Play. Patricia Joudry. The relationship between a self-conscious, proud youngster who guesses
- correctly - that her not-quite-bright mother was never married.
There is a troubled, but only reluctantly, hostile relationship between
a boy who thinks of himself as 'more the writer type' and the ambitious
but ineffectual parents who want to urge him toward better things.
As the boy and girl, both of them outcasts in the high-school world
of prom dates and grapevine rumours, stumble upon one another and
slowly find their ways toward dignity, open affection and some sort
of identity. The play turns over a good many attractive memory-sketches.
Though the boy and girl are separated by their parents who refuse
to acknowledge one another's worth, the vital steps to maturity have
been taken and through their love for each other they emerge as important
people. (in an edition with In a Little World of Our Own) - Gary
Mitchell Set in a weaver's cottage in County Armagh at the time of the 1798
Rebellion, this is a searing portrait of a community divided against
itself, with inevitably tragic consequences. Premiered at the Lyric
Theatre, Belfast, 1998 Classroom comedy. John Godber Fast-moving, inventive and highly entertaining, Teechers vigorously
evokes life at a modern Comprehensive, using the format of an end-of-term
play to sketch a drama teacher's progress through two terms of recalcitrant
classes, cynical colleagues and obstructive caretakers until he departs
for the safer waters of a private school. The play runs the gamut
of emotions, climaxing with the final scene which gives a poignant
edge to the comedy. '... the style is loud, cheerful, butch and pointedly
political.' Time Out A Collage for Voices: Lewis John Carlino. The play is told without scenery, without costumes, without make-up, changes and without stage movements. Telemachus Clay is a play about a journey. It is a work that
seeks to encompass in this voyage, the experiences of Telemachus
Clay - bastard and dreamer - as he moves through a kaleidoscope of
human joys and griefs, seeking to touch the shadow of some distant
trinity; a Godhead, his father and the salvation of his race. It
is a play in which eleven actors play ninety-nine characters, forming
a great human collage of voices and sounds as Telemachus lives his
search. It begins in a small, down-east town and traverses a continent
to Hollywood where Telemachus seeks to sell a story he has written,
a story which shows the painful mistakes of mankind. The story in
his dream. It is his answer to the chaos of the world. He leaves
behind him an illegitimate son. What happens to Telemachus, the despairs,
the frustrations, is the stuff this play is made of. He meets a jaded
Hollywood writer who makes him see his story is too true, too naïve
for anyone to produce. "Who's going to pay admission to see the sins
of the world?" The writer tries to convince Telemachus to return
home and begin with himself, with his son. Begin to create "... a
race of gentle people who will create their own season, a season
of the heart, a season of remembering." Play. Václav Havel. Translated by George Theiner No longer satisfied with science, Dr Foustka experiments with necromancy, resulting in the appearance of Fistula, a repugnant tramp who offers Foustka three choices. The game of bluff and double bluff which ensues due to his inability to resist and the final ironic revelation of Fistula's identity provide a powerful and witty satire of human pride and give a perspective on life in Eastern Europe as only Havel could. Comedy. Lewis Banci and Milburn Smith. Walker McCormick is a perennial graduate student (and college instructor)
who has put off writing his PhD thesis so many times that his no-longer-patient
wife, Nell, has decided on divorce and a fresh start - this time
with a real go-getter. Having become a computer programmer to support
her unhurried husband, Nell is about to go off on a date with her
very ambitious (and romantically inclined) young boss when a problem
arises. She and Walker had agreed to rent their Long Island beach
house for the summer, but neither had bothered to get it ready for
the new tenant, and suddenly a deadline is at hand. The suggestion
that Nell and Bob (her suitor) will spend the weekend house cleaning
stirs Walker's latent jealousy, and he is soon racing out ahead of
them in company with a curvaceous blonde named Evelyn Blue, a fellow
member of the Anti-Digit-Dialing League (one of the many good causes
with which Walker has involved himself to avoid working on his thesis).
What happens next is a hilarious contest between her almost "ex" and
possibly would-be husband, with the compliant Evelyn standing by
to solace the loser. Somehow it all manages to sort itself out, and
eventually Nell's burning desire for success and money gives way
before Walker's suggestion that she join him in peaceful little East
Wickham, Massachusetts, where he has decided to accept an offer to
teach in the local high school. Their turnabout leaves Bob and Evelyn
to fend for themselves, but have no fear - it appears that they too
were made for - or deserve - each other, as the case may be. Comedy Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith. The story has to do with Charlie Reader, a young bachelor in New
York who's living the ideal life. Or so it seems to Joe McCall, an
old friend of his from Indianapolis. Charlie has an elegant apartment,
a good job, and millions of girls - all eager to bring him food,
tidy up his apartment and fall in with his every wish. The girls
are all good-looking, all ladies, and all slightly on the mature
side. Joe, who's come to New York because he thinks he's discovered
a cure for the common cold, is very much taken with Charlie's set-up
and more than somewhat envious. He finds himself becoming interested
in Sylvia Crewes, the nicest of Charlie's girls, while Charlie, in
the meantime, finds himself getting more and more involved with Julie
Gillis, a, luscious young morsel just out of college. Julie is in
love with Charlie but she's determined he's going to do things the
way she wants them done, about which Charlie isn't too enthusiastic.
Charlie juggles his girls till one frantic evening he finds himself
engaged to both Julie and Sylvia and one amusing scene after another
results until he finally manages to get rid of the wrong young lady
and marry the right one. Play. Alan Ayckbourn The leading lights of the village have decided to hold a pageant
of local history based on a somewhat vague event. On the committee
is a young left-wing schoolteacher who decides to turn the project
into a rally for proletarian revolution. Committee meetings become
symbolic battlefields for conflicting views and the event itself
turns into a violent confrontation between the two extremes with
cataclysmic results. The original production starred Paul Eddington
and Julia McKenzie. Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes Play. Sue Townsend In the futuristic world of 2001 babies are chosen, bought and paid for before conception. Lucinda and her husband have carefully chosen a blonde-haired, blue-eyed government baby girl. Towards the end of the pregnancy they discover that she has a defect - she has only nine toes - and will be taken at birth for government research. Lucinda joins forces with Dot, who is a lower-class citizen and therefore forbidden to breed, to defeat both State and husbands. Play. George W.S. Trow Taking place in three "sets," played out on a tennis court, the
play deals with the changing manners and values of the moneyed classes,
and their hangers-on, from the turn of the century, through the 20s
and 30s, and on to the present day. Guided by a bouncy games-mistress,
we meet such luminaries as Diamond Jim Brady and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt;
the hard-eyed, ambitious flapper, Brenda; and Morgan Aspair, the
beautiful, amoral and fascinating child of Hollywood in its heyday.
The talk is bright, witty and often funny, but it also reveals of
the desperation and meanness which, all too often, lurks beneath
the dazzling veneer of the places and people dealt with. In essence
the play is concerned with the manners and values of the moneyed
few, and those who jockey for position in their ranks,. Ultimately,
however, it is America itself which is captured, defined and deftly
illuminated by the playwright's resourceful and incisive imagination. Play. Rebecca Wackler, Larry Larson and Levi Lee. Convinced by written instructions from heaven that the poor misshapen
creature to which his daughter has given birth is the Messiah, the
Reverend Ed Tarbox kidnaps the baby from the Arkansas laboratory
where it is being studied, christens it Jesus O. Tarbox, and, with
his daughter and son in tow, heads off in their mobile home toward
the promised land ... which turns out to be Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
The Reverend Ed is a bullying, Bible thumping redneck preacher who
may well be the father of the lamentably deformed baby; son Daniel
is a slow-witted World War II veteran who claims that the scar from
his hernia operation really came from a Nazi bayonet; while his hapless
daughter, Becky, stuffs cotton in her ears to muffle the celestial
music which plays incessantly inside her head. It appears that what
Reverend Ed has in mind is the ritual murder of the infant, but his
plans change when, in a marvelously theatrical scene, its bassinet
lights up mysteriously from within and rolls over to a typewriter
which, all by itself, begins typing out another message from, on
high, which, in turn, leads to the lively climax of the play, with
a rousing hymn sing, a splashy baptism (bassinet and all), and a
blasphemous yet outrageously funny epiphany involving, of all things,
an eggplant. Comedy/Drama. Jon Tuttle. In the tiny town of San Gabriel, New Mexico, is the Terminal Café
where the locals hang out complaining about life, each other, and
the food while dreaming about something better. There's the Terminal's
tough owner, Ro; the town Super, McKay, from back east; Kate and
Ben, the town spitfire and the town tough guy - destined to be
together; Dawson, the town pup with more heart than brains; Joe,
an illiterate widower, raising his teenage son, BB; the fancy and
intriguing Carly, new in town and vague of means; and Floyd, half
Navajo, as old as, or older than, the town itself. These are simple
people; their lives, up to now, have been untouched, almost pure,
yet they have passion for life and for one another, with naïveté that
can be charming as well as devastating. About all San Gabriel can
offer, besides the café, is a coal mine, which barely keeps
the town alive. But after Pearl Harbour is bombed, and World War
II becomes a grim reality, the town's mine becomes important both
to the War effort and to the mysterious goings on at Los Alamos
(where the Manhattan Project is based). The interest in the mine
is a blessing to some and a curse to others who see beyond the
immediate revitalisation the town. At first everything seems good
and even the Terminal prospers, but greed, corruption and mismanagement
get a stranglehold on the town as the testing of The Bomb, silently
and deadly, has its own effect on it, too. The Terminal's beloved
watchdog succumbs to the poisoning; Ro and Dawson's daughter is
born with birth defects, though they don't realise radiation was
the cause; there is a disastrous accident at the mine when safety
is compromised to produce more coal for Los Alamos. In the end,
of course, the war is won, but San Gabriel is left a casualty with
its few local survivors as ghosts in a ghost town. Play. Ted Tally First seen at the Chichester Festival in 1980 with Hywel Bennett
in the role of Scott, this story of Captain Scott's expedition to
the South Pole, his discovery that Amundsen had preceded him, the
bravery and sufferings of his team, the self-sacrifice of Captain
Oates and the final tragedy are recounted in a mixture of fantasy
and realism which underlines both the human and epic qualities of
the deathly adventure. Play Ted Tally. Drawn from the journals and letters found on the frozen body of
Captain Scott, the action of the play blends scenes of the explorer
and his men at various stages of their ordeal, with flashbacks of
Scott and his young wife and with fateful glimpses of his Norwegian
rival, Roald Amundsen, whose party beat him to the South Pole. Refusing
the use of sled dogs as unsporting, Scott and his team struggle to
drag their heavy gear across a frozen wasteland, only to find that
Amundsen has preceded them to their goal. The play is also a study
of British pride and upper-class resolve - Scott's aristocratic sense
of destiny and command, and his young bride's ability to understand
her husband's compulsive drive while failing to accept his motivations.
But it is in the tragic trip back, as the members of the expedition
die one by one, that the play reaches its dramatic apogee, capturing
with chilling intensity the awesome bravery of men who must accept
the bitter knowledge that suffering and death will be the only reward
for their heroism. Thriller. Tim Kelly. The action takes place in 19th century Philadelphia, where Dr. Cyrus
Norton, a brilliant but eccentric surgeon, is creating an
"anatomical museum" to further his standing as a recognised expert
on anatomy and dissection. The problem is that he needs cadavers,
and by law these can only be obtained from the public gallows, so
he is forced to deal with the unsavoury Gin Hester and her sinister
partner, Scrubbs, two grave robbers and body-snatchers who have little
concern about where the corpses might come from. In fact, in their
zeal to practice their lucrative trade, the two soon bring suspicion
on Dr. Norton and his household: his devoted daughter, who wants
to follow in her father's footsteps; his vapid spinster sister; and
his eager assistant, a young doctor who has fallen in love with the
daughter. Chills mount as one eerie scene follows another, as the
persistent police detective assigned to the case moves nearer to
learning the truth about the blackmail and increasingly vicious murders
which have been engendered by the doctor's obsession. In the end
Dr. Norton himself falls victim to the evil he has unleashed but,
as the curtain falls, we learn that he has not died in vain - his
daughter, Marilyn, has donned her father's bloody apron and will
carry on his "good work for the betterment of mankind and the advancement
of science". Play. Michael Fry. Adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy. Music
by Anthony Feldman All the tragic majesty of Thomas Hardy's celebrated novel is captured
in this arresting and theatrically exciting adaptation, narrated
by a masked Chorus in the style of Greek tragedy (Hardy's favoured
form of theatre) and using songs to counterpoint and underline the
action. Michael Fry's adaptation provides a clear and thrilling experience
and an enlightening and fascinating re-evaluation of a familiar text.
Period late nineteenth century Play. Arnold Perl (based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem). A number of the most famous Tevya stories have been adapted by Mr.
Perl into a highly amusing, warm-hearted play. First, the scene in
which Tevya, a poor drayman, happens to do a favour to a rich family.
In gratitude they give him money and a milk cow - and Tevya the drayman
becomes Tevya the dairyman. Most of the play, however, is concerned
with the marrying off of Tevya's two eldest daughters. Each time
Tevya and his wife Golde have begun to arrange advantageous matches
for the girls so each time their well-meaning plans are foiled by
the daughters' falling in love and taking matters into their own
hands. Tzeitl, the eldest, has attracted the interest of Lazar Wolf,
a prosperous butcher, and Golde is enchanted at the thought that
her daughter will have pretty clothes to wear and always enough to
eat. But Tzeitl has fallen in love with a poor tailor, and of course,
love wins out. Then Hodel falls in love with a poor student; they
marry, and on their wedding, day Hodel's husband is exiled to Siberia.
With her parents' blessing, Hodel goes to join her husband in his
exile, and Tevya is left contemplating the future of his remaining
five daughters "fair of form and beautiful to look upon ... [The] little
ones too young to be problems; but they'll grow into it." Farce. Ben Travers Sir Hector Benbow invites Cherry, a pretty shop assistant, to dine.
Arriving home, he finds not only Cherry but Mrs Frush, to whom he
has rented Thark, his niece's Norfolk house. Mrs Frush complains
Thark is haunted. To distract Lady Benbow's attention from Cherry,
he suggests everyone go to Thark, which lives up to its spinechilling
reputation. A wild night, sinister butler and plethora of romantic
mix-ups add to the lively proceedings. Period 1927 Play. Jason Miller. Following their annual custom five men - a high school basketball
coach, now retired, and four members of the team that he guided to
the state championship twenty years earlier - meet for a reunion.
The occasion begins in a light-hearted mood but gradually, as the
pathos and desperation of. their present lives is exposed and illuminated,
the play takes on a richness of power of rare dimension. One for
met player is now the inept mayor of the town - and facing a strong
challenge for re-election. Another, the frustrated principal of the
local high school, is his ambitious campaign manager. A third, now
a successful (and destructive) businessman, is wavering in his financial
support of the mayor. While the fourth is a witty, but despairing
alcoholic. As the evening progresses all that these men were - and
have become - is revealed and examined with biting humor and saving
compassion. In the end self-preservation, abetted by the unconscious
cynicism and bigotry of their coach, draws them together. But they
are lost, morally bankrupt holding on to fraudulent dreams which
have poisoned their present lives and robbed them of the future which
was once so rich in promise. Play. N. J. Crisp Ralph, in his seventies and terminally ill, has two final missions:
to be reconciled to his long abandoned son Michael, and secretly,
to ensure he is not a burden to his younger, devoted wife Anna as
he goes 'into that good night'. But Ralph wrecks all hope of reconciliation
when he picks a fight with Michael's girlfriend. Later, alone, Ralph
receives the 'Visitor' whose services he has hired to provide the
painless ending. But the visitor plays a devastating trick. Play. Alonzo D. Lamont, Jr. Three black men in their late twenties, friends since high school,
meet in a playground to play basketball, hang out and talk. Jello
is a struggling writer, and the others tease him about living off
of his parents and not having a "real" job. Sky works at a community
counselling centre, helping others, yet harbouring deep seated frustrations
which he takes out on those around him. Twin has a good position
at Xerox, but he recently turned down a promotion offer, which is
a mystery to Jello and Sky. The friends try to show each other up,
both verbally and on the basketball court, but this escalates and,
combined with the anger they feel from their everyday lives, the
confrontations grow more physical. Slowly, they reveal their fears
to one another and confront their self-deceptions ending the play
with less bravado and more understanding. Comedy: Mark O'Donnell. Set on "the last day on earth," this explosive farce details the
reactions of a particularly zany household to the unexpected news
that the world is about to end - first their disbelief and then their
relief that they will no longer have to worry about refilling ice
trays. Among those present are Eden, a pure-spirited girl who is
trying to communicate with other planets so that she can exchange
recipes; her boyfriend, Otis, a satanist who speaks in verse and
aspires to become the Antichrist's personal secretary; a suicidal
nymphomaniac who works for a fashion magazine which is all cover
and no text; her last pick-up, Zed, a money-mad opportunist whose
ambition is to be a magazine cover boy; and a senile ghost who cannot
quite grasp the fact that he is dead. As promised the world does
expire, with distant planets looming into view; ominous- radio voices
broadcasting doomsday reports; two hard-hatted angels industriously
sweeping up the post-apocalypse detritus; and, in the end, one lone,
dazed survivor (Zed) left behind trying to figure out what went wrong
- and why. Drama, Tad Mosel. In the words of Kay Gardella, NY Daily News, "[That's Where
the Town's Going] deals with the humdrum life led by two
ageing sisters whom time has temporarily turned into rivals for
the affections of one man, whom, in their youth, they wanted no
part of. The locale of the play is a small midwestern town; the
setting, a large old home that bespeaks dwindling wealth ...This
stultifying atmosphere and utter uselessness of their existence
bothers Wilma Sills more than Ruby who insists she is "contented.
Some days, even happy."
Not Wilma ... First, she invites the town wolf, George Preble, to
the house for brochures and data on Shadyside, a new housing development
she briefly dreams of moving to. Another desperate gesture is to
write to Hobart Cramm, once a poor boy from the town who, she learns,
has made good in the East." But when he turns up it is quickly evident
that it pleases him to see the once influential Sills family brought
low. After assuring himself of Wilma's complete humiliation, he asks
her to marry him. She has been told she is silly so many years that
she now believes it and is terrified of doing the wrong thing at
this, the most crucial moment of her life. But she cannot help herself
- she refuses Hobart because she does not love him. The blow to his
vanity is monumental, and he turns for comfort to Ruby, whose assumed
acceptance of life is now penetrated, revealing a reckless, almost
conniving desire for escape which Wilma never suspected. |