Bücher veröffentlicht von Samuel French Ltd

Max Telligan, a popular novelist, has returned to his London apartment from a business trip to Munich to find his evening newspaper containing a report of his violent death. He subsequently is greeted by a parade of mysterious visitors who seek a pocket sized calculator, threaten him with a poison tipped walking stick and display photographs of his wife in flagrante delicto. Max has, it seems, unwittingly become embroiled in the activities of an international terrorist group!5 women, 5 men

Murder and mystery abound in this ingenious play with more than its fair share of blind alleys. A greedy husband plots to kill his wife and make it look like suicide. His plans are thwarted: he, not his wife, ends up dead. But how and by whom? Even though the investigation led by Cliff Jordan concludes Jack was murdered by a prowler, there are so many possible suspects and motives that the truth is elusive.4 women, 6 men

Meet Carey and Simon, an otherwise-perfect married couple with a bit of a swearing problem. They're determined to kick the habit by the time their baby is born. Too bad that's not their only problem. Simon has a secret. And Carey has a new friend - a musician named Owen that she met at a bookstore. With quirky characters, music and gentle humor, this lovely and intricately-constructed story is about meeting challenges head-on and finding hope."Intricate, delicate construction... Hewlett spins an emotionally epic story about a woman caught between two men, as well as her own inability to cope with life's gains and losses." - Matthew Murray, Talkin' Broadway"A pleasure to see... Hewlett's writing has a gentle wittiness... With an exquisitely light touch, Hewlett creates snapshots of the happy lives of Carey and her husband, Simon, moving seamlessly between present day and three years before." - Backstage"Some of the play's best moments are the songs Ms. Hewlett sings, describing the depths of Carey's devotion to Simon." - The New York Times

See that's the problem with this family innit, we never wanna talk real about Ife.'In the wake of the sudden death of their eldest son, Ife, one family is forced to confront the traumas they've long tried to bury. As the sun beats down on their cramped North London flat, and the head of the family arrives from Ethiopia for the funeral, tensions rise, cultures clash and past betrayals are unearthed.A tense, funny and explosive drama exploring what it means to belong, and what happens when a family's secrets shake its foundations. House of Ife premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in April 2022, directed by Artistic Director Lynette Linton.

This is a comedy of prosperous suburbia, with corruption as its theme and core. A charming, apparently happily married couple, the Actons, live comfortably in their newly-furnished home, but feeling always that life owes thein just a little more: a car, an expensive lawnmower, money for parties and so on. Temptation comes in the shape of Leonie Pimosz, a very high class brothel-keeper. It is not long before pretty, sweet Mrs Acton becomes involved with her and the Acton fortunes are startlingly improved. Soon it becomes clear that Mrs Acton's new career is by no means unusual; indeed, the wives of all their friends are acquainted with Madame Pimosz, and the husbands are quite content to keep up with the Joneses in this as in everything else. But the denoument is startling and horrific.

From the nationally recognized Educational Theatre Association's 2021 Thespy Playwriting competition (formerly Thespian Playworks) come three short scripts - all created by high school-aged playwrights! This volume includes: The Plant Crusade by Aubrey LuseOakland by Bridget PhillipsReverie by Jacki Vellandi

A moving, mysterious, at times hilarious story of a tiny plot of land and some people with grand and incompatible designs on it.

Terri and Brian Cody are hoping to sell their "One Star Hotel" in the Florida Keys, to the only man who has expressed any interest in buying it, a Mr. Sam Lewis from New York. They are not expecting him for a couple of weeks, and are rather caught off-guard when they receive a phone call informing them that he flew into Miami today, is driving down, and will be arriving this afternoon. Unfortunately, they have so few guests they are afraid that Mr. Lewis will see at once, that the hotel is a bad investment. You can see where this is leading...it is a farce after all...So, in order to bolster Mr. Lewis's interest, Terri and Brian devise a plan to make the hotel appear busier and more prosperous than it actually is. Their staff will masquerade as paying guests, thereby, giving Mr. Lewis the impression that the hotel is overflowing with loyal customers and vacationers. Their plan has one hitch, their entire staff consists of a maintenance man named Hopkins and a sexy housemaid named Maureen. They plan to tell Mr. Lewis that Mrs. Cody is shopping in Miami, while she plays the role of a wealthy Palm Beach socialite, Mrs. Winthrop-Smythe. Hopkins is to become the Reverend Hopkins, and Maureen is to combine the duties of receptionist, maid and room service. The plot becomes more complicated when the one paying guest they do have, Major Ponsenby, wants to help out. Suddenly, an Arab sheik, Abdul El Hajj, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Major, checks into the hotel, stating he is a potential buyer. Their scatterbrained maid, Maureen, is totally inept at the job she's been asked to do, and can't seem to remain completely clothed for more than five minutes at a time. It turns out Hopkins has a propensity to drink, and has bottles of booze hidden all over the hotel. And finally, the one other guest they have checking in later today, is Hayley Harrington, a predatory nymphomaniac, affectionately known as "The Barracuda."Into this "Hotbed" of intrigue arrives... Samuel Lewis and his wife (or is she?), Ashley. He is an extremely moral and upstanding businessman and expects nothing less from those around him. She is an extremely attractive woman, and is only interested in getting Mr. Lewis into bed. Brian spends the rest of the play trying very hard to please Mr. Lewis, keep the Major/Abdul under control, and stay out of the way of "The Barracuda."How do the Major, Hopkins and Mr. Lewis end up in the same bed? Why is Ashley always losing her clothes? Where do The Barracuda and Abdul fit into all this? Who really is Abdul El Hajj? When does the real Mrs. Lewis arrive? What more could possibly happen?Much to the horror and chagrin of Mr. Lewis, the real Mrs. Lewis, who can best be described as "a humorless old battle-axe", does show up. In order to hide his relationship with Ashley from her, he bribes Brian with an offer to purchase the hotel, for more than he was asking, only to get another offer from Abdul. But the final twist is yet to come - a show stopping coup-de-theatre, which leaves the audience knowing they've been "had," but not knowing how it was done.""A hilarious comedy that will leave Fawlty Towers looking like a tragedy, Hotbed Hotel is one of Michael Parker's finest pieces of work." - Act One, Cardiff, Wales"Hotbed Hotel promises life, laughter, and sophisticated fun." - The Deerfield Beach Observer, Florida"Hotbed Hotel has the fundamental ingredients of good entertainment that provide frankly unanticipated comedic results. This play will not disappoint you. In fact, it will leave you feeling entertained, amused, and happy you made the trip." - The Peak, Vancouver, Canada

"The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls is a collection of monologues and scenes exploring the complex relationship women have with their hair. From Afros to braids, weddings and funerals, falling in love to grieving a loss, these stories serve as a powerful reminder that for Black women in particular, hair is both deeply personal and political. These heartbreaking, heartwarming and hilarious stories will take audiences on an unparalleled journey into the world of Black womanhood." --

From the Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Emmy Award-winning composer of Next to Normal (Tom Kitt) and the Tony Award-winning writer of Red (John Logan), Superhero is a deeply human new musical about a fractured family, the mysterious stranger in apartment 4-B, and the unexpected hero who just might save the day. Directed by Jason Moore (The Cher Show, Avenue Q), Superhero made its world premiere in January 2019 at Second Stage Theater."Kitt writes beautifully for his anguished characters, shaping the lyrics to each distinct voice." - Alexis Soloski, The Guardian"[Kitt's] lyrics are neatly turned and germane." - Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review"[The] book is intelligent and the songs are well-integrated into it." - Robert Sholiton, Gotham Playgoer

"London. 1887. Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Buffalo Bill's Wild West is the hottest ticket in town and its star, Miss Annie Oakley, travels to Baker Street to ask Sherlock Holmes to find her missing brother. What ensues is a tale of international intrigue, multiple murders and a war for supremacy over the London underworld."--

Inspired by the true story of Canada's own Preston Rivulettes, Glory is a hockey play that swings! In 1933, four friends set out to prove to Canada that hockey isn't just a sport for men. But with the Great Depression weighing heavily on the nation and political tensions rising in Europe, can they overcome the odds, and people's expectations, to forge their own path to glory? Told through music and dance inspired by the jazz age, Glory is a thrilling hockey story that proves a woman's place is on home ice.

"Emmie is one of the only Black people living in Paris, Vermont, and she desperately needs a job. When she is hired at Berry's, a store off the interstate selling everything from baby carrots to lawnmowers, she begins to understand a new kind of isolation. Paris is a play about invisibility, being underpaid, and how it feels to work on your feet for ten hours a day."--

A play with intense audience participation! Engrossing, controversial courtroom drama, where the audience must serve as judge and jury, deciding motions and verdict, in a case against the five women who betrayed the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, the last surviving daughter of the Tsar of Russia. Complex ethical questions on a set of folding chairs.The Anastasia Trials is a farcical, but profoundly engaging excursion into the hidden world of ethics for women who are both survivors and perpetrators of abuse toward women. The format is a play-within-a-play, where a radical feminist theatre company comes together in order to perform a courtroom drama. The play is shaped by the audience decisions to overrule or sustain the attorneys' motions, and every night's audience sees a different play.In presenting the play, the Emma Goldman Theatre Brigade has instituted a new system to insure equal opportunity for the actors: a lottery. As the women assemble to draw their roles from the hat for the evening's performance, sisterhood is put to the test. The performance itself is a conspiracy trial against five women accused of denying a woman her identity. The plaintiff is none other than Anastasia Romanov, sole survivor of the massacre of the Russian imperial family in 1918.¿"Elegantly conceived...A feminist Noises Off." - Washington City Press"Powerful." -San Diego Lesbian Press"Farce, social history, debate play, agitprop, audience participation melodrama, satire [that] makes the head reel!" -San Diego Union Tribune"Wild... It's lively and moves quickly... Very funny yet poignant." -Washington Blade"Carolyn Gage's raucous, multilayered script explores issues of empathy, loyalty, and betrayal among women..." --The Washington Post."Verdict: An unexpected delight... " --Miami Herald, FL."... farcical humor, imaginative plot twists, and just pure theatrical fun..." --South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale."... fascinating and complex play..."--Fresno Beehive.com"I am constantly amazed at Carolyn's ability to make complex social issues not only accessible but also irresistibly fascinating... the play... [The Anastasia Trials ] touched us, made us laugh and gripped us in a white-knuckle intensity usually found only in Hitchcock films." --R.J. McComish, Literary Manager of the Portland Stage Company, Portland, Maine."... fabulously interesting, brilliantly thought-provoking and exquisitely funny... masterpiece of feminist theater..." --off our backs, Washington, DC."Each performance could potentially have a different result and many students saw every performance just so they could see how the show ended."--At Oldfields, Glencoe, MD.

Runaways is a collection of songs, dances, and spoken word pieces performed by children who have run away from their homes. Initially created from interviews with homeless children and those in orphanages, Liz Swados' unique piece weaves songs about personal struggle and the world at large through the eyes of youth in New York City in the '70s. The show blends different musical styles, from pop to hip-hop and jazz to reggae, while asking why children can't remain children.The licensed version of Runaways reflects the version performed by Encores in 2016.

New version approved for virtual performance! What "The Irish Curse" is - and how it manifests itself - is the raw centerpiece of this wicked, rollicking and very funny new play. From its blistering language to its brutally honest look at sex and body image, The Irish Curse is a revealing portrait of how men, and society, define masculinity. In doing so, it dares to pose the fundamental question that has been on the minds of men since the beginning of time: "Do I measure up to the next guy?"Size matters to a small group of Irish-American men (all professionally successful New Yorkers) who meet every Wednesday night, in a Catholic church basement, at a self-help group for men with small penises. This alleged Irish trait is the focus of their weekly sessions, as they all feel this "shortcoming" has ruined their lives. One evening, when a twentysomething blue-collar guy joins the group, he challenges everything the other men think about "the Irish Curse"... tackling their obsession with body image and unmasking the comical and truthful questions of identity, masculinity, sex and relationships that men face every day.

A gang of teenage girls gathers in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other? A roller coaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood - the teenage wasteland - has never been so much twisted fun.Critic's Pick! "Highly entertaining - equally funny and scary." - The New York TimesFour Stars! "Just when you think you know where the play is heading, there's a disorienting coup de théâtre that leaves you shaken. Our Dear Dead Drug Lord isn't for the faint of heart, but neither is coming of age." - Raven Snook, Time OutCritic's Pick! "Highly entertaining - equally funny and scary - the play starts off as a hoot and winds up a primal scream. They're throwing quite a seance at the McGinn/Cazale Theater." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times"As funny as it is violent and dark... Our Dear Dead Drug Lord is not quiet, small, or apologetic. It is loud and messy and truthful. It is incredibly complicated and a thing of extreme beauty. It is everything in women that society tells them they need to repress, and in this I found it incredibly enjoyable and inspiring." - Brittany Crowell, New York Theatre Guide"The challenges of female adolescence... explored with a remarkably fresh, honest and sometimes hilarious perspective." - Brian Scott Lipton, Theater Pizzazz"Unsettling... Scheer's characters are brilliantly drawn... the work of a born playwright and a unique new voice... As a story of female empowerment, it is both scary and revealing." - Victor Gluck, Theater Scene"An imaginative and ultimately savage new play... An offbeat Mean Girls sort of dramedy that unexpectedly concludes in a violent burst of magical realism." - Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review

Inspired by the writings of Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities and If on a Winter's Night a Traveler), The Late Wedding is a fractured portrait of a fractured marriage, as told through a series of interconnected fables, including an anthropological tour of fantastical tribes and their marital customs. Christopher Chen's winking second-person narrative, delivered by a six-person shape-shifting cast, deftly guides you on a wild and delightful examination of love and longing. At once an anthropological tour through marriage customs, a spy thriller, and a sci-fi love story, the mind-bending The Late Wedding is an inventive and surprising theatrical experience."Wild, witty... contemplative and poignant... you gotta see this funny, brilliant play." - San Francisco Examiner"A seductive play... a fascinating little gem... a script about the mystery and challenges of love, in all its permutations. The play is a provocative one-act composed with a unique theatrical structure... a swirling nebula of magical notions put down in a contemporary world." - DC Metro Theatre Arts"A comic, dramatic inquiry into human relationships - between lovers or spouses; between playwright and audience - [The Late Wedding] is another of Chen's slyly metatheatrical, blissfully funny, whiplash-smart creations... What begins as a look at anthropological research into the marital arrangements and lore of a few odd tribes segues without warning into a political drama cum action thriller." - SF Gate"Bold and brainy... As The Late Wedding dips in and out of such genres as the spy caper and science fiction... it blurs the boundaries between its two strands of Calvino homage, so that the genre-sampling meta-theater begins to reflect on the bittersweet realities of marriage." - The Washington Post"[The Late Wedding] is about the vagaries of love and marriage, both homo- and heterosexual, and the way that we both cherish and distort the past, and about the creative process itself... you gotta see this funny, brilliant play." - San Francisco Examiner

"Combining West African folklore and contemporary American culture, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must be a Muhfucka follows four teenage girls as they grapple with societal definitions of beauty. In the fictional setting of Affreakah-Amirrorkah, the four young women -- Kaya, Massassi, Adama, and Akim -- are given an opportunity to live in a society where their individual beauty can reign supreme. But this opportunity comes at a dangerous cost. Tori Sampson's hilariously provocative play doesn't ask the question 'How much is beauty worth?' but rather, 'Why are so many willing to pay its price?'"--Back cover.

This collection of seven darkly funny and mysterious plays includes the long one act Pirandello, in which the great Italian playwright, writing alone on the stage of his theatre late at night, is interrupted by the Italian dictator Mussolini, who wants him to write the authorized biographical play of the dictator's life, Pirandello's jealous wife, who believes Pirandello is sleeping with every woman in sight, including his daughter, and an increasingly disturbing group of characters who may or may not be real, leading Pirandello to question the relationship between his theories about the malleable nature of reality to the rise of Fascism and Fascist propaganda; The Recollection Of Green Rain, which tells the mostly true story of two green children found wandering near an English village, who spoke an unknown language and insisted they were from a mysterious green underground kingdom; Pinocchio, in which Gloria's blind date turns out to be an angry puppet with a rather unsettling story to tell; Rusalka, in which a police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl tries to make sense out of the increasingly odd stories her best friend tells about her; Humpty Dumpty, in which an enormous egg with very bad hair sits on top of a wall and talks about making Wonderland great again; Brimstone Run, in which a family legacy of betrayal and tragedy is played out at the town dump; and Nictzin Dyalhis, in which a legendary, reclusive writer of weird tales is haunted by a sea goddess he may or may not have invented. In each of these plays, in one way or another, compelling characters find themselves lost in a labyrinthine twilight zone of dream variations which combine the Gothic, the surreal and the absurd.Don Nigro is among the most frequently published and widely produced playwrights in the world and has continued to build a deeply interrelated and diverse body of dramatic literature, employing a wide variety of dramatic conventions and styles of presentation. He has written monologues and epics, spare realistic dramas and surreal homicidal puppet farces, plays with music and verse plays. He continues to build the long cycle of Pendragon County plays, which traces the history of America through the lives of several related east Ohio families from the eighteenth century to the present, and features many characters whose lives are traced from youth through middle age to old age in a number of plays that may be presented in a variety of combinations.

This show-within-a-show follows the romance between a chorus girl and an Assistant Stage Manager leading to their secret marriage. Their happy union is threatened by the electrician who still carries a torch for the girl and, in a drunken rage, tries to kill them both. A contrasting romance involves the Stage Manager, whose credo never to fall for a girl in a show he's working on is complicated when a dancer he's been wooing is suddenly thrown into the cast of 'Me and Juliet.' Informed by rich insights into the world of Broadway - how jobs are gotten and lost, the inside tricks of the trade and the pitfalls of backstage romances - Me and Juliet is an innovative, irresistible show that consistently delivers both musically and dramatically.

It is 1862 in Siam when an English widow, Anna Leonowens, and her young son arrive at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, having been summoned by the King to serve as tutor to his many children and wives. The King is largely considered to be a "barbarian" by those in the West, and he seeks Anna's assistance in changing his image, if not his ways. With both keeping a firm grip on their respective traditions and values, Anna and the King grow to understand and respect one another in a truly unique love story.

The Underlying Chris is a life-affirming and high-spirited look at how a person comes into their identity, and how sometimes it's life's tiniest moments that most profoundly change our lives. In these divided times, The Underlying Chris serves as a celebration of our differences, our individuality and the many mysterious, difficult and beautiful things we share simply by being alive.

Nicolas, just two years ago a smiling boy, is going through a difficult phase after his parents' divorce. He's listless, skipping classes, lying.He believes moving in with his father and his new family may help. And a different school, a fresh start. When he doesn't feel comfortable there, when he senses he isn't wanted, he decides that going back to his mother's may be the answer.But at some point, options are going to dry up. And then what? I'm telling you. I don't understand what's happening to me.Florian Zeller's The Son forms the final part in a trilogy with The Mother and The Father, all of which are translated by Christopher Hampton. The Son premiered at the Kiln Theatre, London, in February 2019.From the cobbled streets of post-war London to the shimmering avenues of Paris, Ada transforms the lives of everyone she meets along the way; but can she let go of the past and finally allow her own life to blossom?

In the fictional mining town of Greater Clements, Idaho, wealthy out-of-staters have begun purchasing properties, leaving lifelong residents - largely blue-collar workers - disenfranchised and disenchanted. Practical, unpretentious Maggie, the divorced owner of a failing Mine Tour and Museum business, cares for her troubled adult son, who has moved back home to recover. As Maggie contemplates closing her business, an old flame visits and asks her to join him in a new life beyond the desolate town's limits. Through quirky humor, keen observation, and deeply sensitive and idiosyncratic characters, Greater Clements explores just how hard it can be to leave one's past behind.

Ohio State Murders explores the experiences of Suzanne Alexander, a fictional Black writer whose life both is, and is not, like her author's. When Suzanne enters Ohio State University in 1949, she has no idea what the supposed safe haven of academia holds in store. Years later, Suzanne returns to the university to talk about the violence in her writing. A dark mystery unravels. Adrienne Kennedy's play is an intriguing, unusual and chilling look at the destructiveness of racism in the U.S.¿