Books in the Acting Edition S. series

Lumborg's one-man play tells the story of Eddie. When his small daughter comes into the bedroom during her parents' love-making and then recounts the details at school, he is investigated by the Social Services. In exile, he "kidnaps" the children for trip to the beach, but he is then arrested.

Two unemployed teenagers who are uncertain about themselves and the world around them are sent on a quest to find "heroes fit to save the day." They encounter a hodge podge of humanity: violent street gangs, cranky religious sects, unscrupulous pop groups, television characters and even a family of vagrants. In this final encounter they appear to find their hero the elusive Mrs. Jones. Unable to persuade her to return with them, they go back to empty handed only to find that their commander has disappeared. Yet all is not lost they have gained knowledge and gone from being Nobody to Somebody.9 women, 10 men

In a once grand Venetian palazzo an old woman and her niece live in seclusion. An American publisher asks to leases some rooms, his purpose to unearth the mystery of a brilliant author who once loved the aunt. The old woman curtly rejects all inquiries. When she finds him going through the some papers he's discovered, she has a stroke and dies. The lonely niece pathetically proposes to him, but he rejects her when she says she's burned the papers. She locks herself up in the palazzo and then destroys the papers.|2 women, 2 men

Brian is financially dependent on his wife Sheila, and he is in love with another woman. An acquaintance convinces him he would be better off if Sheila were to die and then suggests a "foolproof' murder scheme, adding that he only wants the satisfaction of committing a perfect murder. The murder is successfully carried out but it is not long before Brian realizes he has exchanged the frying pan for the fire.|2 women, 2 men

This hilarious play centers on a voluble cleaning woman who keeps telling the cops how to mind their business and who steps forward with the right evidence in every pinch. She lives in the basement of the office building she cleans and one night finds a body. By the time the police arrive, there is no body and no evidence.|4 women, 4 men

Running a Health and Strength Home in a large and somewhat decaying country mansion can be a hazardous undertaking at any time, as Eddie Manchip knows. When one is further beset by a sinister crook to whom one has signed away the deeds of the house payment of a gambling debt; a complete desertion of the staff except for one half-witted and generally hysterically excited maid; an erring, pompous brother; his suspicious wife; a tennis-player in the nude; a quick-change artist who appears as someone different every ten minutes or so; the tennis player's kilted Scottish husband; and a hearty countrywoman grabbing second-hand clothing - then the result can be, in a word - chaos.4 women, 6 men

When a successful London television producer returns to his rural hometown, his arrival heralds suffering and domestic turmoil in this sensitive and compelling depiction of varying family relationships.|4 men

The play follows the relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, from shortly before the former's return to Scotland, through her marriage to Darnley, Rizzio's death, the scandal over Bothwell, Mary's imprisonment, Catholic plots, until her execution, closing as Spain's Armada is in active preparation.Large cast

This scorching comedy of personalities and situations revolves around the funeral of an elderly father. The family includes a cook who bakes almondless almond cakes, a man who is convinced his shopping trolley is a dog he has already taught it to beg and a sister who is a happy inmate at a psychiatric home. The hilarity includes a posthumous joke played by a Father on his daughters. This is not a close knit family; they've even got the wrong person from the psychiatric home!8 women, 5 men, 1 boy

Spain is a well-known haven for criminals who skip abroad. On the Costa del Sol, professional safe-cracker Larry has struck it lucky. Gorgeous Suzy asks him to steal the diamonds from her husband Alex's safe and run away with her to Rio. At the same time Alex also employs Larry to murder Suzy for her ¿100,000 life insurance policy. Larry decides to tell Suzy about her husband's plans, and they together plot to steal the diamonds, murder Alex, and make off with the dividend from Alex's similar insurance policy.1 woman, 2 men

A chance meeting brings Rick and Jane together, and at first their conversation at Rick's house seems innocent. Then the clues to the truth assemble: it is not Rick's house at all; he engineered their meeting; he knows all about Jane's marriage to the violent Michael; and he wants Michael dead.

Vincent is a professional suicide merchant. He has been summoned by Walter Bryce and mistakenly assumes that his potion is for Walter's consumption. Eventually it becomes clear that Walter's wife Celia is the client or is she? Why are her suicide letters typed and unsigned? Several attempts to do away with various characters result in multiple poisonings of a rubber plant. Will anyone actually drink the potion?2 women, 3 men

Due to an unfortunate triple booking, three storytellers, Peter, Paul and Percy, arrive simultaneously each to tell his own story. After some acrimony, Percy wins out and is soon telling his story - a Victorian yarn featuring, to his dismay, Paul who has hijacked the leading role. Soon Peter in turn is continuing Percy's unresolved fable only to find Percy appearing in this. In due course, Peter appears in Paul's gothic story (an extension of Peter's forties tales) and together they reach a surprisingly happy conclusion.8 women, 9 men

The characters in all four plays are in their twenties to forties and can either be played by the same four artists or by separate casts. The first, Mill Hill, calls for 2 men and 1 woman, the remainder, Bermondsey, Gloucester Road and Marble Arch, call for 2 men and 2 women each. These four plays are linked by their themes of sexual entanglements and by their central or suburban London settings.-Large flexible cast

Touring an art gallery, Beatrice notices a lone man, Jon, crying before a painting created out of remorse for a tragedy in the artist's life. Intrigued, Beatrice offers help, and it transpires that for Jon, whose wife had died of leukemia while he was with another woman, the painting tells his own story. Beatrice, also, has her own haunting secret...4 women, 3 men

Ceres, the Goddess of the Harvest, has a daughter, Persephone, who at 16 is kidnapped by Dis, God of the Underworld. In despair Ceres neglects her duties, and humanity is in danger of starvation. Based on the Greek myth, this play for children is simple to stage and deals with relevant themes.

This long-running hit starred Sam Waterston on Broadway as an urban architect whose attempts to improve humanity by the environments he creates, only leads to chaos when the high-rise boom goes bust and two close friends are caught in the cross-hairs.2 women, 2 men

Seven years ago, Mike Mason, star of TV's "Bargain Basement" and his wife killed young Carol Mitchell in a hit-and-run car accident - and now it seems they have been found out. Mysterious telephone calls, blood on the walls, shots from a car - the play is a combination of devious twists and turns.

Inspired by a television documentary, Peter Terson's play looks at the world of the North-East England strippers, centring on Wendy and Bernard, a young couple whose lives are up-ended when Wendy turns, reluctantly, to stripping to support the family after Bernard is made redundant. Although Bernard quite happily watches the 'exotic dancers' over a couple of pints at the club, when it comes to his wife it's a different matter.6 women, 4 men

Spanning three generations, from 1947 to the present, this compelling saga vividly captures the dreams, ambitions, joys, fears, heartaches and disappointmen's of the Parker sisters, Annie and May, whose hopes centre on May's son, Paul, and his academic success.3 women, 3 men, 5 women or men

Harold Brighouse manages to extract the maximum of comedy from a farcical situation. Zack is the half-witted son of a wedding purveyor whose cheerfulness and good-heartedness are a greater assett than his brother's crafty greed, and the'story shows in most amusing fashion how he eventually wins self-respect and a bride.4 women, 6 men

David Freeman, approaching 50, is tired of life. His only desire is to control the timing and manner of his death. But his plans are disrupted by the demands of those around him. Alone at last, he carries out his plan, hears news that changes his mind, but the vagaries of chance have it otherwise.

Elsie and Norm have decided to have a bit of a bash at culture by staging a production of Macbeth in their living-room. After a spot of judicious re-writing by Norm to make it snappier and more punchy, and undaunted by the large cast, Elsie and Norm set out to act "one of the greatest pieces of literature what has ever been wrote in the English language", playing all the characters between them.1 woman, 1 man

This fast-paced, romantic comedy focuses on Giles Short, successful editor at a once-prestigious publishing house - a kind, honourable man. But he is also a kind man with a wife, a mistress, a lunch date, and an undertaking to tell the truth for the next 12 hours.

Based on the television series "Only When I Laugh", this hospital comedy traces the fortunes of a trio of patients who form an uneasy alliance against the confusions and insecurities of hospital life.

It hasn't been Griff's and Ruby's day. They discovered that their son Nigel is both a drag queen and gay; hours later Nigel is in hospital after a car crash in which his lover Kevin, has incurred much worse injuries. Tensions and emotions rise even higher as they meet the "in-laws".

It is opening day at Ernst Edelbaum's hotel and already things are going wrong. His English niece turns out to be Leslie, a male punk, most of his guests don't arrive and the tour company are about to discover that his required wife doesn't exist. As for the guests, they all have their own problems ... But this hilarious farce, complete with man in drag and indoor tobogganing, ends happily of course.3 women, 3 men

Bill announces to his friend and lover, Lucy, that he and his wife, Kate, have decided to separate. The future looks rosy until Lucy's husband arrives and begins to plant seeds of suspicion in Lucy's mind concerning Kate's sudden disappearance. Suddenly the large chest freezer and Kate's abandoned car gain significance until the flamboyant entrance of Kate herself destroys the theory of Bill as a murderer. However, as accusations fly and recriminations grow, speculation turns quickly into reality.2 women, 2 men