Books in the Acting Edition S. series

The sequel to Captain Blackboot''s Island opens with the Captain and his crew puzzling over the whereabouts of their octopus, Oliver. Luckily James, Sally and Victoria arrive, overhear some wreckers plotting and discover that Oliver is to be made into an octopus stew! A happy ending is assured, however, following their victorious battle with the wreckers, and when Oliver appears from the sea, it seems that the Wallamagrumba may not be so bad after all.|9 women, 13 men

Class 6 are well-behaved, hard-working... and bored. Every day is much the same and then Mr Parker, the supply teacher, sets them an interesting project: to re-enact Sir Francis Drake''s circumnavigation of the world in 1577. Within minutes the room is transformed into an Elizabethan sailing ship and the brave adventurers set sail!|30 women or men

An amusingly chaotic day in the life of Alec Partridge, Manager of the Thurlow Playhouse. The director of an amateur production of Oklahoma demands real horses in the show; an Arts Council agent arrives to assess the theatre''s eligibility for a grant…|5 women, 3 men

From the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman and Hugo von Hofmannsthal''s Jedermann. Everywoman is a ruthless, successful careerist who has sacrificed everything for her own advancement. When Death appears, her successes fail her; only Faith, her deserted husband, and Crystal, her child, remain by her. Her eyes are opened, she repents, and is saved.|Large flexible cast

Alan Brown''s pantomimes recreate those of Victorian times, blending traditional elements - including Harlequin interludes and suggestions for period songs - with subtle updatings to suit modern young audiences.|Large flexible cast

Fred Cochran, the hero, is a down-at-heel gangster, trying to make a comeback. Lil Smith is his loyal moll, a tart with a heart of gold, who longs for respectability and keeps a marriage licence ready for her lucky day. Fred''s shpieler (gambling den) provides a refuge for the failures of the underworld: Paddy the gambler, Tosher the ponce with his girls Betty and Rosey, and Redhot, a sad little burglar who never manages to get warm. They all look to Fred for a living and when he wins on the horses it seems the gang may be back in business.|4 women, 9 men

This collection of Peter Barnes' plays comprises three duologues and one three-hander. "Humour Helps", "Waiting for a Bus", "Acting Exercise", and "Last Things" are all centred on actors and actresses - acting out "the absurdly tragic and the tragically absurd".

Philip and Rowena are terminally ill. Philip seeks a divorce from his bitter wife, Lilian. Rowena longs for the unity of her family. Together they find friendship, romance, consolation and an amazing capacity for fun. In their hospice, they share an imaginary holiday in Florence. An acceptance of death is coupled with an extraordinary devotion to life.|4 women, 3 men

For Dennis, cricket averages are everything. When the Statisticians'' Circle accepts Pat, its first female member, however, Dennis''s life takes a sharp turn. Contrary to Dennis''s assumptions, Pat excels in the craft. They plan a trip to the Caribbean but Dennis''s wife doesn''t know that Pat is female, so when they meet this highly original satire on male-female relations is set for an explosive ending.|2 women, 2 men

A bizarre tale which challenges the everyday concept of grief, making this a unique, yet poignant play. Marge and Butter are awaiting the arrival of their son, Weston, and his new wife. Butter is dying and Marge plans to have him stuffed and mounted in a drinks cabinet from MFI to counteract her foreseen loneliness.|2 women, 2 men

Bernard is fulfilling his dead father''s wishes to scatter his ashes over his favourite fell. After a trail of misunderstandings and clashes in the family''s relationships Bernard realizes the part his father has played and some sort of understanding is reached; Father, of course, has the last word.|3 women, 2 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. Vocal score on sale.|Large flexible cast

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