Books published by Samuel French Ltd

Playback is a play for five women. Faith and Edith Fellowes are spending a normal, uneventful afternoon, when a strange woman is seen leaning over their garden gate. They bring her in, to find that she is apparently suffering from loss of memory. When they summon the police, however, the woman· detective is a little sceptical, as such tricks have been used before by thieves. She takes an early opportunity of going through the stranger's handbag.It appears to contain nothing incriminating; but the arrival of a doctor, and some further questioning, unveil something a good deal more sinister than petty theft.

Complete with double-dyed villain and a radiantly pure hero and heroine, this melodrama takes the spellbound audiencefrom Lucre Hall, across the Atlantic to where there is gold in them thar hills, and back to Lucre Hall again. Sir Jasper, of theblack heart, is out to win Lady Lucre's fortune via the hand of the lovelly Ara be Ila; and Clarence, of the pure heart, is out tothwart him and also win Arabella. Through valleys of iniquity they all travel, the journey being enlivened by the wiles of thevoluptuous Fanny, who of course aids and abets Sir Jasper. Virtue is triumphant at the last and Clarence and Arabella areunited over the dead bodies of their enemies.

Rodion is medical head of a sanatorium where Lydia is a patient, suffering from arteriosclerosis. She is clearly no ordinary patient and the play follows with warmth and gentle humour the mutual growth of interest and liking to lasting affection between two lonely people.|1 woman, 1 man

Zany, madcap events transpire at the Reverend Lionel Toop¿s vicarage in Merton-cum-Middlewick. The plot revolves around Lionel¿s wife, Penelope, who dabbles in a football pool with the help of their maid, Ida, and Idäs suitor, the droll Willie Briggs. The most fantastic complications ensue when the triumvirate wins, or when they think they have won, more than 20,000 English pounds. Lending richly comic hands are the old maid parishioner, Miss Skillon, and Penelope¿s out-of-this-world uncle, The Bishop of Lax.|3 women, 4 men

Alberto and Francesca have grown up together. Alberto hardly notices her and does not realise that she is in love with him. Francesca determines to win Alberto over on the village's annual picnic but then finds out that Alberto is not going - he is to leave for the city and a new job.|6 women, 5 men

Luther Stringer is the titular head of a Yorkshire working-class family of wife and three daughters - one married, one engaged, one a student.His middle daughter's "fiancy" is in bad odour with him for refusing to participate in a strike and being sent to Coventry. This dissension, however, pales into insignificance before the hornet's nest that is stirred up when Luther's eldest daughter discovers in her father's pocket a packet of "electronically tested" contraceptives. The women's reaction is instant and their vengeance terrible, but the result is unexpected and perhaps unwelcome. Stringer's Last Stand, however interpreted, may not be as cataclysmic as Custer's, but - it certainly shakes up a Yorkshire household.

One of four plays by the late English actress, writer and dramatist, Mary Hayley Bell, Duet for Two Hands ran on Broadway in 1947. A classic thriller about a pioneering surgeon and the sinister results of his work.

Rachel wants to run away from home and is unwittingly transported back to 1927 when orphan trains carried destitute city children to the Midwest for possible adoption.This charming show for young audiences by the author of The Phantom Tollbooth focuses on how divisions created by race and class can be overcome with friendship.

David Mamet Full Length, ComedyCharacters: 3 male (1 non-speaking) Bare stageThe Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-The-Plow, takes us into the lives of two actors: John, young and rising into the first flush of his success; the other Robert, older, anxious, and beginning to wane. In a series of short, spare, and increasingly raw exchanges, we see the estrangement of youth from age and the wider, inevitable and

Comedy / Characters: 2 male, 1 femaleScenery: InteriorIn this side-splitting and thought-provoking new comedy, Leon and Bill concoct a list of attributes of the ideal woman­the top ten best qualities in a mate. When this allegedly 'Ideal Woman' actually arrives on the scene the men quickly learn that their list could use a few revisions. Be careful what you wish for--especially in choosing a mate. This old adage leads to hilarious results in Foster's sparkling new comic hit."Sharp, sna

Original title: Whose wife is it anyway?

A happy housewife named Marsha, hopelessly addicted to reading murder mysteries, overhears her loving husband discussing her upcoming birthday surprise with an interior decorator. To her ears, though, it sounds like they are planning to murder her! With the assistance of her next-door neighbor, she tries to turn the tables on them with a poisoned potion. When her own mother shows up for her birthday a day early, Marsha thinks she is in on the diabolical scheme. When her maid's date, a p

Julia Lukin, a musical prodigy, committed suicide twelve years ago and now memories of her haunt the three men closest to her. Her father, Joe, has never come to terms with her death, and in the Julia Lukin Music Centre, he meets with a psychic, Ken, and Julia's boyfriend, Andy - the last person to see her alive, in hope of finding some answers. The men meet in Julia's old bedroom and Joe reveals that he believes Julia is trying to contact him in order to explain what happened. Between the three men, the story of Julia's life and death is gradually revealed - often at odds with what each man believes he knew.

'Bouncing Back' follows a group of women returners to the game of Netball, the trials and tribulations of their training sessions, group bonding, getting sponsorship, tough coaching, and the stress of organising 'me time'. Will the team get fitter? Will they ever win a game? Will the coach ever find true love? And why do they all worship someone called Tracey?

Harry is a zealous traffic warden, whose eccentric hobbies of collecting stuffed birds and folk dancing cause great friction between him and his wife. Bad-tempered Gran''s constant criticism of Harry does not improve matters. Also Harry''s daughter, Ruby, is engaged to weedy Gerald who finds he has an allergy to the birds. However, Harry''s hobby seemingly pays off when he returns home with an owl which is stuffed with hundreds of pounds.But when Inspector Travis of the C.I.D. arrives, Harry discovers he has been freely spending stolen money...|3 women, 3 men

Premiering in 1975 and the hit of the 1997 Broadway season in a production that originated at City Center's Encore! series, Chicago won six Tony Awards including Best Revival and later the Academy Award as Best Picture of the Year. In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma

The first of a three-play cycle exploring the U.S./Mexico drug wars. The first play is inspired by the "Bravest Woman in Mexico " follows a twenty-two year old woman who volunteers to replace a beheaded police chief when nobody else would accept the position; which sets a chain of reactions in her husband the Narcos and perhaps the entire country of Mexico.

This collection of nine monologue plays by Don Nigro introduces us to a lost pregnant cat trying to survive in the woods an old woman left at the altar who saves her moldy wedding cake and vows revenge the private sorrows of the Bogey Man a girl on a remote Himalayan mountain being stalked by a terrifying monster a cynical science teacher forced by his school board to teach Creationism the wife of a hydraulic fracking shill who realizes too late that her husband has sold his soul to murder

This collection of 9 monologue plays five for women and four for men takes us on a journey back and forth in time from as long ago as 1392 (Gringonneur in which a painter is slowly driven mad by an enchanted deck of tarot cards) through 1903 (Portal in which the landscape architect who designed Central Park reveals a conspiracy to conceal the gateway to a vast hidden labyrinth and another dimension lurking under Manhattan island) to 1940 (Mermaid in which Inspector John Ruffing returns no

Collection / Anthology, Comedy / 3 males, 3 females (up to 40 total); flexible casting.

The play revolves around an ad hoc meeting of a North Georgia women's social club called "The Glitter Girls," convened by its richest member - one Trudy Tromaine - who is supposedly at death's door and wishing to bequeath some of her millions to one lucky "Sister of the Gleam and Sparkle." The hitch is that it's the members themselves who must decide to whom to award the small fortune (with hopes that the Glitter Girl they select will see it in her heart to share the money with the rest of her "sisters"). The play can be economically described as Steel Magnolias meets Survivor, with a big dose of quirky Mark Dunn humor thrown in for good measure.

"Mary Wallace and Athena are brave, and seventeen, and fencers, and training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together, they compete against each other, and they spend their lives together. They wish they were friends"--Page [4] of cover.

It's 1958 and Johnny, the owner of Johnny Manhattan's has invited his closest friends to a private party for a surprise announcement. Unexpected surprises abound as relationships clash and secrets are revealed.With book and lyrics by ROBERT LORICK ("The Tap Dance Kid") and music by DAN GOGGIN ("The Nunsense Musicals") this all new musical will draw you into the lives of these entertaining characters making you laugh while tugging at your heartstrings. Featuring a wonderful original score, you will find it hard to resist the lure of spending a night at Johnny Manhattan's.

Two of Us flashes between Honolulu and New York City, shining a spotlight on the lives of He and She and the social and domestic pressures leading to the destructive act of He assassinating John Lennon in December 1980. A showdown between the real and the fantastic through a haunting cast of characters, Two of Us is a mind-bending parable of contemporary relevance speaking to gender expectations, celebrity culture, and gun violence.

"Annie and Paul were engaged many years ago and now reside at the same Retirement Community, Seaside Heights Manor. Annie is intrigued by the arrival of Italian actor Roberto. The senior romance is impeded by news of the retirement home being sold"--Page [4] of cover.

Place of publication from publisher's Web site (viewed January 2019).