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A Thirty Minute Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 10. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 14. Minimum total without doubling = 19. No chorus. Not many acting companies boast two sets of identical twins! The production notes offer some sensible routes to make the look-alike comedy work. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'A Comedy of Errors', with the original text of two hours and more cut down to 30 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | The ultimate tale of mistaken identity as two sets of identical twins, separated as infants, cross paths as adults to the confusion of all concerned. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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A Thirty Minute Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 10. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 16. Minimum total without doubling = 16. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', with the original text cut down to around 40 minutes (despite the title!) (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | A comedy of mistaken identity, as the shipwrecked Viola poses as a page boy at the court of the Duke of Orsino, where she falls for the Duke, whilst Olivia, the object of the Duke's affections, is smitten with the handsome page boy! All ends happily, but only after a great deal of confusion, and the arrival of Viola's lost twin brother. An introduction to Shakespeare for primary schools. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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A Thirty-Minute Dream by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 7. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 17. Minimum total without doubling = 22. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', with the original text of two hours and more cut down to 30 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | Fairies make mischief in the Athenian woods, mixing up two couples and pairing the fairy queen with one of the 'Rude Mechanicals' who are in the woods rehearsing a play. When all is straight, we finally get to see the Mechanicals' play mocked by the Athenian nobility. An introduction to Shakespeare for primary schools. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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A Thirty-Minute Measure for Measure by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 15. Minimum total without doubling = 21. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure', with the original text of two hours and more cut down to 30 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | The Duke of Vienna is about to go abroad, leaving the governance of the city to Angelo, a stern judge. Angelo's rule turns out to be much stricter than the Duke's, and he sentences Claudio, a young nobleman, to death. Angelo has designs on Claudio's sister, but she rejects his advances, apparently sealing Claudio's fate. However, the Duke returns in disguise and, through a series of tricks, exposes Angelo's hypocracy. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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A Thirty-Minute Much Ado by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 14. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 18. Minimum total without doubling = 20. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing', with the original text of two hours and more cut down to 30 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | Don Pedro, prince of Arragon comes sweeping into town - along with his wayward brother, Don John, who is bent on making mischief. He finds his opportunity when he seeks to spoil the romance between Claudio (one of the Prince's knights) and Hero, the daughter of their host. Meanwhile, Claudio and Hero try to kindle a romance between Hero's cousin Beatrice and Claudio's friend Benedick, who everyone thinks made for each other - if they can ever get beyond their endless verbal sparring. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Three Canterbury Tales by Richard James |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 5. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 7. Minimum total without doubling = 7. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 25 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | One-act verse play. No set requirements, few (deliberately rough-and-ready) props. |
Synopsis | Three of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, told in verse but adapted for the stage. The Miller, The Pardoner and the Wife of Bath are brought to life with the narration of Chaucer and the help of three other pilgrims (the Friar, the Summoner and the Nun). |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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The Three Little Pigs... I Mean The Three Little Hogs by Larry Brumer |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 0. Minimum Female roles = 1. Minimum total with doubling = 5. Minimum total without doubling = 5. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Small-cast comedy play intended for performance by an adult or high school company to an elementary school audience. Simple sets, costumes and props. |
Synopsis | The tale of the Three Little Pigs (building houses, wolves huffing and blowing - that sort of thing) retold for elementary pupils with audience interaction and a surprise ending. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Three Women and Shakespeare's Will by Joan Greening Best Seller 2022 Edinburgh Fringe production received a 5-Star review from Arts Reviews Edinburgh. |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 0. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 3. Minimum total without doubling = 3. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 40 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Quick-witted one-act comedy. Single set requiring only a few items of furniture. |
Synopsis | After the death of William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway is visited by two women with shocking revelations. Both claim to have known her husband intimately, and each want a piece of Will's will. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Tiddley Pum by Frances Bartram |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 6. Minimum total without doubling = 6. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 35 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | One-act comedy play. Minimal set (an ante-room for an audition, no particular requirements). Well-drawn characters and sparkling dialogue. |
Synopsis | Six characters meeting each other for the first time as they gather to audition for a television show. Their talents are as disparate as their personalities. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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The Tide is Coming In by Michael C. Appleby Production by The Edinburgh Makars won First Prize (and the Edith Forbes Trophy) in the Scottish Community Drama Association's One Act Play Festival, Edinburgh, 2020 |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 0. Minimum Female roles = 0. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. Characters written as 2m, 2F, but can be played by any combination with permissible tweaks to names and pronouns. |
Run Time | Around 28 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A witty one-act comedy with funny characters and plenty of action. Set on a beach, furnished with rocks and (not necessarily visibly) sand! |
Synopsis | Angela gets stuck in quicksand while walking along the beach. Her friend Brian helpfully explains the physics of thixotropy, but can’t think of a way to get her out. Deirdre and Colin pass by and are recruited into the rescue, but are more interested in a nearby black-throated diver. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Awards | Click here to see the awards won by (productions of) this script. |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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