Books in the French's Acting Edition S. series

In a hotel room in Azerbaijan, Howard wakes up with a hangover. Proffering English tea and sympathy is ministry official, Yellena. Slowly, it emerges that Howard, who is to referee an important international football match, has disgraced himself the previous evening at a dinner. Or has he?

Grace and Lily reside in a nursing home with little to do but witness a senile resident impersonating Elvis. Determined to break the tedium, Grace, with the help of Lily, kidnaps care assistant Pansy, for the ransom of gin, a packet of fags and a budgie, but things don't go according to plan!

The river has burst its banks and Cynthia, with her leg in plaster, watches as her husband and daughters Angela and Jane try to save their antiques business. But the animosity between the sisters is apparent and an announcement by Angela opens up another flood - this time of family secrets!

The highly moral Mr Potter presides over a health farm and prides himself on his high standards of decency and decorum. But when Gerald Corby, arrives in search of peace and tranquility - only to be followed by a trio of ladies - the resulting misunderstandings prove more than a headache.

Its the swinging 1660s. King Charles II wants nothing too heavy: politics are a bore. When Nell and her friends join the new Drury Lane Theatre, Charles is delighted by their saucy songs and cheeky antics. Nell rises to stardom and she and Charles embark on one of the most infamous love stories.

Giant Rumblebottom is about to destroy the kingdom, but if there is anyone with more important worries on his mind it is our unlikely hero, Olaf, who thinks he's so ugly that he has to wear a balaclava. When he wins the lottery, plastic surgery comes within his reach.

Howard, a well-known book publisher, is concerned for his wife, Joanna, who has become unusually distressed and nervous. When Howard arrives home one day to find that Joanna has shot his former friend, Perry, during a struggle, he decides to protect her by confessing to the shooting himself.

Paul Reakes' pantomimes include many original twists to the familiar stories, with plenty of audience participation. They can be staged as simply or as elaborately as desired.Large flexible cast

Based on the 19th-century story by the French Countess d'Aulnois the story concerns the heir-less King Pat-a-Cake of Euphoria who has three adopted sons. Seeking a successor he sets them a task, offering the throne to the winner.

Norman Robbins'' fun-packed pantomimes tell the traditional stories in a clear fast-moving style and can be staged simply or elaborately, as required. The choice of music is left to the director.|Large flexible cast

A man facing a terminal illness comes to a deserted beach, despondent and raging. He meets a woman who tells him that in the 5th century, Dwynwen, maid-in-waiting to the queen, deserted her faithless lover to live there. Dwynwen appears to the man and opens his eyes to the love and care of others.

The action in this comedy of the strains and stresses of property buying and selling alternates between two locations and should be familiar to anyone who has ever experienced house buying!

Miggy is a "Sloane Ranger", who has been dumped by her boyfriend Roddy because she is "shallow" and does not care for the environment in the way his new love, Harmony, does. Here, Miggy tells us her story as she wrestles with environmental issues presented by the act of putting the kettle on.

A theatre company on tour includes a star and her understudy who were both married to the same man. When the understudy takes the stage at a provincial theatre, the gun fires bullets instead of blanks and she is killed. Who was the intended victim? Who loaded the gun? Focus is on human motivation rather than police investigation in this theatre mystery.4 women, 2 men

At the end of Noel Coward's "Design for Living", two men and a woman embark on a menage a trois founded on mutual attraction and a conscious flouting of societal norms. This comedy attempts to answer the question of "what happened next?".

On her 70th birthday ex-actress Margot Buchanan is visited by Sadie Croft, an actress having an affair with her ex-husband Leo, who wants advice on playing Juliet. Leo arrives on the scene and promptly dies of a heart attack. His ghost then appears, anxious to sort matters out between his women.

Amy cares for her Aunt Sylvia who has Alzheimer's. Amy is loyally devoted to her Aunt so finds herself seriously tested when she meets and falls in love with Gregory, an antiquarian bookseller. As she tries to deal with the situation, Amy begins to see that a different, happier life is possible.

Three households hold a "safari party" - a dinner party, where each course is served in a different house. Hors d'oevres are served by Daniel and Adam, entrees by Lol and Esther, and desserts by Inga. The households are linked not just socially, however: there's the question of the table.

Philip Conway, Deputy Prime Minister, is attending a party conference. He has been tipped to be the new party leader, but his campaign for powers is in serious danger of collapse. This is a play about the underhand dealing that goes on in political circles - who will get their just desserts?

David and Annie are partners - an unmarried middle-class couple starting their life together in a house they have bought from a charismatic but shifty Australian, Ike. When they receive a mysterious visitor, Hewlett, Annie plays the cheerful hostess while David is immediately suspicious.

This adaptation of Thackeray's novel traces the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley from the time when they were at school to their middle age. The play moves fluidly over a period of 30 years, the scenes remaining episodic and connected by the shifts in characters' fortunes and development.

Benjamin Cooper provides comfort and satisfaction to his wealthy patients, by improving their good looks with the aid of surgery. One of his patients is Angie Dell, a model at the peak of her powers. Her charms do not escape Benjamin, nor his old friend and former mentor, Hravic Zyergfoovc.

Ron, a retired headteacher and his wife Yvonne, a middle-aged would-be marathoner, have purchased their first caravan and are trying it out in Yorkshire. Then an elderly caravan appears next to theirs and the sounds of noisy love-making cause Ron and Yvonne to blush. Steph and Grant have arrived!

When Mr Fox steals one chicken too many from a local farm, the farmers' decide the only cure is to rid themselves of Mr Fox by any means possible. Outwitted at every turn, the farmers' ploys backfire, and all the animals celebrate a feast at their expense.