One Act Plays

DRAMA

Abide with Me. By Brian Langtry.

Running time 40 minutes 3m (2 in 40’s 1 able to play 17 yrs.)

Two ex Derbyshire miners and bandsmen find themselves in the trenches at Ypres in the early months of World War 1. This was the first time war had become ‘stuck’ with opposing sides facing themselves along long trench lines often separated only by a few yards of dangerous ‘No Man’s land’. They are joined by the under aged, university bound, son of a doctor and all three struggle to find common ground and understanding not only of the futility around them but also of the hardships, experiences and attitudes of their wildly differing backgrounds. There is brutality, fear and finality yet close by nestles the humour and compassion of the human spirit still capable of reaching out amid and across the chaos and hostility of the circumstance.

This is a dark, challenging yet engaging piece with many parallels to today’s world which depicts and exposes the thoughts and attitudes of working men caught up in the fervour and horror of a war the like of which the world had never before seen.

Funny how things turn out. By Sam Sterling

A play for 1m lasting 22 minutes. Set in the bar lounge of a pub.

Enjoying a relaxing pint our story teller recounts the humorous, sad, unusual and uplifting tale of his upbringing in the heart of a mining family and offers us a fleeting glimpse into how the experience of genetics and social environment has shaped his present situation and personality. Like most similar situations we are left to ponder some upon a significant questions.

Iseult: 1m 2f By Christine Emmert

A fatal love affair of celebrity status. How do participants in such a scenario view this in retrospect many years later….and from beyond the grave.

Iseult is giving her interview on the subject when the long departed Tristran and Iseult’s lady-in-waiting burst in to add their interpretations of the events of the romance. Even the vestiges of Wagner’s opera come under scrutiny!

King Mark: 2f 1m

The second in a trilogy of plays and companion pice to Iseult.
The celebrated story of Isolde and Tristan leaves out the viewpoint of the wronged husband King Mark who on his deathbed plans to set things straight. He is however thwarted in the course of this by his dead wife Iseult and her handmaid Breganine who may or may not be a witch?

Of the White Hand: 2f 1m

The final play of the trilogy and closing chapter of the story.
Iseult, King Mark and Of the White Hand can be performed as individual one act plays, as a pair or alternatively the complete trilogy. They offer a sometimes dark, thought provoking and enthralling dramatic journey and with delightful but challenging roles.

A great choice for festival performance.

Line Drawing: 2m 1f By Christine Emmert

The things one overhears whilst standing in line can be utterly and compellingly fascinating and completely impossible to ignore! In this 3-character piece are couple stand in line in deep conversation relating to the undulations of their relationship. A single man, patiently waiting and unable not to overhear joins their conversation to offer advice upon their predicament.

A catchy work layered with humour and relating to a situation with which we can all identify.

Madam by Léon Pepall.

1m 1w running time 38 minutes.

Madam lives alone in her large secluded house. A masked face is seen peering through the patio doors. The potential assailant makes his entry. Death lurks in the air, but whose death and what can be the reason? Through the thrust, parry and suspense of their enigmatic, sometime humorous and dark dialogue, we make sense of this seemingly strange confrontation as the secrets drip, drip drip into the open. Once these secrets are set free will it still be necessary for someone to die?

A great festival piece , moody, brimming with intrigue and expectation.

Mud. By Steve Black

A one woman monologue running time 30/35 minutes.

This is one woman’s story about a crazy love affair that went wrong. The story has light as well as dark moments and is very personal. Rosalind encounters an attractive stranger at the solicitors where she works and thus begins a journey of roller coaster proportions. From believing that she had no chance of a relationship with this man to the unexpected ending, both the actress and the audience encounter an emotional and confusing series of consequences.

Stage set.......One Armchair, one side table, one bottle of wine, and a photograph of her cat.

The Beam. By Steve Black

One man one woman dark drama running time 30/35 minutes.

This is a very thought provoking and enigmatic piece of theatre. Two total strangers, one man one woman, awaken to find themselves stranded on a single 6 inch beam marooned 4 feet in the air and surrounded by nothing. Neither has any idea how they got there, why they are there or who is responsible. The questions they both have are countless and the art of survival becomes paramount. Can they escape from the beam?

Stage set...One beam. Two full-length black hooded cloaks. One voice over [supplied if required]

The Dining Chair By Steve Black

A thought provoking drama for two women with a sting in the tale. Running time 55 minutes. Can be performed as two acts or one.

A London journalist on a weekend away from the rat race, discovers a secluded beach cove. Intent on sunbathing and relaxing alone she is surprised to find an unoccupied dining chair on the beach looking out to sea. The journalist, Amelia Franklyn, is even more surprised to find that the cove is in fact inhabited by an enigmatic young girl. Their ensuing relationship takes a number of twists and turns as they learn about their respective life styles and discover similarities and differences which become of ultimate importance. However, things are never quite what they seem...but then are they ever!

Stage set….. Ideally a stage strewn with real sand, sky blue backdrop, a dining chair, and fake rocks.

The Fox by Tim Kenny

1m, 1m/w running time 25 minutes.

An elderly gentleman sits on the evening beach idly casting pebbles amongst the waves. He is approached by a policeman/woman his absence from the residential home having been notified. He says he is waiting for the foxes to feed upon the fish.

This is a poignant, moving and uplifting work based upon true facts in which the constable and the old man form a bond that touchingly reaches across the void of a generation and the foxes really do feed on the fish. They share experiences and preconceptions each imparting warmth, learning and humanity to the other.

The Island of Flowers by Peter Lancaster Walker

A gentle and meaningful drama for 3 female and 2 male running time approx 35-40 minutes.

Teenager Ruth is very poorly in hospital. Pop star Janey pays a reluctant whistle stop publicity visit to the hospital along with her pushy manager Max. An unexpected bond develops between Janey and Ruth in which both parties uncover unpredictable facets about each other and themselves. Ruth's future is uncertain and she has a profound belief in religion and the after life something to which the modern brash Janey has given little if any consideration.
The ending is sad, poignant and thought provoking.

Stage set- a side ward in a hospital.

This work would be of particular but by no means exclusive interest to Christian affiliated groups.

The Waiting Room. By Peter Lancaster Walker

For two women and one man approx running time 25 mins.

Robert and Sue meet in the waiting room as they are both to be interviewed for an important job. Robert is confident, slightly arrogant and soon decides that the competition he had initially expected is unlikely to materialise. Sue's deportment and appearance serve to confuse Robert and his natural assertiveness leads him to believe that this is a 'no contest' competition. As things turn out he could not be more wrong but the journey of enlightenment is far from straightforward.

Set- A waiting room, easy chairs , coffee table, magazines, pictures on wall.

Woodstock under new Management: 1m 1f By Christine Emmert

Set in the Reagan years this is the testimony of a Vietnam Veteran struggling to both recall and to forget his experiences of the War. He is married to a woman of the Country of the battlefield and it is to her that he relates his remembrance of the death of his commanding officer as well as his wife’s seemingly relentless slide into the mediocrity that is ‘the American life.’ As has become his nightly custom he begs that she brings him the pistol which she keeps hidden. The drama lives up until the last moment when he seeks a release and a return the return of his innocence.

A deep and resonating portrayal of one man’s personal nightmare.

Wracked and Ruined: 2m 3f By Christine Emmert

In the spirit of the Hammer movies where the beautiful virgin is the victim and the corpse. In her tomb awaiting the onset of rigor mortis she ponders the identity of her slayer. She has assistance in this by way of a series of visiting mourners each of whom may have been the perpetrator. Things are inevitably not precisely what they seem but as the body stiffens the answer is revealed.

A mystery/drama with a running veil of black comedy.


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