Books in the Acting Edition S. series

Genre: Drama Characters: 4 females Scenery: 2 interiors, exteriors or unit set The drama of everyday life in Belfast: burning buses, ravaged blocks, gunfire are but off-stage events in this stirring play about three women whose men have been killed or imprisoned for their political activities. Chilling themes are off set by many humorous and heart warming moments in this play about people, not politics, which offers excellent acting opportunities. 1991 Winner, Susan Smith Blackburn Award; Evening Standard's Most Promising Playwright Award.

Dr. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, is confronted with Alan Strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a violent fit of passion. This very passion is as foreign to Dysart as the act itself. To the boy''s parents it is a hideous mystery; Alan has always adored horses. To Dysart it is a psychological puzzle that leads both doctor and patient to a complex and disturbingly dramatic confrontation.

ComedyCharacters: 10 male, 5 female, plus extrasScenery: Unit setBased on the hugely successful British television series that ran for seven seasons, this uproarious comedy relates the adventures of a hapless cafe owner, Rene, in occupied France. You can see all of your favorite TV characters in the flesh, including Rene''s tone-deaf wife Edith, Major-General von Klinkerhoffen and the Gestapo officer Herr Flick!He and his wife have stashed a priceless portrait stolen by the Nazis in a sausage in their cellar, where two British airmen are also hiding until the Resistance can repatriate them. Communications with London using the wireless that is disguised as a cockatoo add to the many embarrassments this intrepid proprietor endures in the company of his patrons. News that the Fuhrer is scheduled to visit the town inspires tricksters disguised as Hitler to frequent the cafe. Meanwhile Rene summons all the wit he can muster to save his cafe and his life.

Charles and Belinda are an ill-assorted couple yet they were once in love. Insanely jealous, Charles engages a private eye, Julian, to follow her round London. Julian can only report that she is attached to someone. When the three meet it transpires that Belinda has fallen for Julian. Deciding to mend a marriage, rather than break it, Julian banishes Belinda to her wanderings but this time to be followed by Charles.

These plays cover a range of disasters appalling enough to turn any show into a coarse one. A Fish in Her Kettle by David Pearson; Present Slaughter by Jane Dewey and Don Starkey; The Vagabond Prince by Simon Brett with music and lyrics by John Gould; Stalag 69 by Michael Green and Julius and Cleopatra by Michael Green.-Large flexible cast

Written in 1941 this book remians the longest-running comedy in the history of the British theatre for three decades.

Bri, a schoolteacher and his wife Sheila have a 10-year old spastic child named Josephine, who is completely helpless and utterly dependent. Bri hides behind irony and sarcasm. Sheila believes the child is her penance for a promiscuous past and soldiers on devotedly with their little "Joe Egg". Well-meaning family and friends offer sundry solutions, everything from adoption to euthanasia but ultimately Bri finds he cannot continue and leaves Sheila and Joe behind.-4 women, 2 men

Sibling rivalry, adultery and dungeons - Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action - the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family who are locked in a free for all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centres around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom, as well as King Henry's paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, "every family has its ups and downs," and this royal family is no exception.

An entertainment on marriage by George Melly, Alan Ayckbourn, James Saunders, Harold Pinter, Alun Owen, Fay Weldon, David Campton, Lyndon Brook and John Bowen.1 woman, 1 man or flexible casting

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a captivating novel penned by the renowned author C. S. Lewis, is a timeless masterpiece that transcends the boundaries of age and time. Published in 1987 by Samuel French Ltd, this book belongs to the genre of fantasy literature, and has since its publication, enchanted readers worldwide with its magical narrative. The story is a riveting tale of four siblings who, through a wardrobe in their English country house, find themselves in the mystical land of Narnia. The book masterfully blends elements of adventure, suspense, and moral lessons, making it a must-read for both children and adults. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is not just a book, it's a journey into a world where every turn of the page promises excitement and wonder. Dive into this extraordinary novel and let C. S. Lewis take you on an unforgettable adventure.

Madame Dubonnet's finishing school, near Nice, could exist only in musical comedy. The charming young pupils burst into song at the least provocation, and forbidden boy friends are forever popping through the french windows to make up the numbers. Polly Browne is too rich to be allowed a boy friend. Tony, for whom she falls, turns out to be the Hon. Tony Brockhurst, which is very lucky, because Polly thought he was just a delivery boy. Written in the fifties as "a new musical of the twenties" this is still the most successful, tuneful and witty of the send-up musicals, which ape the style of earlier, lighter-hearted and more disarming days.8 women, 7 men

Gaston Leroux's classic tale of tragedy, grand opera, romance and horror has been masterfully adapted by Ken Hill.

Beatie returns for a holiday to her fenland farm home trying to impose on her stolid family the ideas of a young Jewish intellectual, Ronnie, whom she believes will marry her. But, awaiting his arrival, slowly Beatie realizes he will never come and her famous final speech exults that Ronnie has taught her independence and how to free herself from him.-4 women, 5 men

All is not well in Ankh-Morpork Opera House. A ghost stalks the corridors, leaving strange letters for the management and killing people. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, two Lancre witches, investigate. This is an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel, "Maskerade".

Little Voice (LV) lives alone with her mother Mari, whose sole purpose in life is to find a man. When Mari's latest catch hears LV's impersonations of famous singers, he rushes to exploit it, and the result destroys LV. Finally, however, LV regains the courage to speak and sing in her own voice.