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Play. John Pielmeier Dr Livingstone, a court-appointed psychiatrist, is asked to determine the
sanity of a nun accused of murdering her own baby. The Mother Superior seems
bent on protecting Sister Agnes from Livingstone whose suspicions are immediately
aroused. In searching for solutions to various mysteries Livingstone forces
all of them to face some harsh realities in their own lives. This powerful
drama was an outstanding success on Broadway and was filmed with Jane Fonda
and Anne Bancroft. Eight short plays. Michael Frayn
ISBN 0 573 01808 1 Play. Created by The Manhattan Project, under the direction of Andre Gregory. 4 men, 2 women. Open Stage. Everyone is familiar with Alice's' antic adventures, and they are all here
- but with an arresting difference. From the presumed innocence of the original
is drawn a caustic and giddy revelation of the human psyche, and the dark,
unsettling shadows which can linger there. Freud and Jung, Kafka and Dali,
all make their presence felt, in a piece of pure theatre that is full of truth,
and fun, and terror, and uncanny pertinence to our own topsy turvy times. As
T.E. Kalem comments: "Alice is an exemplary instance of how a classic
can be made 'new,' and one of the extremely rare instances of a book's being
turned into a wholly satisfactory theatrical experience." Play. Jimmie Chinn Some would say Albert Nuttall, aged eleven, is backward - but he is special.
He is a poet and a visionary who, as he grows into manhood, inspires unexpected
depths of emotion in other people, notably his classmate Primrose, whose glorious
future as an actress fails to materialise, and the lost and lonely young schoolteacher,
Janet Partington. This strange, touching and uplifting story - written to be
enacted entirely by adults - is engaging and theatrically innovative.
Period 1940s-1950s. (in The Guid Sisters) : Michel Tremblay. Trans. van
Burek & Glassco Five actresses portray Albertine at different times of her life whilst conversing
freely with each other and with their sister Madeleine. Albertine at 30 is
recuperating in the country after viciously beating her I I-year-old daughter;
Albertine at 40 is a virago at war with the world; at 50 she has rejected her
past by reinventing it; at 60 she has given in to depression; at 70 she's found
a kind of peace. First performed in London in 1986 at the Donmar Warehouse. Comedy. David Rimmer. 2 men, 2 women (all are teenagers). Unit set. Divided into eight scenes, which span their years at Martin Van Buren High
School, the play chronicles the coming of age of two teenaged couples during
the turbulent Sixties. The language is frank, but unfailingly funny, as the
four struggle with impending adulthood and their awakening sexuality. The action
ranges from summer camp, to dormitory bedrooms, to senior prom, with the popular
music of the period - Bob Dylan, The Beatles, the Beach Boys - ever ' present
as a telling counterpoint to, and emotional anchor for, the lives of its young
foursome. As the years spin deftly by it is also apparent that maturity will
bring differing perils and problems for each of them, although all will continue
to recall the special excitement - and poignancy - of these last few carefree
years together. Ben Jonson Face, Subtle and Dol Common are three rogues intent on conning the gullible
out of their money. Simon Callow, Tim Pigott-Smith and Josie Lawrence played
the three conmen in the 1996 National Theatre production. First performed in
1610. Play.
Bill Naughton With sublime amorality Alfie swaggers and philosophises his way through the
play, chattily allowing the audience to eavesdrop as he goes from one 'bird'
to another, trying hard to communicate his own brand of determined hedonism
and carefully rejecting anyone or anything that might touch him too deeply.
Premiered at London's Duchess Theatre, the stage play was later successfully
filmed with Michael Caine in the role of the ebullient Cockney Alfie. Drama. Israel Horovitz. 2 men, 2 women. Interior. Alfred Webber visits his old family home whre Margaret, his ex-girlfriend
of many years ago, and her husband, Will, now live. Margaret still carries
a torch for Albert, driving Will to extremes of jealousy. Even the child Alfred
and Margaret share who had been given up for adoption, still permeates Margaret's
psyche and her marriage. Alfred uses all these neurosis, plus,some of his own,
to find out the truth about his brother's mysterious murder. Though the murder
happened years ago, Alfred has his hunches about Will, and on the pretext of
coming to visit his father's grave, stays in the old homestead and catches
up on old times. When Alfred's wife, Emily, shows up, her presence throws the
visit into disarray, but also provides Alfred with the strength to set Will
up for a confession to the murder. Through deception, seduction, revelation
and even torture, Alfred discovers his father is really alive, Margaret reveals
a suppressed past, and a confession of murder is dragged out of Will. The facts
are sketchy, but Will pays the ultimate sacrifice when Alfred kills him, prompting
Margaret to give up hope of any more illusions and kill herself. Alfred and
Emily are left to explain the carnage and pay the price of this tragedy. Vanessa Brooks : Comedy 3M 3F Flexible staging When Graham and Annette, and Gus and Maria, the two winning couples of Meteor
Television's popular lover's reunion programme Star-Crossed Sweethearts, head
off for the romantic cruise they've been promised on board the Sovereign, little
do the, realise what adventures he is wait over the horizon. Unknown to the
couples, the "cruise" turns out to be artificially staged for the
cameras on a moored ship, which the inept Meteor TV researcher Debbie has been
put in charge of organising. It's not long before Debbie's own "ex" Marcus
appears under innocent enough circumstances, and while some old flames prepare
to rekindle, others soon look positively ready to explode. The situation rapidly
accelerates when they realise that the ship is no longer moored and is drifting
helplessly into the English Channel shipping lanes, endangering everybody in
this black comedy of romance and rust on the high seas. Comedy: Jonathan Troy. 4 men, 6 women. Interior Being a cartoonist, Duff O'Hara can live where he chooses and, at the urging
of his young bride, Joan, this turns out to be historic Salem, Massachusetts.
They are both taken by the charming old house which is shown to them although
Duff evinces misgivings when the real estate man reluctantly admits that the
house has one rather bizarre feature which has discouraged previous tenants
from staying on - it is visited each year by a slightly destructive witch named
Agatha Forbes. But Joan wants the house, witch and all, so they settle in.
Things go so well that by the time Agathâs annual visitation is due Duff
and Joan decide to make a party of it, and hopefully a farewell one for Agatha.
Joaris Aunt Thelma comes to visit in time for the festivities for which the
next door neighbours, Dr. Randolph and his mother (a medium who calls herself
Madame La Solda), are also invited Inasmuch as Agatha is a local legend the
newspaper sends its star reporter, Flip Cannon, along to cover the affair,
but the atmosphere of gaiety soon vanishes when the witch herself arrives in
a cloud of smoke and bad temper. Impatient from the outset, Agatha makes no
bones about the fact that she wants everyone out of the house, although she
does mellow to the extent of admitting that if she had a choice she would rather
forego her enforced yearly visits and stay wherever it is witches live out
eternity. She even goes along with Madame La Soldâs occult attempts to
dissolve the commitment which binds her, but when this fails Agatha loses patience
and repeats her evacuation order. As no one will cooperate, she then exercises
her special powers and casts a spell which, to every one's dismay, temporarily
makes them actually become as they secretly wish themselves to be. The results
are uproarious. But Joan, fortunately, keeps her wits about her and solves
the riddle of how to free Agatha from her househaunting obligation - which
she does in the nick of time and to the relief of all. John Dryden A Drama Classic - the most affordable edition of this classic drama Dryden's
version of the Antony and Cleopatra story told as heroic tragedy. First performed
in 1677. Comedy. Bill Naughton This robustly humorous play centres on the sensitive Arthur and his new bride
forced by economic circumstances to live with his good-hearted but rough-tongued
father. The lack of privacy is so inhibiting that Arthur is unable to consummate
the marriage, and gradually word gets around. But fortunately Arthur becomes
so humiliated and enraged - he loses his inhibitions ...! Filmed as The
Family Way with Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills. Arthur Miller : Drama 6.M 4F Exterior set The story concerns the fortunes of the Keller and Deever families. During
the war Joe Keller and Herbert Deever ran a machine shop which made aeroplane
parts. Deever was sent to prison because the firm turned out defective parts,
causing the deaths of many men. Keller, however, went free and made a lot of
money. The twin shadows of this catastrophe and the fact that the young Keller
son was reported missing during the war dominate the action. The love affair
of Chris Keller and Ann Deever, the bitterness of George Deever returned from
war to find his father in prison and his father's partner free, are all set
in a structure of almost unbearable power. The climax showing the reactions
of a son to his guilty father is a fitting conclusion to a play which is electrifying
in its intensity. All Things Bright and Beautiful. Comedy. Keith Waterhouse and Willis
Hall An exuberant and racy comedy which is yet a sad commentary on twentieth-century
bureaucracy. The Hesseltines are living in property well overdue for demolition
and are looking forward to being rehoused in more beautiful and salubrious
surroundings. The crisis comes when they find that, far from a house with a
little bit of garden, they are to live in a warrenous block of flats. Play. Ben Brown David Freeman, a Professor of Philosophy about to reach fifty, is tired of
life. His only desire now is to control the timing and manner of his death.
His plans for 'self-deliverance', however, are disrupted by the earthly demands
of people around him. Alone at last he carries out his plan, but is saved by
the college electrician. Returning from hospital, David hears news that may
change his mind - yet ultimately the vagaries of chance would have it otherwise. Play. Frank Vickery This poignant comedy is set in the wartime Rhondda and captures perfectly
the claustrophobic yet protective and supportive atmosphere of life in the
Welsh Valleys in 1942. The two central characters - Dilys, in love with an
American GI and Sophie, frustrated at being unmarried and happy to settle for
Dilys's dull brother- are contrasted and astutely observed, as are the other
members of the household - Mother, nearing the end of her years and precocious
Brenda, trembling on the brink of adolescence.
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