Books published by Samuel French Ltd

It is 1959. Charles Chaplin is 70 years old, talking across the years to the young Charlie Chaplin – the Little Tramp who was never allowed to speak in the silent movies. Now he has a voice, confronting his older self and revealing the passions and torments that formed his life. Charlie Chaplin was the very first icon of the silver screen and is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. But what of the man behind the moustache? The director holding the camera as well as acting in front of it? The cockney boy  beneath the stage make-up? Born into poverty and hardship and in the absence of his father, he spent most of his childhood in and out of orphanages and workhouses. Charlie survived by making himself invulnerable. This exuberance later became part of his screen persona. The Little Tramp always picks himself up and walks jauntily into the distance.

"If I made you laugh, all well and good. If I made you care, even better..." ERIC MORECAMBE

Archie Lee Meighan's cotton gin business is foundering in the face of Silva Vacarro's Syndicate Gin. On the day Archie's furniture is repossessed he takes action, burning down the Syndicate Gin. Silva then pays Archie and his wife Baby Doll a visit, seeing the latter as the key to justice.

May Archer, an elderly widow, is entertaining in her London semi. The first "guest" to arrive is Warren, a window salesman, followed by Desmond (home security). Each salesperson adopts a persona they think will persuade their client to put her money their way, but May's is not interested. Eventually, May saves the day with a clever scheme.

"Based on Sebastian Faulks's ... novel, Birdsong tells the story of a soldier haunted by his past. As a young man, Stephen Wraysford was caught up in an all-consuming love affair in Amiens, France. As the First World War unfolds, Stephen finds himself pulled closer and closer back to Amiens, back to the Valley of the Somme"--Amazon.com.

What Brutes Men Are is a comedy for four women. Janet and Carol get into casual conversation over a drink in a hotel lounge. Carol has just left her husband, Godfrey, and tells Janet she was sick of his comparing her with his first wife. Janet realizes' Godfrey is her own divorced ex-husband . Over more drinks Janet says she was sick of being compared with Godfrey's mother. Suddenly Godfrey's mother, Linda, arrives by a previous arrangement with Carol. This might be awkward, but it transpires that Linda herself was sick of Godfrey who even as a baby had criticized her as against her elder sister, Beatrice. Finally all three omen go off together to open a teashop in Scotland , leaving Godfrey presumably to compare Beatrice with all three of them.

The triplets are turning 100 years old. They are in the Town Hall waiting to be presented to the Queen. While waiting each reacts in their own special way, each very, very different from the other. Are they what they seem? Can you figure it out?|4 women

Two members of a Russian delegation to Belfast request that they stay at a typical working class family home. Mrs Galbraith must work out how to accommodate themselves, her extended family, and flooded out neighbours - and all that before a contingent of Eskimos arrive too.|4 women, 4 men

Peter Wykeham and attractive Mrs. Marguerite Hickett find themselves stranded in a back country inn, where they must stay the night. In order to get a room, they must convince the prudish landlady that they are man and wife. All hell breaks loose, though, when they are tracked down by their spouses, demanding an explanation.6 women, 7 men

The landlady of a Dorset inn is faced with blackmail from her dangerous cousin.|6 women, 1 man

This is a full length pantomime, entirely traditional with lots of humour and with its own original and delightful score by Eric Gilder which is available separately. The large number of both amateur and professional groups who present Crocker and Gilder pantomimes regularly every year is unmistakable proof of their success.Large flexible cast

"I feel like I leapt off a long time ago and everyone else is gaining traction and I'm just floating away" Gar can't decide between the man who plays games and the man on one knee with a ring. In fact, Gar can't decide on anything because every choice seems like a compromise. Everyone wants answers but nothing lives up to the image he has in his head. Facades start crumbling as his world implodes around him but Gar... Gar just wants to dance with his friends. THIS MUCH (or An Act of Violence Towards the Institution of Marriage) is a play about how we define ourselves; through objects, clothes, traditions and other people.

Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone is an investigation into what happens when we discover that our parents are flawed human beings and that at some point, sooner than we think, they are suddenly going to disappear from our lives.Intimate and funny, this play presents a lifetime of conversations, condensed into one hour.Selma Dimitrijevic is a director, writer and artistic director of Greyscale. Her plays have been performed in the UK, Croatia, Ukraine, Canada and Russia. She also works asa librettist and a translator for plays and novels. As a dramaturg Selma has worked with the National Theatre Studio, Tron Theatre, Exit Theatre, Caroline Horton, RashDash and the National Theatre of Scotland.

he time is warm September; the place a villa on the coast near Cannes where lives Clare, Comtesse de Vernay, and Alexis Mouranoff. She was formerly a great opera singer, he was once a fashionable painter, and the villa is a house of regrets, half-hearted hopes, and memories...|3 women, 3 men

An untraditional pantomime. The aristocratic Boronski family live in Siberia in the years before the Russian Revolution. Just as spring is about to begin, their lives are disrupted by the evil Fox, who condemns Siberia to eternal cold and despatches the Wolf to kill Babushka Boronski.

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

This is the third Christmas Eve spent in the company of convicts Gilbert and Crosby (the first two being Kidnapped at Christmas and Christmas Crackers). Our lovable heroes are back in prison again with Warders Mullins and MacBain.|2 women, 7 men

A pregnant wife is loath to inform her husband in case it jeopardises his career. Telling the neighbours, however, does not help…|3 women, 3 men

This popular and appealing college and little theatre play tells the story of a child brought to a convent and of the extraordinary change in the lives of the nuns wrought by the presence of the infant. The child grows to young womanhood and the nuns lavish upon her all the tenderness which is usually absent from the lives of those who have dedicated themselves to God.|10 women, 4 men

Excitement and intrigue are built into the plot of this entertaining play. Following the publiation of a book entitled "This Village I Know" it transpires that the book bears some relation to a real village. The local people, who feel they have been misrepresented, descend on the authoress Miss Stalk to dispute the scandalous allegations. However, she proves very elusive. Emily, the servant, suddenly stuns everyone by announcing that she is the author. As Emily has worked for all of them the scandal has more truth in it than they would like to admit, and they beat a hasty retreat!6 women

lt is the eve of Nicola Thompson's wedding day; the festivities are prepared, the presents are wrapped. Sheila, Nicola's mother is avidly ticking off her list, and everyone else in the process!-2 women, 2 men

A hard-hitting ΓÇÿall-women playΓÇÖ in which unmarried mothers are ruthlessly exploited by an unscrupulous, baby-farming landlady. Neglected for over half a century, RaymanΓÇÖs blistering drama is a real find ΓÇô and still relevant today.|11 women

Adapted by Margaret Kennedy, from her own novel, with Basil Dean.|10 women, 10 men

"It''s easier to pretend to be someone else when you''re at war"With the last boat to England gone, Lotty is housed in closequarters with the enemy. As loyalties waver amidst thetemptations of forbidden love and the politics of war. DoesLotty dare to tread a passionate and dangerous path to savea friend?A mesmerising story of passion, courage, and sacrifice,Lotty''s War is set on the enemy occupied Channel Islandsduring World War Two.

Christmas Crackers is the hilariously funny sequel to Kidnapped at Christmas, written by Willis Hall for Christmas 1975. Crosby and Gilbert, our two convicts, are spending a lonely Christmas Eve eating baked beans on the stage of an empty theatre when they encounter their old enemies - Detective Constable Grummett (and his wife and son) and Mullins and Macbain (now promoted to Constables - 'evening all'). -Large flexible cast

An odd assortment of characters are passengers on an ocean liner whose destination is unknown. Suddenly the bewildered travelers realize they are dead and headed for Judgment Day. The young man who has lost his faith in himself becomes desperately afraid, the snobbish Mrs. Cliveden Banks prepares to demand certain heavenly concessions, and the old cockney woman goes on with her knitting. Most frightened of all are a young man and woman who have committed suicide. The Examiner comes on board to judge their cases with whimsical perception.|3 women, 6 men

A comedy about a permissive youth, a father and son who cannot communicate, and a wife whose ex-fiance is still around after 20 years of marriage.2 women, 3 men

The couple who live next door keep popping in and so does the man who used to live in the house. The policeman nephew of another neighbour says he will look into the strange opening of the door. He discovers the body of a woman buried in the cellar. He and George go to the police station. The neighbours come to call again - it seems that the body is their aunt who they murdered for her money and Francis is alone with them.|5 women, 4 men

Mr. Rattigan has given a mild wartime slant to his play. One the eve of his marriage, the young and wealthy Earl of Harpenden puts up an American Lieutenant for the night; and in the morning dates him up with a former girl friend. The American mistakes the earl's finance for the girl friend, and the two of them fall in love with each other before he discovers his mistake. What with a French officer also in the race, the girl friend very much in evidence, and the fiancee's father, a deadbeat duke, adding to the complications, an evening of hilarious fun is the result.-2 women, 5 men

Compared to her mother, the heiress Catherine Sloper seems dull and lifeless, or at least that''s what her father believes. With her lack of confidence Catherine becomes easy prey for fortune hunter Morris Townsend who deserts her on finding out she has been disinherited. Two years later, we see Catherine, her father dead, having matured considerably after her experiences and prepared to take revenge on Morris Townsend.|6 women, 3 men