A 30-minute “hilarious, Ionesco-style satire” (Time Out) in which the Council’s Mr Rouse runs logimetric rings round a hapless theatre manager, to the horror of the boobicous Raquel Bardot. (2m, 1f, first produced by the Wessex Actors Company, subsequently at the Union Theatre, London.) Published by Samuel French, London.
Category: Short Plays
Excellent Beauty & other short plays, including How To Avoid A Tragedy
How to Avoid a Tragedy: a 30-minute, happy-ending romp through Shakespeare’s four great tragedies (3m, 1f, winner of the Hydrae Prize 2003, and first produced at the Tabard Theatre, London). “Very witty, light and entertaining” (Royal Shakespeare Company). Excellent Beauty, a 30-minute battle between the sexes (1m, 1f, first produced at the Union Theatre, London). “Great stuff, but I got the feeling some of the men in the audience were a bit uncomfortable with it” (Southwark News). The Apple, a 20-minute tale as old as mankind (2m, 1f, first produced at the Tabard Theatre, London). Lear’s Fool (see Plays derived from Shakespeare). Lady Macbeth on the Underground: a one-hour play in which Marie – an out-of work actress – interviews passengers on the Underground, and gradually reveals the funny and sad details of her own life (can be acted by 1f and 2m. The interviews were first performed at the Union Theatre, London). “Wilson’s excellently written ‘Surveying the Passengers’ is like a joke that a stand-up comedian embellishes at regular intervals” (Time Out).
Are You Normal, Mr Norman? & other short plays
Including the title play, in which Mr Norman visits a demon dentist. (4m, 2f, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre, London.) “Mr Wilson’s touch is as light as it is sure” (Financial Times). Wendlebury Day: Tom Wendlebury mixes his life and his fantasies in “a solo, virtuoso piece…an awe-inspiring concoction” (The Scotsman) (1m, first produced at the Edinburgh Festival). If Yer Take a Short Cut, Yer Might Lose the Way. An elderly couple look for truth and love in a skeleton and the glamorous world of TV. (4m, 1f, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre, London.) “Mr Wilson’s writing has a freshness and individuality of its own. He clearly has an instinct for what ‘comes off’ on the stage” (Financial Times). This volume also contains The Wall, The Death Artist, The Escapologist, and The Fourth Prisoner. Published by Samuel French Inc, New York. Available also from Samuel French, London.