Books in the Acting Edition S. series

Written for BBC School Radio by the author of Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, this telling play visits a local radio station when its late night broadcast is interrupted by a gun toting escapee from police custody. The vandalism for which he was convicted was in reality a one man stand against the lies told by advertisers and DJs to sell products and promote a dream world.|6 men

With an aristocratic background borrowed from novels she's read, she picks up a lonely man who's come down to London for a frolic, and takes him off to her basement apartment. His pretension to worldliness quickly goes sour, for he has no experience with women and is totally gauche in this new situation. Neither of them is really what he seems. One by one they strip away the pretenses that mask their loneliness.1 woman, 2 men

What if Odon von Horvath, the Austrian playwright who died before he got to Hollywood, actually made it to Tinseltown to meet up with the likes of Thomas Mann, Brecht, Garbo, the Marx Bros. and Jonny Weissmuller?8 women, 16 men

To escape from the restraints of a suffocating relationship, Anna moves into a flat with a friend, Prue.  In the old attic room which she adopts as her study, Anna is presented with a ghostly series of women through the ages - women who, like Anna, have not conformed to the usual roles of wife and mother - a Victorian spinster, a nun, a nurse who worked with Florence Nightinglae during the Crimean War and a young wife who dies childless.|3 women, 2 men

A wife whose husband takes her for granted finds romance with a dashing man, but has misgivings when the husband offers to be caught in a compromising situation with his secretary to give her grounds for divorce.-3 women, 2 men

In 1970, renowned writer-composer-lyricist Leslie Bricusse adapted the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, into the hit screen musical "Scrooge!". Now available as a charming stage musical, Scrooge! has enjoyed a hugely successful tour of England and a season at London''s Dominion Theatre starring the late Anthony Newly. Included are six new songs not performed in the film. Now this sure-fire audience pleaser is available in two versions: as a full-length musical and in a 55-minute adaptation that is ideal for small theatre groups and schools, where it can be performed as a short play or as part of a seasonal concert.|Large flexible cast

Shortly after Miss Grey, a governess, arrives at Bly to take charge of Flora and Miles she sees the ghosts of the former valet and governess; it is the children they want. She determines to save the children from destruction and damnation at the hands of these "devils," but her courageous efforts are not enough to save little Miles from tragedy.-3 women, 1 man, 1 girl, 1 boy, 1 woman or man

A collection of four twist-in-the-tail plays for two women: "Day Trippers", "The Guilt Card", "Theatrical Digs" and "Short Changed". All set by the seaside, and delicately observing life, they are full of animated characters.

Who dreamt the Midsummer Night's Dream? What were the reactions of the Artisans' relatives to their play-acting activities? The author considers the play from the point of Bottom - and the women as members of the audience. Bottom and his wife are discovered settling down for the night - as twelve o'clock strikes, Bottom dreams a 'most rare vision'.Large flexible cast

A stage adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far From the Madding Crowd". Bathsheba Everdene, a young, spirited farm-owner, is beloved of three men: Gabriel Oak, a stoical shepherd, William Boldwood, a neighbouring farmer, and the dashing but irresponsible Captain Troy.

The story of "Puss in Boots" is combined with "Cinderella" in this play. With outrageous characters, jokes, and a fast-moving plot, this is suitable for both large and small-scale production.

Marion Bishop, an elderly writer of romantic novels, is dying. Katherine Willis, kind soul from the nearby village, looks after Marion in a most caring way while coping with her own mentally retarded brother of twenty. When Katherine takes leave to attend her cousin's wedding in Scotland. Laura and experienced nurse from London comes to take care of the failing writer, on the recommendation of the local doctor. A series of mysterious phone calls and the appearance of Raymond, Marion's rapacious nephew, set off a nightmare situation which becomes increasingly complicated when Katherine's brother is found murdered in a ditch. 4 women, 3 men

The four ladies in the Home for Retired Gentlewomen are upset when their TV breaks down at the climax of a real life murder drama. They talk about the murder. To the horror of three of them, it appears that the fourth, gentle Mary, may have been the murderess. When Mary leaves the room, the others consult the Matron as to what steps should be taken; however, on Mary's return a most unexpected telephone conversation sets their fears at rest and leaves them feeling rather foolish. But after they have gone and Mary is left alone, her behavior is strange, to say the least.5 women

In this play, Sarah's desperate attempts to have a nice, civilized week end culminate, not surprisingly, in disaster. Ruth, Norman's wife, is summoned but Norman still contrives to cause havoc involving, finally, all three women. Matters are not helped by such events as the slow thinking Tom mistaking Ruth's intentions during a conversation they have together. Eventually the horrific week end draws to a close.3 women, 3 men

Frank recognizes the voice of the GPO speaking clock as that of his long-lost wife. Determined to get her back, he forces his way into the inner sanctum of the Authorities to demand her release. Underlying the light-hearted story is a satiric comment on man's servitude to the clock.5 women, 7 men

Jan is recovering from a nervous disorder. She and her husband rent a remote cabin from an odd farmer who delights in telling gruesome ghost stories. Then the husband''s sister arrives, and all manner of frightening events occur. What happens to fragile Jan as bodies appear and disappear give this classic thriller its tremendously frightening impact.|2 women, 2 men

As they play their little pieces of music, the ladies of the brasserie orchestra (and the solitary male pianist) reveal seething volcanoes under the placid exterior. Jealousy, gossip, boasting and thwarted emotions climax in one of them shooting herself in the toilets - but the music goes jauntily on.|6 women, 1 man

Intriguing glimpses into a cupboard full of family skeletons, together with some serious, and not so serious, detective work, combine in this unusual suspense play, to keep everyone guessing until the very last page! Returning home from prison, after serving fifteen years for allegedly murdering his mother, Matthew finds his three sisters, his wife and his father waiting for him. Still protesting his innocence, Matthew''s arrival prompts the question of who did kill Mother - scornful Celia, dotty Emma, cold Lavinia, flighty Gilda or even gentle Father? Accusations and hypotheses abound, but it takes an apparent suicide, and a good deal of amateur sleuthing, before the truth is revealed and the lady can be taken away...|4 women, 3 men

Staff Nurse Kitty, popular, good-natured and ever willing to help, is giving evidence at a medical tribunal investigating a patient''s death. Suddenly she finds herself carried along by events that she hardly comprehends and is condemned before she can even defend herself. Support which she felt that she could count on diminishes in the cause of self-interest, and helpful deeds performed at the time are misinterpreted. Based on a true-life incident, we see the pattern of her life in flashbacks, using imaginative lighting, heightened dialogue and delightful theatrical effects.|3 women, 1 man

Annie, the Cinderella of the family, lives in the shabby Victorian vicarage type house where the family was brought up. Reg, her brother, and his wife Sarah come to stay for a week end so that she may go away for a "rest". The general idea is that Annie ought to pair off with Tom. But for this weekend it is Norman, the raffish assistant librarian husband of Annie's sister Ruth, with whom she planned to go. They were to meet secretly but Norman turns up early. When Annie calls the whole thing off Norman decides to stay on at the house and gets roaring drunk.3 women, 3 men

Roger has enough trouble assembling his cricket team to play against the British Railways Maintenance Division Reading East, but these complications pall before those occurring among their various wives and girlfriends. As a final catastrophe, rain starts to fall. The play, from the author of Stepping Out, was first seen at the Queen's Theatre, London, starring Julia McKenzie and Maureen Lipman.4 women, 5 men

The young, altruistic Dr Glow is perturbed when his National Health Clinic is hired out to Dr Boxclever, a private consultant who extorts outrageous fees from his patien's by prescribing unnecessary treatmen's and useless medicin's. Boxclever persuades Dr Glow to impersonate an eminent specialist and so begins a slide into malpractice.5 women, 4 men

This adaptation of Longfellow's poem into a fast-moving spectacle of dance and rhyme had a very successful run at the National Theatre. All actors are called upon to perform the fast, athletic dancing, mime and percussion that makes this play an exciting and vivid visual experience.3 women, 8 men

Traces King Arthur's life from his boyhood, through his accession to the throne by means of the sword in the stone, his romance with Guinevere and his search for the Holy Grail, to his death. This is a play of magic, comedy, suspense and adventure, providing acting opportunities for a large cast.

The nuns of St Ursula's Convent, led by the Prioress, Sister Jeanne, accused Urbain Grandier, Vicar of Loudon, of sorcery. He was tried, tortured and burned. On this baldly terrible foundation, Whiting has built a powerful, complex play, interweaving the personal dilemmas of Jeanne and Grandier with the political necessities of the time. Although it is set between 1623-34, essentially it is no more a period play than Miller's The Crucible.6 women, 13 men

Ross is a successful, happily married cardiac consultant - until his wife Fay announces she has fallen in love with the notorious womanizer Julian Kane. Later, Ross's assistant discovers two phials missing of Zarabell Four, a drug potentially lethal to cardiac patients. When Julian dies from a heart attack, all fingers point to Ross. But as the play progresses many enemies of the deceased are revealed and audiences will guess right up to the final moments of this well-wrought thriller.3 women, 6 men

This delightful comedy of errors follows the fortunes of Perkin and Wat. Perkin is royal odd-job man to the court of the Emperor. His friend, Wat, has recently been demoted from court pastrycook following a disastrous batch of cakes (Wat swears he was framed by the head cook). Wat is the comic focus, meaning well, but repeatedly foiled. Our heroes triumph at the last, Wat regaining his status and Perkin winning the heart of Princess Sophie.|Large flexible cast