Bücher der Reihe Acting Edition S.

Forget-me-not Lane'' is a bittersweet play about fathers, families and nostalgia - about (in Nichol''s words) a youth which was bitter to live through but sweet to remember. It was first performed in 1971 at the Greenwich Theatre, London.|4 women, 5 men

Philip gives a small party for his fiancee Celia and a few friends. Afterwards Celia leaves with the others, while another young lady offers to help wash up, later revealing more intimate intentions. Celia discovers what happened and breaks things off, revealing that she spent the night of the party with another man. Philip then joins another couple for dinner, apparently deciding to re-enact the end of his deceased friend John''s original play, which had been responsible for John''s suicide.|3 women, 4 men

George Clarke is a civil servant, a respected member of the Establishment, once married, now on his own. He lives in a flat in a converted Hampstead house. The apartment above is inhabited by hippies, and their noise often disturbs his peace. One evening young Louise Hamilton arrives on his doorstep. She has had a row with young Davey in the "pad" upstairs. She is also very pregnant. The clash between the happy and the square types is at full strength when Louise suddenly starts labour pains.|2 women, 3 men

Dilys Parry, an inconsolable Crimean War widow, lives in Blestin, a village which has no children, sin''s no son''s, and worships no god since a disaster snatched away all its youth. She is gradually re-awakened to life once a Miracle boy''s influence begins to permeate her home and the village. A flashy showman turns up intending to exploit the boy but becomes his world-forsaking disciple. The boy restores a dead man to life but dies himself in agony.|4 women, 4 men

A very English modern play, reeking of real tragedy, real humour and real life. The Common Pursuit chronicles the erosion of the ambitions of a smug, elitist group of Cambridge frien''s. Stuart is editor of a literary magazine and the pursuit of excellence is shown to be economically a bad proposition in this world. The magazine collapses and the characters'' fates vary as the play proceeds. An ironic epilogue returns to the early days in Cambridge with the young people planning their futures.|1 woman, 5 men

Nigel Burke, aspiring playwright, has writer's block. When he is visited by the mysterious Potter, who knows of his interest in Byron and is given a goblet used by the poet, there are subtle changes in Nigel's confidence and manner, but then Byron himself appears!

This drama about a sensitive, driven, turbulent and mystical playwright uses a fictional play-within-a-play device to create the environment within which its director/subject - Strindburg - works out his relationships with his lovers and his cast.

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

When two unexpected guests, Jane and Brian, drop in on Sheila and Andrew, a devoted middle-age couple, what ensues is a complicated and hilarious series of misunderstandings and mistaken identities as Sheila and Andrew begin to weave an elaborate web of lies and half-truths to hide their own possible infidelities.|3 women, 2 men

After a prison break, convict Jubilee, with two companions, takes over a small roadside café. The owners are temporarily absent; however, a special party of their friends is expected to lunch. After serving the visitors lunch, the gang tells them they are prisoners. The mutual reactions of ''respectables'' and ''villains'', the mounting tension of the situation, and instinctive groping towards some sort of understanding, form the basis of the events that follow.|7 women, 3 men

Often hilarious, with moments of pathos, Cards brings to life the vulgar, bouncy, leering characters of traditional seaside postcards painted by artist Donald McGill.|2 women, 2 men

Ruby''s boarding house is home to an odd mix of characters in this moving and well-observed play about four lonely people: Abe, the middle-aged divorcee, Chas, the Northerner forced to find work in the South, Fleur, put there by her social worker and Holly, struggling to save enough money to move out.|3 women, 2 men

The Writer types ''Curtain'', completing his first play: a rage against life... But when the script is enacted before his eyes it turns out to be a very funny piece. The hilarity must stop, the Writer commands, and so rewrites it as a funeral. But this, too, brought to life, becomes an hilarious comedy. The Writer vows he will re-cast!|13 women, 9 men

Four thespian enthusiasts find themselves in a dusty attic in Droitwich. Their guide explains that Shakespeare, aged ten, lived there. Then there emerges a Tudor-looking man, the ghost of Terry Shakespeare, embittered by his brother William''s literary thievery. To prove his point, he puts the visitors in a trance, making them perform scenes from the plays he has written.|4 women, 2 men

Margaret and Arthur, a retired couple, are preparing dinner for their neighbour, Albert, whose wife, Enid, left him abruptly two months ago. This light-hearted comedy takes a darker turn when Arthur, aware that Albert has an eye for Margaret, suggests their neighbour''s smelly bonfires could indicate Albert has done away with Enid...|1 woman, 2 men

Four English students gather for a picnic in Germany in 1938. Then Esther, a Jewess, appears, hunted by Karl of Hitler Youth. She is dragged away and thunderclouds form over what had previously been a fine day. A Narrator tells us of the fate of five of the party but we can only guess at Esther''s fate.|3 women, 3 men

The well-known fairies from A Midsummer Night''s Dream and Peter Pan are under continuous attack from the hazard of waste brought by humans. Unexpectedly they stumble on a copse which promises to be a safe haven and yet it seems all is not well. The fairies soon find themselves faced with the prospect of living their lives in public view. Can they escape before it is too late?|6 women or men

A sly, gentle dig at society''s conventions and preconceptions. John Brown arrives at a country nursing home with a case of money expecting hotel-style service. He''s a kind of dropout bound to puzzle a profession geared to treating the sick. He''s not physically ill and apparently not mentally so. He settles into the routine and cocoon-like security. Everyone speculates as to his identity.|4 women, 2 men

In this grim world of poverty there is little room for finer feelings. The tippers mistrust one another and each sex blames the other for the mess they are all in. The only escape from unendurable reality is football. Maybe with the birth of Annette''s baby, trust and affection will be born amongst them...|2 women, 3 men

Long Autumn, appropriately named, is a retirement home for theatricals in the autumn of their lives, where euphemism reigns supreme, together with a firm belief that elderly equals senile. Into their midst is flung Maisie May, a former music-hall star, too much of a burden for her strait-laced son and daughter-in-law, who do not find Maisie amusing. Initially the ever-cheerful, irrepressible Maisie copes with the rigours of Long Autumn in her own inimitable style, but she becomes increasingly depressed. Then one day a breezy impresario, Chris, arrives with big plans for Maisie...|4 women, 3 men

A fast-paced comedy about an amateur dramatic society gathering for the technical rehearsal of a play by their producer Gordon. Minus the set, director and stage crew, new-recruit Val frantically tries to improvise. Matters become increasingly frenetic with the arrival of Gordon''s dypsomaniac wife Ruth, and an assortment of people totally unconnected with the drama group!|4 women, 3 men

The Weerd sisters try to make ends meet through fortune-telling. When Lady M calls, Flora discovers she indeed has the gift of foresight, although she does not like what she sees. The sisters'' fortunes are turned. Lady M returns to learn more but this time the truth is held back.|5 women

Five women gather round a skip on a suburban street. Two of them, antiques dealers scavenging for saleable items, become embroiled in a dispute over a reproduction Victorian chamber-pot and a genuine Regency chair, their opponents being two genteel but quietly determined bag-ladies. Watched over by a tramp, the ladies fight to the (metaphorical) death in this warm and witty comedy.|5 women

In the summer of 1936, Jean, Barbara and Olive hope for some excitement as they holiday in South Devon. It is Barbara who first spots the mysterious woman who wants to remain incognito, and Jean who overhears ''Mrs Chisholm'' plotting a murder. Easy to stage and costume, this delightful play has a twist or two up its sleeve and a neat ending.|7 women

This entertaining and funny musical ghost story introduces Sammy, a clever schoolboy, and his unusual parents, brainy Egbert and witty Gloria. They have just moved into a new house overseen by a creepy housekeeper and a kindly, bumbling gardener. When weird things start happening, curious Sammy insists that that the gardener admit him to the wildly overgrown garden where they find proof that a witch has enslaved enchanted flower children. Sammy and his friend Alice save the day: the children are released from their spell and even the witchy housekeeper is won over.|8 women, 3 men

 The See-Saw Tree, an ancient oak, stands on ground which is ear-marked for development into a children''s playground by Mr. Jay, owner of the nearby supermarket. A public meeting is called in the village hall to discuss his proposals, which include cutting down the three-hundred-year-old oak tree. The audience votes in favour, but Mr. Bunn, an environmental activist protests and shows us the devastating effect such plans will have on the inhabitants of the tree - the main part of the play tells the story of these creatures (who can be played by their human equivalents), their panic, their resilience and their evacuation from the tree.|4 women, 4 men

A hectic children''s birthday party provides a noisy background to a series of domestic crises. Robin has left Emma and Emma has become friendly with her solicitor, Tom; both Tom and Robin arrive for the celebrations. The mishaps of the party spill over into the kitchen''situation, the behaviour of the young visitors affecting the adults. By the end of the party however, thin''s look a little brighter for Robin and Emma.|4 women, 3 men

Ted Forrest is a playwright with a problem ΓÇö writer''s block. When we first meet him ΓÇö bitter, disillusioned and consumed with envy of Miles Whittier, a younger, more successful playwright ΓÇö he has retreated to the country in an attempt to stimulate his creative impotence by writing an autobiographical novel.|2 women, 3 men

When Sylvia''s boyfriend Robin walks out on her she decides on a rather unconventional method of finding a replacement. Determined not to be let down a second time, she has carefully arranged a timetable in order to "try out" various assorted lovers and assess their suitability before making her final choice of a potential husband. But timetables have a way of going wrong...|2 women, 3 men

It is 1957 and the Noone family is moving into a new house in Dublin. Presiding over the event is the Removals Man, who steps in and out of the action to explain the characters and their stories. The second half of the play is set in 1987 and the same family, no older than before, is moving into an even better house, their new relationships reflecting the revolutions that have taken place in family life in the intervening years.|4 women, 5 men