Books in the French's Acting Editions series

Letitia, presenter of the hit TV show "Mind Your Own Business", wants to interview Myrtle Banbury in her own home and Lenny has a problem - how can he conduct the interview without having to appear to the British public in drag? An additional complication arrives in the form of Fran, Lenny's ex-wife. This title is a sequel to "Nobody's Perfect".

For Madame Ranevskaya, her cherry orchard is more than just land. Returning for the first time since her son drowned there, she must come to terms with the fact that in order to free her family of debt the cherry orchard must be sold, the trees must be cleared and she and her family must prepare for life beyond the orchard.

A work based on the life of Florence Foster Jenkins, the legendary New York heiress and socialite who wanted to be a great operatic diva despite having one of the worst signing voices in history, and who used all her money, charm and unstoppable willpower to make it happen.

It is 1934. Winsome Manor is in financial difficulties and, with a heavy heart, the widowed Lady Winsome needs to fire long-standing servants Joe the gardener and James the chauffeur. However, unbeknown to Lady Winsome, James has been using the estate's Rolls Royce for a taxi business and Joe has been profiting from the garden produce.

Jill has served time for killing her husband who abused her. Making a new start as a window cleaner, she disturbs Daryl, who is in the process of stealing from an expensive apartment. Panicking, Daryl holds Jill captive but she gets him taking about his life of crime and the wife who left him, taking with her his much-adored young daughter.

Relief drama teacher, Mary faces an uphill struggle when she tries to interest sixteen-year-olds Stacey, Kelly and Maggie in dance. She isn't helped by the science-obsessed headmaster, nor by the girl's patent lack of commitment, nor by the lack of funds and resources, but she ploughs doggedly on.

Characters: 4 male, 2 female plus children''s chorus (optional)Scenery: Various setsWizzpopping wonder and fruit filled fun abound in this stage adaption of Roald Dahl''s greatest adventure story. James is a lonely young boy who is forced to work like a slave for the most revolting aunts in England. One day a mystical old man gives him a bag of magic. When he accidently spills it near the old peach tree, the most incredible things happen! "Pure fun for the whole family. A remarkable theatrical feat!"- Northampton Chronicle "Move heaven and earth to see this wonderful adaptation!"- Sunday Mercury "A first class show. If I were a child I''d scream for a ticket."- Birmingham Post

In 1974, Alan Bennett encountered Miss Mary Shepherd, an elderly eccentric who was living in a van in the street near his home in Camden Town. He eventually allowed her to park her van in his garden, the idea being that she would stay three months - but those three months extended to fifteen years.

Women are serving community punishment orders and are growing the vegetables for soup kitchens on an allotment. It is the first morning for Daisy, the new probation officer, and she is brimming with new ideas for the women's rehabilitation. However, the tables are turned when a traumatic event in Daisy's past catches up with her.

Danny learns of his father's secret passion for pheasant poaching in the estate of the greedy Victor Hazell, the local wealthy landowner. In the early hours, Danny awakes to find that his father has failed to return after a night of poaching. Fearing that his father may be in grave danger, Danny sets off on a courageous journey to rescue him.

In a West End synagogue, three septuagenarians, Sophie, Hetty and Magda meet every Tuesday to play the card game Kaluki. But all this is about to change when their synagogue is to be sold to a strip club owner. These intrepid ladies decide to take direct action. Can they succeed or will their constant bickering put paid to their plan?

Enrolled in Camp Confidence, Maria (terrified of birds), Blanche (agoraphobic), Donna (single mum on probation) and Cherry (an obsessive cleaner), are led by the skilled but harassed Julia and her uncertain assistant Fiona. The four learn a great deal about each other and themselves and emerge happier and more secure. This is their story.

It is 1999. Hannah is sixteen. She loves karaoke and her bloke Bullfrog; she hates her hometown of Margate and the Kosovan asylum seekers who have come to live there. Hanna is also sixteen. She loves karaoke, loves Margate - and is one of the asylum-seekers. Slowly and unexpectedly, the two become friends, Hannah being forced to face up to her prejudices. This play for two young women addresses important issues through comedy, personal drama and the uniting power of music.2 women

The four boyfriends, with the help of the members of their school's drama class, set up a witty scenario designed to fool the girls into thinking that they should never have called off their relationships - because one day soon the lads will be the world-famous boyband Awesome. The current obsession with celebrity is satirized with the lightest of touches in this intelligent comedy for teenagers.7 women, 7 men

A play set in the foreseeable future when everything has changed except human nature; a future where TV daytime soaps are performed by android actors emotionally programmed by the control room. One, JC 31333, finds herself humanized as Jacie Triplethree, complete with a sense of humour and Adam, a young scriptwriter, falls for her.

The orchestra of Ridley Road, a state school, is to give a concert in Moscow at the European Festival of Youth, playing Tchaikovsky''s Fourth Symphony before an audience of cultural bigwigs. But their instruments have been impounded by Customs. Luckily, Alex, the Russian boy who cleans the hall, is a devout Pinball Wizard fan who comes up with a plan that saves everyone.|Large flexible cast

Specially commissioned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Southwark Playhouse, Samuel Adamson's new version of A Doll's House brings zest to this classic play.4 women, 4 men

Philip is going through a messy divorce. To make himself some money and give his life a boost of adrenalin, he devises a cunning scheme to rob the London department store Jarvis and Klein of its daily takings. He needs help, however, so he enlists John, an ex-stationery salesman sacked for fiddling his expenses, and Dave, another salesman with a hugely expensive lifestyle, as his partners in crime.2 women, 3 men

Set in Regency London, this is the story of the poet Lord Byron, his ever-increasing notoriety and his steps to appease Society by marrying Annabella Milbanke. With debtors on his heels and facing the ignominy of his sexual life being made public, Byron separates from Annabella, parts broken-hearted from the love of his life, his half-sister Augusta, and quits England.|3 women, 4 men, 8 women or men

A pantomime that opens with the Bad Luck Fairy, Jinxit, about to hire Humpty Dumpty as her evil assistant. We are transported many years hence to a typical British seaside, and there is plenty of opportunity for fun and games, mistaken identities and slapstick humour, as Patsy Putumup falls for Captain Vince Valiant.

Miss Julie is an aristocrat's daughter who, drunk after a party, flirts with her father's chauffeur and sets, in train, a series of events that lead to tragedy. This work, a version of Strindberg's classic "Miss Julie", features class suspicions and resentment, the erotic collusion of antagonists, and the struggle against repressive social mores.

Royston Chatsworth is commissioned to film a sanitized documentary contrasting old-style mental health care with the improvement 1990s care-in-the-community has brought. But as Royston experiences a flashback into his own life, he makes a life-changing decision.

Tobias, struggling to pay tuition fees as he finishes his doctorate in moral philosophy, works as a chef in an unpopular tapas bar. His girlfriend, Casey, is a waitress and T-shirt entrepreneur manque who needs capital to realize her dreams. Monday is the deadest night of the week, but their luck looks about change when the enigmatic Leila walks into the bar which is situated just down the road from MI6...|2 women, 1 man

Victor and Harlan are two philosophy professors who have been friends and pranksters since their student days, but things have changed: Victor has turned into an hedonist, while Harlan has become a Stoic. They are on holiday with their wives, and Victor has devised a prank to shake Harlan out of his passionless state, which goes horribly wrong.

Charlie Conrad is a celebrity. His talent? He hasn't got one; the nation took him to their hearts for very publicly being unable to do anything competently. On a fateful day Charlie has an encounter with Marsha, a children's entertainer otherwise known as Mr Chortles, and his marriage and his career go into freefall...