We start our catalogue in 2009 with seven carefully chosen full-length plays that offer a diverse range of options for drama groups. These will be added to throughout the year. So please check in regularly to find out what's new!
How to read the information
There is a short description of each play, followed by cast numbers
and ages, then a description of set requirements. Technical demands
(sound effects, lighting and audio-visuals) are given a star rating,
move your cursor over the red dots 
for
specifics. One star denotes
an undemanding technical plot (switch the lights on at the beginning
of the play and switch the lights off at the end, virtually!). Five
stars denote a play that requires more than one pair of hands to
control all of the effects in the script. Finally, we give an approximate
running time, without an interval.
THE HOME FRONT
A review with sketches by Lynn Brittney
This is a compilation of WW2 official Government announcements, plus
songs and sketches that follow the fortunes of one particular family's experiences
of the home front. A light hearted stroll through the war years,
lashings of nostalgia and the perfect entertainment to accompany
a sausage and chip supper!
CAST: CHORUS: (All substantial speaking/singing parts) Approx.
12 people (flexible but need at least 3 men) any age.
SKETCHES: 2 men (1 aged 40+, 1 aged 70+) 4 women
(1 aged 40+, 1 aged 70+, 2 aged 18-25)
SET: Representational e.g. painted flats with wartime posters on. 2 old- fashioned radio microphones on stands; giant cut-out of radio; actors bring on ( and take away) table and chairs for sketches.
TECHNICAL: 
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 1hour 30 minutes (without an interval). Audience Singalong could be added at the end.
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Adapted from Charles Dickens by Lynn Brittney
The famous story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the man who hated Christmas and, indeed, all of humanity, is well-known. This adaptation sticks faithfully to the original short story and is particularly enhanced by the use of projected images (see below) to represent the various visions shown to Scrooge by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. A delightful play. The "visions" induced by the Spirits are created by the use of projected slides. A returnable set of slides is provided free of charge with each licence application.
CAST: PLEASE NOTE that one character (the Narrator) plays several parts and other parts can be doubled. 9 men/boys : (2 boys aged 8 - 12, 2 men aged 20 - 30, all the others 50+) 14 women: (3 aged 10-20, 3 aged 20-30, all the others 50+)
SET: Representational. Primarily bare with furniture brought on and off.
TECHNICAL:
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes (without an interval)
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
THE TECHNICAL REHEARSAL
A comedy in 2 Acts by Alan Marshall
The technical rehearsal takes place when all the actors know their
lines and moves, the set has been built and the lights have
been put up. The purpose of this rehearsal is for the actors and technicians
to see if the exits and entrances work, the lights are in the
right place, there is enough room on the set and behind the set for
the actors to move around and so on. It is the time to test any special
sound or light effects and to make sure that the actors can hear
their cues. It is the one chance for everyone to become familiar
with what is on stage before they have a final dress rehearsal and
then perform to a paying audience ...that's the theory - in practice
it is frequently, if not always a complete disaster. An hilarious "fly
on the wall" experience
for the audience.
CAST: 9 men (3 aged 40+, all the others 50+ at least) 12 women (1 teenager, 2 aged 30+, 2 aged 40+, all the rest 50+ at least)
SET: Unfinished set of a pantomime. Part of it needs to be moveable (see script)
TECHNICAL:
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 45 minutes (without interval).
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
OLD ACTORS NEVER DIE - THEY SIMPLY LOSE THE PLOT
A farce in 2 Acts
by Lynn Brittney
The Mount Home for Retired Theatricals is an unusual place - more like a country house hotel than a home for the elderly. As Juliet Sullivan says "Waited on hand and foot - no meals to prepare - beds made. Heaven!" And the manageress positively encourages residents to carry on working as long as they can. So when Walter Neville (small part veteran of 212 films) arrives, he is overjoyed to find some of his best friends in residence. All is well until the serial womaniser husband of three of the residents (Mrs Sullivan 1, 2 and 3) goes missing - apparently on the run from Russian gangsters. The ladies decide that "He who pays the bills" must be rescued - but how to go about it? What follows is a truly daft journey into the world of eccentric luvvies that provides some of the best comic roles for senior actors you are ever likely to come across!
CAST: 5 men (1 non-speaking aged 30 - 50, 1 aged 30+, the rest are 60+) 6 women (3 aged 30+ and 3 aged 60+)
SET: The elegant resident's lounge of The Mount Home for Retired Theatricals. Assorted armchairs, card table, coffee table, tv etc.
TECHNICAL:
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes (without interval).
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
REDUCE, RENDER AND SWEAT
A satire by David Summers
Carenza Dean is a cookery writer and one-time cookery presenter on TV. However, now her career is in the doldrums, primarily because of her uncompromising attitude and snobbery about food. Her unhappy husband, Michael is having a secret affair with Mary, Carenza's assistant, and putting on weight because Mary expresses her love through the high-calorie food she prepares for him. Wayne Miller, a boorish but very talented food photographer, is attracted to Mary too but knows that he stands no chance - mainly because he's not actually interested in the food that he photographs so beautifully.Then Paul Aitken, Carenza's agent arrives with some startling news, that just might revive Carenza's ailing career. A satirical play about food and the way people relate to it.
CAST: 3 men (1 aged 20+, 1 aged 50+ and 1 aged 60+) 4 women ( 1 aged 20+, 2 aged 30+, 1 aged 50+)
SET: Carenza's glamorous kitchen. Half is kitchen, with worktop and cupboards, oven, and microwave (needs power to kettle and microwave but not oven). Half is small table and chairs and a small sofa.
TECHNICAL:
APPROX RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes (without interval)
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
UP THE BEANSTALK AGAIN
A drama by Alan Marshall
Laurence Bedford is a one-time classical actor who has made a career late in life of playing pantomime dames. His lifelong friend, Angela Martin, once an actress herself, makes his elaborate costumes. Angela has always loved Laurence - but Laurence is gay - and she desperately wants to make another life for herself. Her affair with Harry, the stage doorkeeper, is moving towards marriage, but Laurence refuses to acknowledge that Angela might leave him. He is facing his first Christmas alone, due to the death of his partner, while battling with the antagonism of the youthful soap star who is playing Jack in the pantomime. Pat and Eric, the husband and wife team who play Daisy the Cow, are leaving the business and Laurence has to come to terms with his age; changes in his life and the waste of his talent that has led up to this point. A bitter-sweet comedy/drama that explores the meanings of love and loneliness.
CAST: 4 men ( 1 aged 20+, 3 aged 60+) 3 women ( 1 aged early 20s, 2 aged 60+)
SET: The play takes place backstage (Laurence's dressing room) and front of stage (in front of the curtains or to one side of the stage in spotlight.)
TECHNICAL:
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes (without interval)
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50
PICKWICK PAPERS
Adapted from Charles Dickens by Lynn Brittney
The well-heeled and learned Mr Pickwick takes his earnest companions on a journey around the country to report on the character and manners of the populace. Pickwick's friends seem well-suited to the task: Snodgrass is a poet; Winkle a sportsman; while Tupman is sensitive to the ladies' point of view. Or so they claim. Their high notions and even higher ambitions are soon tested by con-men, deaf old matrons, servants, landladies, jailers and many other characters that complete the picture of Dicken's England - raucous and cheeky but ultimately bound together by a sense of fair play. The book made Charles Dickens famous at the age of twenty-five, justly so, and this lively adaptation does justice to the original in every respect.
CAST: 19 men (but many parts can be doubled up making a total of 10 men required)
Ages range from 2 young boys (which can be played by women) to 2 men aged 20+ and the rest should be aged 50 - 70 (or older in the case of the
Doctor and the Judge). 13 women (again some parts may be doubled up making a total of 11 women required, if two of them are playing boys). Ages range from 3 who are 20+, 2 who are 40+ and the rest are 50 - 70.
SET: The action is in various places, so no set really, just representational pieces brought on and off the stage, as required.
TECHNICAL :
APPROX. RUNNING TIME: One hour and three quarters, without an interval.
ROYALTY FEE PER PERFORMANCE: £45 Apply Now
PRICE OF SCRIPT: £6.50