Books published by Samuel French Ltd

The fictitious pleasantries that two maid-servants imagine are passed in the usual course of tea on the terrace are not at all what goes on - once the servants have been dismissed. In an off-hand manner that shocks her hostess, Caroline announces she is terminally ill. Her subsequent revelations only serve to draw the two women closer together.|6 women

Outwardly respectable Mrs Bee does "good work" on the Committee of the Bountiful Bequest, a charity for distressed females. However, unbeknown to the other Committee members, she is financing the charity, and feathering her own nest, by running a branch in Brussels where the younger and prettier girls are transported in dubious circumstances. Blackmail ensues...|6 women

Auntie is taken unawares when she encounters a woman in the house. Can it be her niece, Lil? But surely Lil was quite ugly, with a very large nose? It is Lil, who, seven weeks ago, after both her husband, Bill, and Auntie, had walked out on her, made a choice between suicide and a new life. Lil has cleared the debts and bought herself a new nose. Her new man is about to collect her when the woman with whom Bill left arrives to inform Lil he has had a massive stroke and needs her.|3 women

This humorous and well-crafted play for an all-female cast deals with the class divisions of Edwardian England and is set before the Old Age Pensions Act was passed in 1908. It skillfully depicts the battle of Sarah Dawkins and her mother, Gran Twigden to outwit the local gentry, whose attitude is paternalistic but patronizing. As their battle ensues the audience rapidly becomes drawn into this highly entertaining and socially realistic play.6 women

Seemingly lost without a compass, the six members of the group stumble across a large country house. Taking refuge, they find one room with a roaring fire. Truepenny explores, finding desolation and decay, but upon returning to the room encounters another era and takes on the persona of one of the characters. Clegg, too, feels the emotions of that winter of 1917.6 women or men

This is a warm, and moving character study of an elderly widow and her new Home Help, Leslie - a man. Leslie's care and humour eventually win Rose round, eventually Leslie moves in to be on hand all the time. The play ends with Rose's death and a scene of poignant farewell.

Stifled by army life, the Colonel's wife falls in love with the Sergeant sent to play the piano at her dinner parties. Towards the end of the play we realize that the Old Man and Old Woman on stage are the Sergeant and the Colonel's wife forty years...|2 women, 4 men

Diane and Harold Blott give a party for their silver wedding. Harold becomes sulkier and sulkier, and Diane finally realizes that the cause of Harold's behaviour is the presence at the party of his current lover. Diane faces a dilemma: either to wound Harold's ego, or carry on with her "pretending-not-to-know" farce.|3 women, 2 men

A letter to Geoffrey, who is blind, informs him that his wife is having an affair with a work colleague. His trip to the leisure centre where Alice works changes both their lives as he confronts the other man. Then Geoffrey's friend Anton meets Amaryllis, his ideal woman, at the centre.

A macabre, neatly written play which covers, in a series of short scenes (with time lapses between) the events following Percy Middleditch's attempts to "find a nice girl", as his landlady advises. Unsuccessful, middle-aged Percy, turned down for promotion at work, writes to a Lonely Hearts column and when the gorgeous Caroline Sweet turns up on his doorstep he is sure his luck has changed. But Percy realises he has been the easy victim of a con trick and there is only one way he knows of expressing hishurt... Fast paced and easily staged there are nevertheless one or two unexpected twists in the plot.|2 women, 2 men

Americans, Maxwell and Joan, are visiting a country in the far east where Maxwell was posted during the war. Maxwell, while visiting the temple relives a horrfying scene from his army days. They meet a cripple and their patronage turns to fear when they see his terrible scars. A young woman official explains that he is a napalm victim. To the tourists he is an object of fear, to the revolutionary he is an embarassment to the state. He is the innocent.|2 women, 2 men

There is entertainment and laughter in every line of this fast-paced comedy which explores the influence of the past through characters whose relationships with each other are complex. Stella and Derek are selling their house and are preparing to show prospective buyers round it, very late one night. These buyers turn out to be Romaine Marsh, an old school friend of Stella's, and Amy and Ray. Derek once wanted to make Amy his mistress, but was blocked by Ray. Stella's involvement with Romaine was more than "school chums". The situation is ripe for development and when a necklace is stolen we at last learn the true identities of all!|3 women, 3 men

Ageing and remembrance of ordinary people are explored with startling originality in this award-winning play. Man, a retired manager, is lying in bed, contemplating his past. His thoughts are lost in dreams depicting people who have steered the course of his life, those he cared about, those who hated him, and those he was forced to betray.3 women, 5 men, 2 women or men

Newlyweds Penny and Tom Gilbert are entertaining Tom's colleague James and his wife Alice to dinner, when they are unexpectedly interrupted by Harry Barton, a character from Tom's past. Harry has come to offer Tom a job; not so surprising perhaps, as Tom is known to be a high flyer in his work with computers. But why should Tom be so alarmed at Harry's offer? What gives Harry the power to threaten Tom if he refuses? And what exactly is the "past" which Tom tries desperately to evade? This tense drama builds to an unusual-and unguessable-twist in the tail!|2 women, 4 men

A couple - shall we call them Adam and Eve? - unsure of their whereabouts on Millennium New Year's Eve, come into a hotel, seeking directions while Church bells peal out their message. The receptionist, however, has no quick answers. One's place, he claims, depends on one's vantage point in time.

Marcus Wade, a successful stockbroker, has found himself saddled with a curious gift: he can see into the future. At first he uses this power to his advantage, but his pleasure turns to terror when he finds his vision only extends a certain distance into the future. What lies beyond "the edge"?

A very amusing play based on the premise that all children are born highly intelligent, but by the time they can effectively communicate, they have either forgotten the information or had it knocked out of them! The end leaves you laughing - with a lump in your throat. The children's parts are taken by adults with suitably oversized playground equipment.5 women or men

Leah discovers her author husband Gordon is having an affair with Ursula. Meanwhile, Gordon remembers Umjana Land, the childhood dream world he inhabited with his sister Agnes, and determines to write. When Agnes appears, having written a Booker Prize-nominated book about Umjana Land, Gordon is left strangely alone as his daughter Leah, Ursula and Agnes find a common bond.|4 women, 3 men

Father has raised Alan and Emily single-handedly. Now Father has left for a new life in America and Alan is at a loss as to what to do. Should he sell the house - and help pregnant Emily who needs money - or marry Rita and stay where he is?|3 women, 2 men, 1 girl, 1 boy

This adaptation of the Pied Piper tale centres on the figure of Blankenfeld, the one member of the Town Council to feel a moral obligation towards the Piper once he has rid the town of rats. He alone is exempt from the doom the town brings upon itself by ignoring the Piper?s demands for his payment.|2 women, 13 men

Frank and Mary Shaw have a child after twelve years of interesting but unfulfilled marriage. Through their poignant soliloquies, and scenes replayed from Andrew's, their son's, formative years, it is revealed how he becomes the centre of their separate worlds. Without wanting to leave Mary, it suits Frank to have a longrunning affair. When Mary finds out she smothers her own hurt so that Andrew remains emotionally secure.|5 women, 4 men

In a hospital housed in an old palazzo, two Englishmen recovering consciousness both see the ward ceiling, covered by a huge painting of Heaven, and imagine they have 'passed on'. In conversation it transpires that Fletcher, a rather rough type, has led the sort of Byronic life that scholarly Luby has only written about.|2 women, 5 men

Mary decides to spice up her life and join Alfredo Leache's Background Artistes Agency. But spending just a short time in the office Mary learns that being a walk-on artiste isn't all glamour.3 women, 2 men

In a neglected graveyard we encounter both the quick and the dead. Deceased Harry is waiting for his wife, Beth, to join him. Unable to be seen, or to communicate with the living, Harry can only watch helplessly as his daughter Angie wheels the deaf and ailing Beth to his graveside.

Martha apparently lives alone in her remote farmhouse, visited occasionally by Mary Lee, her nearest neighbour. But is she in fact alone? First Jesse, her husband, then Tim, her son, enter-apparently through a bolted door. In reality both husband and son are dead, but in Martha's mind as the story moves back and forth in time the lives of all three are revealed-lives in which Mary Lee also turns out to be closely involved. The borders between past and present, life and death are blurred.|2 women, 2 men

On a cold Autumn day in 1985 at a dilapidated smallholding near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, two men are the only mourners at the funeral of "Mad" Maddy Ingram. The elderly man remembers Maddy as a young woman, the toast of the county, and believes that his marriage proposal to her in 1935 was a case of unrequited love.

Isabel Merryweather runs an antique shop with her Rear-admiral father. One of her eccentric customers leaves a baby in the shop and Isabel's strong maternal feelings are aroused.Assisted by her most eccentric visitor of all she sets about an unconventional adoption plan.The unexpected results are astonishingly successful, affecting not least the Rear-admiral.6 women, 4 men

Lindsey, a successful novelist who is widowed and childless, allows herself to be persuaded into boarding students for the university. She is determined not to get involved in their problems, but she does. Solid, practical Chris gives her little trouble; febrile, father hating, guitar playing Dickon causes upheavals but wins her heart with his warmth and sympathy. The boorish 'Blitz' is another matter and his appalling girlfriend who attempts to smash up the cottage brings matters to a head. When she is finally free from them all, another student appears and it looks as if she will be starting all over again.|6 women, 4 men

Fred is a very vocal home-built computer whose comments almost ruin his owner's love affair. He does have his uses though as he can predict the weather with complete accuracy. When the Weather Office hears of his talent, they send a spy to infiltrate the Shaw household.|5 women, 6 men