Composers and their stage works 



 

¿De Donde?

Play Mary Gallagher. 8 men, 5 women (flexible casting). Unit Set

Freely translated as Where are you from? the tide of the play refers to the increasing tide of illegal aliens who flee north to the United States from the economically and politically oppressed countries of Latin America. Seeking jobs and fReedom from persecution, the refugees are, more often than not, met with indifference and even hostility, regardless of their circumstances, and deported back to their home countries - which can often mean certain death. In a series of sharply drawn scenes and monologues, with 13 actors portraying more than 40 characters, the author explores the individual stories of a cross section of refugees and those with whom they come in contact: overworked and increasingly cynical lawyers who try to win amnesty for them; a group of Catholic nuns who risk imprisonment to provide sanctuary; judges and immigration officials who must enforce often antiquated and even inhuman laws; and US citizens of Hispanic descent who are torn between allegiance to their new country and compassion for those fleeing persecution and poverty in their old. A moving plea for understanding and forbearance, the play also becomes, in the end, a searing indictment of American immigration policies and a disturbing reminder of the terrible toll which these can exact, whether intentionally or not.
ISBN: 0-8222-0295-6

Dead Dad Dog

(in Scot-Free) : John McKay
2m. Short comedy Minimal set

Premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh before transferring to the Royal Court, this is a witty, comic nightmare in which an unemployed, trendy young Scottish man is dogged by his deceased father, who was a Hoover salesman in his prime. An offbeat comedy with a political edge.
ISBN 1854590170

Dead Certain

Marcus Lloyd : Thriller 1M IF Interior set

When an unemployed actor is given the tempting offer to stage a reading of a new play by an author in her country home, he jumps at the chance. Elizabeth, an ex-dancer and once keen theatre-goer before an accident has confined her to a wheelchair, has written a psychological thriller. Michael has been out of work more often than not after his breakthrough from an understudy to the lead role in a West End production of West Side Story. The reading begins straightforward enough, but it soon becomes apparent that her play has taken on a curious similarity to real life - even down to recounting their first conversation after Michael's arrival. How could she have written that beforehand? She also seems to know a great deal more about the dark secrets surrounding Michael's West Side Story experience than it first appeared. It isn't long before the suspense starts to rise at an alarming rate as this taut psychological thriller gathers speed towards its gripping climax, where truth and illusion become almost inseparably entangled in a real life game of cat and mouse.
ISBN: 0856762393

Dead Funny

Comedy. Terry Johnson
M3 (36, 59) F2 (33, 39) A living-room.

The death of Benny Hill provides the impetus for this award-winning comedy about impotence, sex therapy and the English sense of humour. Eleanor wants what her husband Richard won't give her. Richard wants to be left in peace. Benny would rather rest in peace, but for tonight at least, his fans won't let him. '... a shatteringly good play, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking ... 'Daily Telegraph

Dead Giveaway

Suspense. Mary Orr and Reginald Denham. 5 men, 4 women. Interior.

The setting is the living room of a boarded-up hunting lodge in rural Ohio, the secret hideaway of a prominent US Senator. A young couple, on the run after having accidentally killed a gas station attendant during a robbery, break into the lodge to hide out - only to be discovered by the Senator when he arrives for a surreptitious tryst with another man's wife. Thereafter the plot begins to twist and turn ingeniously as the young couple, aware that they have caught the Senator in a compromising situation, blackmail him for $5,000 - only to have the tables turned on them when the Senator discovers the body which they have hidden in the lodge and realises that the peril of discovery is as great for them as for him. Meanwhile his new lady friend, knowing that the Senator has presidential aspirations, decides to exploit his predicament for her own advantage. Needless to say the complications multiply steadily as the various protagonists try to outwit each other, leading, in the end, to an unexpected but ironically fitting denouement.
ISBN: 0-8222-0283-2

Dead Guilty

Play. Richard Harris
M1 (20s), F3 (30s, 40s-60s). 1 male voice A sitting-room.

When John Haddrell dies of a heart attack at the wheel of his car, the woman at his side is not his wife Margaret but his lover, Julia. Recovering from the injuries she sustained in the ensuing crash, Julia is visited by Margaret, who apparently knows nothing of the affair. Events take a sinister turn when Margaret begins to encroach on Julia's life. Left alone in the house together, Julia and Margaret are locked in deadly combat ...
ISBN 0 573 01750 6

Dead Man's Hand

Thriller. Seymour Matthews
M3 F3. A lounge.

This captivating thriller employs a play within a play theme in a singularly exciting manner. At first it seems to be the usual Agatha Christie-type play - two couples lured to a remote Italian villa to be murdered one by one. It is only when this play is well advanced that we learn we are watching actors rehearsing their own murder mystery. An intriguing final twist unravels the real reason for the whole charade.
ISBN 0573016186

Dead of Night

Thriller. Peter Whalley
M2 (30s, 40s) F2 (20s, 30s). A living-room.

Jack has just been acquitted of manslaughter, and regales his girlfriend Maggie and their neighbours with a disparaging account of the trial. According to the evidence (most of it Jack's), the victim, Philip Mercer, had broken in late at night, and, on being confronted by Jack, produced a gun which Jack got hold of during the ensuing struggle and then used to kill Mercer. A clear case of selfdefence. Or was it?
ISBN 0 573 01743 3

Dead Ringer

Comedy thriller. Charles Ross, adapted from The Prime Pretender by Logan Gourlay
M5 (50s) F2 (40s). A study.

When the Prime Minister drops dead from an apparent heart attack on the eve of a General Election, two members of the Cabinet, fearing defeat without the charisma of the PM, hire an out-of-work actor, a 'dead ringer' for the deceased, to take his place until the election is won. However, the actor grows to like his role until he discovers the real PM was poisoned. Thereafter this thriller plunges us forcibly from the early amusing fantasy world into murder and dark plots.
ISBN 0 573 11534 6

Dead-Lock

Thriller. Hugh Janes
M3 (middle-age) F2 (30s, middle-age). A large country house.

When her husband dies in a car crash, Diana is determined to succeed as the new head of his successful company. Her son Alec believes the position should be his, while her younger son demands more of the family fortune. When strange events start happening in the house and a voice haunts her, Diana's fears and uncertainties increase. Just as she feels she knows who is responsible, events take a dramatic turn as her real enemy is revealed.
ISBN 0 573 01744 1

Deadline

Play. Geoff Bateman and Emlyn Pritchard
M4 (30s, 40s) F2 (20s, 40s), 1 Voice (M). A lounge.

Alex Conrad, an avid collector of detective novels, has devised a brilliant plan to cheat his exwife, Dinah, out of her share of the proceeds from his partner Tony's new invention: to stage Dinah's accidental 'murder' of Tony. With his girlfriend Cathy there as a witness and a gun full of blanks, what could go wrong? Many twists and shocks follow before we come to the denouement of this ingenious thriller.
ISBN 0 573 11360 2

Deadly Embrace

Thriller. Eric Paice
M 1 (35) F3 (18, early 40s). Extras 1 M 1 F. A living-room with gallery bedroom.

Angry and bitter after throwing out her unfaithful husband, Julia is only too ready to succumb to the good-looking Welshman who comes ostensibly to update her husband's computer. Julia enjoys playing games with the computer, particularly when it invites her to play the Murder Game and she can fantasize about how easy it would be to commit the perfect murder by computer with her errant husband as victim. However, stopping the program the next morning isn't so easy ...
ISBN 0 573 01745 X

The Deadly Game

Melodrama. James Yaffe, adapted from the novel Trapps by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. 6 men, 2 women. Interior.

Three retired men of law on a remote mountain in Switzerland amuse themselves by going through the legal ceremony of prosecuting strangers who drop in. An American traveling salesman is their guest on a snowy evening. Although their deadly game seems foolish to him, he agrees to it to humour his hosts. Since he has never been guilty of a crime in his life, he is unable to propose anything they can try him for. After a little amiable social conversation, the retired prosecutor discovers a plausible case. He accuses the traveling salesman of having murdered his boss. At first, this appears to be a wild improvisation. But Mr. Yaffe, using Mr. Dürrenmatt's novel as source-book, gradually makes something real out of phantoms. By ingenious questioning, he proves his case out of the witness' own mouth.
ISBN: 0-8222-0284-0

Deadly Nightcap.

Play. Francis Durbridge
M6 (30, 40, middle-age) F4 (young, 40s). A living-room.

Murder and mystery abound in this ingenious play from the master of the genre. Initially the plot seems to concern a greedy husband plotting to kill his wife. Disposing first of his brother-in-law, Jack enlists the help of his girlfriend in his plan to murder Sarah. But his scheme goes horribly wrong and he, not his wife, ends up dead. There are so many possible suspects and motives that the truth eludes us all ... although Cliff seems to be on the right track.
ISBN 0 573 01627 5

The Deal

Play. Matthew Witten. 4 men. Unit set

Concerned that he might be transferred to Alaska because of his failure to obtain a -conviction in the past three years, Alex, an FBI supervisor 'temporarily assigned to the Philadelphia office, decides to quicken his pursuit of a local political boss (who is suspected to accepting bribes) by setting up a "sting" operation which involves the offering of an illegal payment to a lesser official. With the reluctant cooperation of Peter, another FBI agent who agrees to pose as the representative of a group of rich developers; a small-time politico, Jimmy, is approached with the promise of a cash payoff if he can provide access to Tommy O'Hara, a highly placed official who controls patronage throughout the state and is the "man to see" when'the rules need bending. Essentially honest, but in need of funds to pay for his daughter's college expenses, Jimmy, after wrestling with his conscience, agrees to go along with the plan - thereby setting in motion a gripping series of disturbing events and suspenseful scenes in which questions of trust and betrayal are contrasted with those of greed and corruption. Ironically, it is "big fish" Tommy, the wily, cautious old pro, who wriggles off the hook, leaving the hapless "little fish" Jimmy to take the rap -, despite the troubled Peter's last minute attempt to spare him, even at the risk of jeopardizing his own career and of upsetting the quest for "justice," which, it seems, must be pursued regardless of the price exacted.
ISBN: 0-8222-0285-9

Dealer's Choice

Drama. Patrick Marber. 6 men. (20s-50s). Unit set A kitchen, restaurant, basement.

Stephen runs a restaurant and has a weekly poker game in the basement. He enjoys playing for big money, and it's not unusual for the waiters to lose their paychecks, or more, each week. One of the waiters, Mugsy, wants to start a restaurant of his own. He needs a loan, and thinks Stephen will give it to him since he intends to go into business with Stephen's son, Carl. Carl doesn't want any part of a restaurant, and prefers to gamble away whatever money Stephen gives him. This is a long-term problem for Carl. He's gone back and forth with his father, lying about his gambling obsession, pretending to quit, then getting deeper in debt to feed his habit. Stephen tolerates Carl, but just barely. Instead, he offers fatherly love to Mugsy, a chronic loser, but a loser who refuses to give up. On this night, Ash, a professional gambler, shows up at the restaurant and threatens to kill Carl if he doesn't pay up the $4,000 he owes. Carl could ask his father for money again, but he's afraid to admit he hasn't given up gambling. Instead, he invites Ash to play poker with the guys, knowing he'll clean them out. At this high-stakes game, one by one the waiters drop out. Ash is confronted by Stephen, who can spot a professional a mile away, but turns the table on Stephen when he asks him where Carl acquired his habit. Who is the real addict, Carl or Stephen? Shaken, Stephen admits he's hooked on the game. Finally knowing himself for what he is, Stephen approaches Carl with a new-found need to connect with his son.
ISBN: 0-8222-1616-7

Dear Brutus

Comedy. J. M. Barrie
M5 (young-old) F6 (young-60). A drawing-room, a wood.

The ill-assorted and unhappy guests that Lob, the gnomic ancient, collects at the country house are given a 'second chance' when they wander into a magic wood which only appears on Midsummer's Eve. There they are granted their wishes but not all of these necessarily lead to happiness. But when the magic and the wood are gone they have all learnt something about themselves which perhaps the bravest can profit from.
ISBN 0 573 01094 3

Dear Delinquent

Comedy. Jack Popplewell. 5 men, 3 women. Interior.

Penelope Shawn is a very pretty, very appealing young girl who has a most unusual profession; she's a burglar. Burglary is part of her family's tradition. When David Warren finds her attempting to rob his apartment, he decides it's up to him to reform her. Penelope, who finds David most attractive, is more than willing to be reformed by him, but his fiancée, Helen Chandler, is not particularly enthusiastic about the idea. Nor is Penelope's father, who is aghast at the way David has shaken Penelope's faith in the ideals and traditions of her family. Meanwhile, Penelope has hidden in David's apartment the jewels she had stolen from his neighbours, and the police are on David's trail, thinking he was an accomplice. His mother, Lady Warren, and his rich uncle, Sir George, become involved. Sir George decides David should marry Penelope, but her father, Henry Shawn, considers David not good enough for the daughter of a long line of first-class burglars. Meantime the police are blundering in and out of David's apartment in a hunt for the stolen jewels which finally turn up in the police sergeant's pocket - put there by Penelope. After disposing of the jewels thus satisfactorily, Penelope manages also to dispose of Helen, and by this time she has convinced David that he really must marry her and see that she continues in the path of an honest life.
ISBN: 0-8222-0286-7

Dear Friends

Play Reginald Rose. 5 men, 4 women (1 bit part for a girl). Interior.

With the intention of patching up the dissolved marriage of a pair of their friends, three couples assemble for a party at the apartment of Douglas and Sally Lambert. The estranged couple, Michael and Lois Graves, arrive separately - with no hint that the real purpose of the party is to get them to become reconciled. When it becomes apparent what their friends' motive is, they decide to leave. But at their friends' pleading they stay - not only to discuss their own problems, but to expose the skeletons in the other couples' closets as well. Gradually, tensions and antagonisms begin to erupt. One by one, the "dear friends" lash out at each other until the facade of affection and kindliness is stripped away. What is left is brash reality: to probe into the lives of others is to risk the disquieting examination of one's own failures.
ISBN. 0-8222-0287-5

Dear Octopus

Comedy. Dodie Smith M5 F12. Three interiors.

From far and wide four generations of the family gather to celebrate Charles and Dora Randolph's golden wedding anniversary. It is largely Dora's loving wisdom that makes this momentous occasion a chance for a few of her scattered brood to regain, within the security of the home, a new strength of purpose. All join that evening in toasting `The Family' - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape nor, in our innermost hearts, ever quite wish to. First produced in 1938.
ISBN 0 573 01096 X

Dear Ruth

Comedy. Norman Krasna, 5 men, 5 women. Interior

Using the name of her elder sister, a young girl carries on a romantic correspondence with an overseas soldier. When the soldier returns he finds that his distant lover is already engaged. But through a series of hilarious complications and plot twists, the elder sister becomes entirely convinced that her original engagement was a mistake and decides, at the very end, to marry the soldier anyway.
ISBN: 0-8222-0288-3

The Dearly Beloved

Play. Philip Osment - M4 (teenage, 40s) F5 (30s, 40s, 70). Simple interior and exterior settings. Fee code M

When Alaric, a successful London television producer, returns to his sleepy rural home town, his arrival heralds suffering and domestic turmoil in this sensitive, compelling depiction of a variety of family relationships. The play was critically acclaimed at Hampstead Theatre in 1993. "... exceptionally poignant, and there is no mistaking the overall richness of this play. Osment's penetrating observation of character and heartening generosity of spirit mark him out as a dramatist of exceptional and distinctive promise." Daily Telegraph
ISBN 0 573 01746 8

Dearly Departed

Comedy. David Bottrell and Jessie Jones. 4 men, 6 women (double casting). Unit Set

In the Baptist backwoods of the Bible Belt, the beleaguered Turpin family proves that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. Despite their earnest efforts to pull themselves together for their father's funeral, the Turpin's other problems keep overshadowing the solemn occasion: first-born, Ray-Bud drinks himself silly as the funeral bills mount; Junior, the younger son, is juggling financial ruin, a pack of no-neck monster kids and a wife who suspects him of infidelity in the family car; their spinster sister, Delightful, copes with death as she does life, by devouring junk food; and all the neighbours add more than 2 cents. As the situation becomes fraught with mishap, Ray-Bud says to his long-suffering wife, "When I die, don't tell nobody.. Just bury me in the backyard and tell everybody I left you." Amidst the chaos, the Turpin's turn for comfort to their friends and neighbours, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together and help each other through their hours of need, and finally, the funeral.
ISBN: 0-8222-1303-6