Bücher der Reihe Acting Edition S.

Eliot's story of the reclusive miser who is transformed by a young girl is one of the most moving and memorable in Victorian literature. This adaptation captures the novel's thirty year sweep in a series of telling scenes, each displaying Eliot's gifts for humor, insight and simple beauty. The large cast can be trimmed to seven multiple roles and it is possible to keep costumes and props to a minimum.-8 women, 15 men

The action is based on the mythology surrounding the two Children's Crusades of 1212. A German boy, Nicholas, declares that God has commanded him to lead an army of children to Jerusalem to bring back the Cross. Thousands set off with him on the perilous journey. The mime sequences and the opportunities for improvisation make it an exciting experience for both the audience and the cast. The music is included in the text.8 girls, 13 boys

As the children walk in with their lighted candles, and the Storyteller takes us back to a small Russian village, the scene is set for this magical Christmas story. Papa Panov, the old shoemaker, now almost too blind to thread a needle, has a dream that Jesus will visit him on Christmas Day. All day he waits for him, but the only visitors he has are a tramp, a roadsweeper and a woman with a baby. Selflessly he gives them his coat, his money and his soup. As he falls asleep in the evening, tired, ridiculed and disappointed, he has another dream in which it appears that his special visitor did come after all... This adaptation of a story by Leo Tolstoy, narrated by a Storyteller and involving an unlimited cast of children, is a perfect play for Christmas.

A spoof on the country house murder mystery story. With a nominal setting and mimed props, the focus is mainly on the gallery of unusual characters which include a wheelchair-bound tranvestite, a madman, and an invisible professor.

For Pat, recently widowed, this year's charabanc trip to Whitby is tinged with sadness, but she is determined to enjoy herself. Phil and Edna provide entertainment with old-time dancing. Phil, too, is trying to enjoy herself, despite being trapped in a dead marriage, and during their first dance together he and Pat feel the unexpected spark of mutual attraction. Despite disapproval from others, they decide to seize this second chance and start a new life together.8 women, 4 men

The play takes place on an antique kitchen dresser. The Gingerbread Man, newly baked by the Big Ones, meets Salt, Pepper and Herr Von Cuckoo, who lives in the cuckoo-clock. He has a sore throat which is ruining his "cuckoos", thus threatening to land him in the dreaded dustbin. The Gingerbread Man's efforts to help Cuckoo's sore throat are hampered by the villainous scavenger Sleek the Mouse and by The Old Bag - an old tea-bag who lives in the tea pot on the top shelf.-2 women, 4 men

One set, two exits, one window. Living-cum-dining room. Poorly furnished.-4 women, 3 men

Each of the Groomkirbys has an idee fixe. Kirby is teaching his speak-your-weight machines the "Hallelujah Chorus"; his mother pays the neighbour to eat their left-overs; his aunt in her wheelchair is convinced she''s touring the Hebrides; his father is building the Old Bailey in the living-room. When this is complete the judge and jury move in with some bizarre results...|4 women, 10 men

In the Orders Office of Chunkbix Ltd., it is decidedly Mr. Price Hargraves who gives the orders and little Mr. Bloome who obeys them - until Mr. Bloome is astonishingly accused of chasing a young female across the Common.|6 women, 3 men

To the painful ritual of Sunday family visits and empty condescension, Cooper and his friend Aylott reply with humour and wit, aware that life can only be endured if treated as a comedy.|3 women, 3 men

This is a full length pantomime, entirely traditional with lots of humour and with its own original and delightful score by Eric Gilder which is available separately. The large number of both amateur and professional groups who present Crocker and Gilder pantomimes regularly every year is unmistakable proof of their success.|Large flexible cast

A black comedy, the play explores the relationships between two "odd" couples thrown prematurely out of hospital care. Firstly, we see two men conduct fantasy interviews for jobs they will never get, then two women trying to "make plans" as urged to do by the hospital. They all meet when Oz throws a disastrous party with the four desperately attempting the niceties of social intercourse.2 women, 2 men

Kate, a prisoner sentenced for killing her very sick child, has been attacked and driven to attempt suicide. The prison authoritites discover that the attack was made by an inmate, Gow, who has a lesbian attachment to another prisoner, Valentine, and who is insanely jealous of Kate's innocent friendship with Valentine. The investigations also reveal that Kate's husband had killed the child and that Kate, herself innocent, is shielding the man she loves.10 women, 2 men

A group of twentysomethings hang out on the seafront of a northern resort at the end of the summer season, finding little to relieve the futility and boredom of their lives. Casual sex, mindless violence and comic clashes of outlook permeate this entertaining, contemporary and humane play which paints a believable, touching portrait of modern youth.2 women, 6 men

"Since It Gives Me Great Pleasure first appeared in 1972 I have been heartened to hear from so many producers and performers, both amateur and professional, how useful they have found it as a source of help, information and encouragement and above all of inspiration for their own ideas. For this is very much a suggestive publication, if you'll pardon the expression, the intention being to fire the imagination, to suggest a course of procedure rather than to proclaim an ex cathedra list of inviolable do's and don't's. And now my estimable publishers have permitted me in this new edition to update publishers' addresses, to revise the text in the light of a further fifteen years' Music Hall experience, and considerably to expand the Chairman's section."Michael Kilgarriff

Gerald rents Rookery Nook where his wife, Clara, will join him later. He is agreeably surprised by a pretty stranger called Rhoda who comes running to him for protection against her irascible German stepfather. Gerald allows her to stay in one of the bedrooms but as she is clad only in pyjamas, it is vital to conceal her presence from nosy neighbours. Rhoda gets herself some clothes just in time before Clara arrives but Gerald has some difficulty in convincing Clara of his innocence.6 women, 5 men

Beware of mother-in-laws, especially of one like Emma Hornett. Albert Tufnell, A.B., is anxious that his fianc¿e, Shirley, should not take after her mother, Emma. Albert is also disturbed to find that Shirley has weakly acquiesced to living only three doors away from her mother. Albert's only defence is not to turn up at church. Later he makes peace with Shirley and the wedding is on again.5 women, 4 men

This entertainment by and about the Kings and Queens of England includes music, poetry, speeches, letters and other writings. The Hollow Crown has been performed in America and England by stars from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The four readers enact the writings of royals from William I to Victoria; the three singers intersperse songs from the proper period - some of which are sad tunes on the death of kings while others are uproariously funny.1 woman, 3 men

A man schemes to murder his wealthy wife for the love of another woman the sister, an actress friend or the au pair? Victim and victimized become intertwined in this startling drama.-4 women, 5 men

Beautiful Marguerite Gautier, seduced at the age of fifteen by her Marquis employer, decides on a courtesan life. She meets Armand Duval, son of the Marquis, and the two fall desperately in love. Aware that she is in the initial stage of tuberculosis, Armand persuades her to settle in the country with him, but Marguerite is threatened by the Marquis and forced to return to Paris, dying and reviled by Armand.Large flexible cast

Winner of the Royal Court Young Writers' Festival this brilliant debut play shows two brothers and their working-class parents. Jonathan, the high-flier, causes the death of his errant girlfriend's older lover, whilst David, a fighter pilot, is sent to the Gulf War. Both are killers, but one is revered as a patriotic hero whilst the other is imprisoned for his crime passionel.4 women, 6 men

In the late 70s, five students on a drama teaching course at a northern college discover sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Spanning a period of a few years, the play follows the relationships between the five as they fall in and out of love and start their careers.

In Act I of this play, Detective Inspector Bruton questions Celia Wallis about her husband's murder. Celia is obviously in the clear, but the drunken journalist sleeping in her bed seems very shady. Act II, however, takes place before the murder, and turns all our expectations on their heads.

Ageing Matthew Cuthbert suffers a heart attack during harvest, 1903, and his grim-visaged sister determines to adopt an orphanage boy to help with the farm work at Green Gables. By mistake, a girl arrives, red-haired, freckled and over-talkative. Her vivid imagination and entertaining flow of chatter endear her to Matthew, but sister Marilla is set on packing her back as soon as possible.13 women, 12 men

Dirty Linen concerns the investigation of a Select Committee into the moral standards of the House of Commons - a somewhat unconventional investigation, rendered not less so by the presence of an ultra-sexy secretary whose clothes have a trick of whisking off in the hands of various members. New-Found-Land is a duologue between two Home Office officials, with a tour-de-force speech on America by one of them.2 women, 8 men

It is a light-hearted, almost farcical, comedy which revolves around the mother's deep anxiety and attempts to avoid scandal after she confuses two men (both called David) and accidentally sets up her daughter with 'David Hoylake-Johnston' (who has a reputation as a philanderer) instead of 'David Bulloch' (who she believes to be the perfect match for her daughter).5 women, 3 men

This ingenious comedy is about two sisters and the choices they make (or have made for them) over a few months. There are four versions that can be done on different evenings, each stemming from one random and one deliberate choice. The story starts with a funeral at which Dorcas, Abigail and Simon solve a dilemma by tossing a coin: either Dorcas or Abigail wins the toss and goes with Simon. Later, at a picnic, Dorcas opts for either a camping adventure for Abigail or a day of sports for herself. The inevitable end of either choice is a wedding.4 women, 8 men

In this play, three women, Jessica, Rachael and Ruth, find themselves emotionally stranded in Jessica's beach home. Jessica's lover of several years standing has died and as they wait for Jessica's daughter, they weigh the choices they have made as women, as daughters, and as mothers.