolan (Dan's Mum). Reviews: 'I can’t remember the last time I saw a grown man, cry in front of me. Or being sat in a room of people gripped by mutual sorrow and unspeakable heartache. It's a gripping human drama that will appeal to - and appall - anyone with a heart.' Ben Clerkin: Southern Evening Echo. 'Unusual and deeply affecting. Skillfully written, it achieves, for an episodic play, astonishing depth and authenticity.... a portrayal of Dan which was at once an intensely personal figure and yet known to every parent in the audience as their own...the audience was drawn inescapably into the grief at his loss... it gave the piece an almost unbearable pathos. Dan Nolan - Missing addresses a wound still raw and stands as a fitting testament to a young life.' Charles Evans: Adjudicator - Eastleigh Drama Festival. GRAHAM - WORLD’S FASTEST BLINDMAN Cast: 4+f, 5+m Set: minimal Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: A play telling the amazing true life story of World Champion Blind Athlete Graham Salmon MBE who sadly died (following an amputation and subsequent cancer) in 1999. It charts his parents story when, as a baby he had to have both eyes removed due to an incurable eye cancer, his schooldays (where he was expelled for running a book!) his trials in trying to secure a job and his determination to become a World Champion athlete. This new play tells not only about Graham’s achievements but about Graham Salmon the man ... it maintains the humour and contains some very emotional scenes. It is much more than a play about an athlete ... it is a fantastic human story of great determination and courage. It is for me the most "personal" play I think I shall ever write. Graham's life story is one which deserves to be told as widely as possible. Mark Wheeller. Review: 'Graham Salmon is the most inspiring athlete I have met; I say this without a moments hesitation even though I have enjoyed the rare privilege of sharing the company of Muhammad Ali, Stanley Matthews, Gary Sobers, Martina Navratilova, Nadia Comaneci, Arnold Palmer and countless others in the course of my job.' Robert Philip: Daily Telegraph. GROWING UP AND I’M FINE Cast: 3f, 3m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: Premiered at Edinburgh Festival (Fringe) 2004 A comic fantasy inspired by the music of the early seventies, focussing particularly on that of David Bowie and his lead guitarist of the time, Mick Ronson. Billy Porter is a young music fan and accepts a highly unusual mission realising that the consequences he will pay if unsuccessful, will be of the very highest order. HARD TO SWALLOW Cast: 3f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr 10 mins Previous performances: Showcased at the first Lloyds Bank National Theatre Challenge 1989. Performed widely as TIE and in schools. An adaptation of Maureen Dunbar's book and TV film Catherine. Hard To Swallow is based on the life and death of an anorexic girl, Catherine Dunbar told mainly through the words of Catherine and her family. It charts Catherine's uneven battle with her illness and her families difficulties in coping with all that Anorexia means. Reviews: 'A model of its kind ... elegantly structured, highly informative, and imaginatively theatrical.' Ann McFerran: Stage and Television Today. 'HARD TO SWALLOW uses simple narrative and a series of stylised visual tableaux to build a powerful and sometimes harrowing chronicle of Catherine's long and ultimately unsuccessful fight against anorexia nervosa ... uncompromising and sensitive ... its ability to raise our awareness of a condition about which we remain woefully ignorant defines it as an important piece of work .... it should be compulsory viewing for anyone connected with the education of teenagers.' Mick Martin: Times Educational Supplement. LEGAL WEAPON Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 1 hr Previous performances: widely performed in schools across the country. The story of a young man whose negligence behind the wheel causes the loss of a life and the loss of his freedom. The story is fictional but uses testimony of of RTA offenders and victim families. Fast, funny and very powerful. Review: 'To write a script that was so totally in the language of late teenagers was a fine example of sustained excellence and high artistic accomplishment. A hugely enjoyable and innovative production.' David Lippiett: Guild of Drama Adjudicators. SWEET FA! Cast: 3f, 2m Set: minimal Length: 45 mins Previous performances: A play telling the true life story of Wimbledon footballer Sarah Stanbury (Sedge) whose ambition it is to play Football (Soccer) for England. Her dad is delighted ... her mum disapproves strongly! Review: 'Its central message, perfectly captured by this capable group, is one that speaks to more than just football fans or sportswomen. The play is a tribute to human determination - and a warning against the kind of ignorance that initially blinded many to Sedge's talents.' Andrew White: Southern Daily Echo. THE GATE ESCAPE Commissioned by The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke. Cast: 2f, 2m Set: minimal Length: 55 mins Previous performances: Corey is "addicted" to truanting. This destroys most of her relationships... family and friends. When things come to a head Corey is determined to make a fresh start... on the understanding that her parents will also make a fresh start on their damaged relationship. Corey is told by her new school that she must catch up on her work in the Summer Holidays before they will offer her a place. Achieving this she walks into her new school only to meet a group of truants who offer her the chance of "bunking" on her first day there... an offer she finds irresistible... but that is not the end of the story... far from it. Professional rights to perform this play are unavailable at the time of writing. (July 2003) TOO MUCH PUNCH FOR JUDY Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Set: minimal Length: 50 mins Previous performances: Too Much Punch for Judy is one of the most performed plays ever, having toured schools, colleges, prisons, army camps and the workplace, both here and abroad almost every day since it was written in 1987. A Documentary Play telling the true life story of a young girl who kills her sister in a drink/drive related incident. Ten years later she went on to be responsible for another death in a road accident (on the same stretch of road) where she was not only drunk but had cannabis in her bloodstream. Review: "This was an aurally, visually and dramatically shocking depiction of the danger of drink-driving. The Ape Theatre cast were absolutely brilliant. They had our students laughing one minute and crying the next. This was worth ten classroom lectures and if the message that the play had to offer didn't get through with this show, it never will." Geoff Carr: Deputy Headteacher at Francis Combe Community School and College. WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD? BECAUSE SOME STUPID TURKEY EGGED HER ON. Cast: 2f, 2m (doubling) Set: Length: 35 minutes Previous performances: This play tells the story of two cousins, Tammy and Chris. It leads the audience to believe that by the end Chris will be killed in a cycle accident because of his refusal to wear a cycle helmet. Ultimately it is Tammy who is killed in a stupid game of Chicken on the one morning that the cousins do not cycle to school. Chris is unable to tell anyone else about his part in the accident and has to live with his dreadful secret. Full of lively comedy, cultural references, excellent opportunities for inventive direction and a very nasty sting in the tail. Past Festival winner. Reviews: '... hard hitting and entertaining ... John Askew: Secretary, County Road Safety Officers Association. ... superb ... The performance was quite stunning.' Jim Lambert: Head teacher, Sinclair Middle School, Southampton. Musicals by Mark Wheeller BLACKOUT - ONE EVACUEE IN THOUSANDS Cast: 30-100 Set: Length: 90 mins Previous performances: Music: Mark Wheeller. Lyrics: Lesley Griffiths; Nick Mason; Kevin Rimell; Mark & Rachel Wheeller; Steven Wyatt. Rachel's parents are determined that the war will not split their family up. After refusing to have her evacuated in 1939 they do so mid way through 1940. At first Rachel does not settle, but after the death of her mother in London during The Battle of Britain, she becomes increasingly at home with her billets in Northamptonshire. When her father requests that she return she wants to stay where she feels at home. Reviews: 'The evocation of the period was so good that I spent the first act waiting for Vera Lynne's entrance.' Hugh David: Times Educational Supplement. NO PLACE FOR A GIRL Cast: 11f, 11m Length: 90 mins Music & Lyrics: Brian Price. A play telling the true life story of Wimbledon footballer Sarah Stanbury (Sedge) whose ambition it is to play Football (Soccer) for England. As a youngster her dad is delighted ... but her mum (not to mention the FA Officials) disapproves strongly! Reviews: 'Imaginative, exciting, tuneful and very funny ... the musical is about far more than football ... growing up, pursuing your dreams in the face of adversity, the temptations of teendom, sexual stereotyping, friendship, romance and family life.' John Hart: Scottish Times Educational Supplement. THE MOST ABSURD XMAS MUSICAL IN THE WORLD ... EVER! Cast: large! Length: 90 mins Previous performances: Script & Lyrics: Mark Wheeller, Lyndsey Adams, Michael Johnston & Stuart White. Music: James Holmes. WARNING! THIS MUSICAL IS ABSURD ... AND FRIGHTENINGLY FESTIVE! Eat your heart our Ionesco! If you want a musical with a message ... don't consider this one! Santa fails to arrive one year in The Bower of Bliss. Why not? A shortage of carrots perhaps? Or is it because the central character is forbidden to play her music and whose parents want to disguise her as a cactus so that no-one can suspect her special gifts??? And where did that Pantomime cow come from?? Never fear it all ends remarkably happily. It is a bundle of laughs and includes a sackload of original songs. Originally conceived as a Promenade production ... but would suit a variety of staging. WACKY SOAP - A CAUTIONARY TALE Cast: 20-100 Set: Length: 1 hr 20 mins Previous performances: Script and Lyrics: Mark Wheeller. Music: James Holmes Warning! Some of the songs are so catchy a safe distance must be maintained at all times!!! Colour picture story books available as well. A Pythonesque allegorical fable. The invention of Wacky Soap surprises the people of Bower of Bliss. While washing with it initially brings happiness and a wacky ability to present amazing elephant impressions, prolonged use washes limbs away and ultimately leads to complete dematerialisation!!! Review: 'This bizarre story gave every member of the large and energetic cast an opportunity to shine with very polished ensemble work ... catchy songs ... the Bouncy Castle was just one of the many touches of visual humour in this fast, funny and thought provoking evening.' Barbara Hart: Southern Evening Echo (Feb 2000)
	PATRICK WILDE Patrick Wilde was born in London. He was educated at the Salesian College Battersea by priests and then took a degree in English Literature before training as an actor. Acting credits include several major classical roles, including Mark Antony (A.T.C.), Orlando (York Rep) and Amnon in The Rape of Tamar (Lyric Hammersmith). Directing credits include over 20 productions of Shakespeare, four Edinburgh Festivals, a tour of Paki-stan, What’s Wrong With Angry? in the West End, Schiller’s Cabal and Love (Lyric Hammersmith), Jo Orton’s Loot and The Changeling (BAC). WHAT’S WRONG WITH ANGRY? Cast: 4f, 11m (doubling)Sets: minimal Length: 2.5 hrs Previous performances: Edinburgh Fringe, various London venues, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles A young boy falls in love for the first time - with another boy. He battles to be accepted by friends and family alike with the help only of his best friend Linda. By turns very funny and tragic, with honesty and integrity triumphing in the face of fear, violence and bigotry. Turned into the multi-award winning feature film Get Real (Paramount). YOU COULDN’T MAKE IT UP Cast: 1f, 7m (doubling) Sets: Minimal Length: 2 hrs Previous performances: Gilded Balloon Studio, Edinburgh; New End Theatre, London 2003. A witty and moving look at masculinity in the 21st century as a writer, a rent boy and a boyband star come together under the same roof. "A comedy about a film about a play about lies!" Includes singing and some dancing. Reviews: '…a satisfying piece of theatre …constantly entertains and makes its audience think…The Stage. Laced with fine jokes…the play’s greatest asset is its wit…' The Metro.
	VALERIE WINDSOR Val Windsor started her career as an actress and became a fulltime writer in 1995. She has written for many television series including the Mandy Jordash trial on Brookside. EFFIE’S BURNING Cast: 2f Set: minimal Length: 1 hr Previous performances: Short-listed for the Manchester Evening News Award. Filmed by the BBC. Staged at the Manchester Library Theatre, the National Theatre and Offstage Downstairs. Also in Philadelphia, L.A. and Off Broadway. Effie, who has lived in mental institutions since the age of thirteen, has been admitted to hospital with severe burns. Treating her is Dr Ruth Kovacs, who finds in Effie’s extraordinary story of injustice and official callousness the key to her own suppressed anger and power.