Bücher der Reihe Acting Edition S.

Henry Fielding's novel (which started out as a skit on Richardson's Pamela), recounting the adventures and misadventures of the handsome footman and the simple, loveable parson, is dramatized for a simple-to-stage production, requiring a minimum of props and settings. Robbers, grasping innkeepers, love, jealousy, female rivalry, personal misunderstandings, surprise revelations of unexpected relationships - all find their places in the exuberant story.11 women, 7 men

An exhuberant comedy which is yet a sad commentary on twentieth-century bureaucracy. The Hesseltines are living in property well overdue for demolition and they are looking forward to being re-housed in more beautiful and salutory surroundings. The crisis comes when they find that, far from a house with a little bit of garden, they are to live in a warrenous block of flats.|3 women, 6 men

Filumena has lived with Domenico for twenty five years, but is to be thrown over for a younger woman. So she pretends to be dying and inveigles him into a "deathbed marriage." When he proves the marriage to be null and void, she informs him she has three grown sons which she has supported by stealing from him and that one of them is his (she won't say which).5 women, 8 men

The beauty of Exmoor dominates this blend of romance and adventure that is R.D. Blackmore's novel "Lorna Doone". Spanning 13 years, all the characters are here from the ruthless Doones to the peace-loving Ridds with the love of John Ridd for Lorna Doone at the heart of the play.

The Royal family has been moved to a housing estate in Leicester and have to live as ordinary people. This play is a satire on the failings of the welfare state, the pretensions, expectations and personal foibles of the Royal Family as they attempt to come to terms with their new situation.

The light-hearted and entertaining play concerns four elderly actresses passing their days in a Home for Retired Artistes. They bicker and banter, showing the different parts of thier profession. Only Dame Anthea's dresser, Gladys, keeps an observant distance, injecting pithy comments into the actresses' small talk. Needing a man for their projected Christmas play, they enlist the help of newcomer Arthur Pendragon. But it is the dapper Antony Redfern who devises an entertainment ideally suited to their personalities, whilst the redoubtable Gladys in installed as costume mistress, as usual!|5 women, 2 men

A pantomime script based around the "Sleeping Beauty" story. Princess Aurora suffers a curse from the evil Carabosse, and falls asleep for hundred years. With a kiss from Florizel, and a little help from the audience in solving a riddle, Carabosse is defeated and all ends happily.

This gentle play, told with warmth and tenderness focuses on Lily who has spent all her married life in the same two-up, two-down council house. Although widowed, her husband Joe is very real to her and Lily's life continues as though he were still alive. Lily's peace is shattered by a letter notifying her that her house is to be demolished and she rehoused. Lily flatly refuses to go, despite warning letters and entreaties from social worker Ann. If Lily goes her memories of Joe and their life together will be smothered in the rubble. Eventually, though, she bows to authority and the "big cats", but at least she has the chance – this time – of saying goodbye properly to Joe.| 2 women, 1 man 

These short plays weave together the pyschologically complex themes of jealousy, deceit and manipulation and throw together the most unlikey of couples: Bruce in Rialto, is an attractive ex-actor employed by elderly dying ladies to help make the most of their last days. In Mortmain, Diana, finds her dead husband's diary and all her previous assumptions about her marriage are threatened. Is Arabella Snelgrove in Dead End the perfect, upright and law-abiding citizen? A visit from an inpsector from the Department of Social Security throws suspicions on Arabella's honesty. All are tense, tantalizing, pyschological thrillers with the most unexpected twists.| 3 women, 3 men

This joyous musical encounters five very different couples and a single woman embarking on an exciting journey - the women are pregnant. To some this is a welcome suprise, to some a carefully planned event, to others a cause for worry and confusion.

A comedy play by the British writer first staged in 1953. A successful hit, it ran in the West End for 370 performances. A stockbrocker tries to cope with the extravagant behaviour of his daughters.| 6 women, 6 men

This ingeniously constructed play is set in three separate flats over a bank holiday weekend. Shifting backwards and forwards in time it depicts a triangle of relationships: Michael, a homosexual, who is in love with his flatmate Andrew, who in turn is having an affair with Lesley, whose husband Tom seeks respite from their disintegrating marriage in the arms of Alison.

A farcical comedy set in 1910. Lucien arrives home in the early hours dressed as Louis XIV. His late arrival and enraptured account of the ball invites the wrath of Yvonne, his wife and it isn't long before the maid, suffering with flu, and the bumbling, elderly manservant are dragged into the argument.

Daughter of the Left Hand centres around the household of Rex Hallam. Rex introduces Nicola, a young girl who, he states, is his daughter by a former mistress. Her arrival causes considerable consternation, and her reception, particularly by Rex's severe and spinsterish elder daughter, is anything but friendly. Shrewd, forthright and understandably resentful of her treatment, Nicola either indirectly by her mere presence, or later directly by her own actions brings disaster to the entire family, and her final surprise to the entire family does nothing to amend matters. - 7 women, 3 men

This is a comedy of confusion. One member arrives at a women's guild meeting to run a jumble sale, others to demonstrate unusual cookery, home-made wine-making and string lampshades respectively. To add to the chaos, an eccentric outsider comes to talk about flower arranging without flowers. They then try competing for five minutes each to decide who should perform at the next meeting. Extraordinary things happen. Then the surprise ending reveals why the misunderstand was, in fact, planned all along. 6 women

At the centre of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine: suave, hedonistic and too old, says his wife, to be having numerous affairs. His line in harmless, infatuated debutantes is largely tolerated, but playing closer to home is not.

The first stage success from the author of Equus and Amadeus, this taut family drama centers on a young German student who, coming to England to tutor the daughter of well-to-do family is drawn into the various individual dramas of these fractured, isolated people.2 women, 3 men

George Radfern lives a quiet, uneventful life near London, burdened by sponging relatives and his prospective son-in-law. When George quietly announces he's a leader of a counterfeit ring, the sponges find reasons to leave. His immediate family reacts according to character until it looks as if George has been spoofing them. The ending is one of the most surprising ones ever used in a mystery play. A long time favorite among amateurs.-3 women, 6 men

Play produced by the Royal Shakespeare Co. in 1985 based on the Laclos novel.

Poet Laurie Lee was born in 1914 in a small Cotswold village and grew up during a time of change when the rural traditions of past centuries were being swept aside in the path of twentieth-century progress. His autobiography Cider with Rosie, a poetic evocation of his childhood, has become a modern classic both in the United Kingdom and in America and is here imaginatively adapted for the stage by James Roose-Evans.4 women, 5 men

A whimsical day by the sea in a British resort. An emerald necklace has been stolen and the Inspector has to investigate an extraordinary mix of characters. Part of the triple bill The Rule of Three which also features The Rats and The Patient.5 women, 7

Ex-secretary and ex-mistress of a wealthy businessman who committed suicide, the unpleasant Laura complains to her neighbour that she would have inherited much more than her cottage if a certain will had not disappeared. The arrival of a strange woman with threats of blackmail results in Laura being deprived of her cottage - and more as she receives her full deserts.4 women

Dewhurst has adapted the Flora Thompson trilogy into two plays. "Lark Rise" which erects the first day of harvest from sunrise to sunset and, "Candleford", which depicts a day in midwinter - to give a lively picture of typical country life of the period with music and songs.

Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, Jeremy Brock's splendidly theatrical stage version of Oliver Twist combines all the richness of Dickens's story - the sinister antics of Fagin, the comic pomposity of Mr Bumble the Beadle, and the horror of Nancy's murder at the hands of Sykes. Originally devised for eleven actors playing multiple roles, the play is easy to stage, makes good use of sound effects for atmosphere and makes more than a nod to the contemporary world.Large flexible cast

Troy has fallen ... The captains and the kings depart, some like Nestor to a happy homecoming, others like Agamemnon to a bloody one. Ulysses is condemned to ten years exile for offending the gods during the siege. The story of his wanderings is well known from Homer's Odyssey, here providing a marvellous stimulant to the youthful imagination. The Magical Voyage of Ulysses is an exciting and energetic play. The casting is very flexible and the text contains extensive production and rehearsal notes by the author.

This adaptation of Roald Dahl's story focuses on Billy's dream to restore a deserted sweet shop near his house and his adventures with "The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company". Designed for performance by children aged five to nine, this dramatization includes music and special effects.

In David Hare's "greatest play" (City Limits) two sisters, Isobel, a serene and good person, and Marion, an ambitious Tory Junior Minister, gather at the home of their late father for his funeral. Katherine, the sisters' young, alcoholic, stepmother, announces her intention of joining Isobel's design company. Reluctantly Isobel agrees and this act paves the way for tragedy and disaster involving Isobel's lover Irwin, and Marion's evangelical, earnest husband Tom.-4 women, 2 men