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| A Fifty-Minute Richard The Third by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 21. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 26. Minimum total without doubling = 48. Chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 50 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'The Life and Death of King Richard III', with the original text cut down to 50 minutes or so.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | Richard the Third, from the winter of discontent to the kingdom for a horse, as the last of the Plantagenets intrigues and murders his way to the English throne, only to be confronted by the army of the Earl of Richmond - one Henry Tudor.
Historical footnote: Shakespeare derived this account from Henry Tudor's historians. In the view of the editor, this makes it unreliable history, but a cracking play! |
| 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 Fifty-Minute Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare, abridged Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 20. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 24. Minimum total without doubling = 36. Chorus. Large numbers of speaking roles, many appearing on stage at the same time. Flexibility in the non-speaking roles, with Roman nobility and a whole army of Goths (who probably dressed differently in Roman and Shakespearen times). |
| Run Time | Around 50 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Titus Andronicus', with the original text cut down to 50 minutes or so.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | When Roman general Titus Andronicus returns victorious from the wars against the Goths, he resolves to be king-maker, rather than taking the role of emperor for himself. Having lost many of his sons in the fighting, Titus has the eldest son of Tamora, captive Queen of the Goths, sacrificed to the gods. When Tamora is freed by the new Emperor, she and her lover Aaron set about avenging themselves - a feud that is tragic for all concerned.
Bill Tordoff started this series as abridgements for primary schools. We think that some of the themes in Titus are too adult for that demographic!
Asides: This is not for the faint-hearted, though John Webster probably enjoyed it, and Mrs Lovett would have learned a thing or two. |
| 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 Fifty-Minute White Devil by John Webster abridged by Bill Tordoff |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 10. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 14. Minimum total without doubling = 35. No chorus. Characters include a small boy and optional non-speaking attendants, etc. |
| Run Time | Around 50 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | Abridgement of John Webster's 'The White Devil', with the original text cut down to 50 minutes or so.
(The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
| Synopsis | In his pursuit of Vittoria, the wife of old Camillo, Duke Brachiano abandons his wife, Isabella, then connives with Vittoria's brother, to have Isabella and Camillo murdered. Isabella's brother, the Duke of Florence, and his ally Cardinal Monticelso - Camillo's cousin - set out to get revenge.
(We're in Grand Guignol territory. This isn't going to end happily for anyone!) |
| 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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| Fifty! by Archie Wilson |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 5. Minimum Female roles = 7. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 13. No chorus. One offstage - radio - voice, could be pre-recorded. |
| Run Time | Around 48 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | One suggested tune is a part of the plot. Lazy Bee Scripts does not supply any sheet music with this script. |
| Style | A one act farce, with a single (living room) setting. |
| Synopsis | Seemingly boring David is fifty years old today! Wife Fran and daughter Jessica arrange a surprise party for him, but unbeknownst to them he is having an affair. Feathers fly as he appears at the surprise party with his semi-clad mistress, and assorted extra visitors also help to make it a special event! |
| 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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| Figaro - The Pantomime by Matthew Harper |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 23. Minimum total without doubling = 25. Chorus. Chorus size may be flexible at Producer's discretion. |
| Run Time | Around 145 minutes. [Estimated!] This assumes 2 mins for each song, the author believes the songs should be short. |
| Music | Song suggestions are provided with the Producer's copy of the script. Lazy Bee Scripts does not supply any sheet music with this script. |
| Style | A full length pantomime version of Figaro, with assorted settings. |
| Synopsis | A good length Pantomime retelling of Figaro, with all the expected mischievous characters. This includes a pantomime horse and of course - plenty of song and dance. |
| 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 |
| Extras | The following additional items are available (at extra cost) to go with this script:
** Pantomime Fun-Packs - jokes and games for children, to supplement the programme for your show
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| Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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| Fighting the Kaiser with Catapults by S. J. Edwards |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 3. Minimum Female roles = 6. Minimum total with doubling = 9. Minimum total without doubling = 9. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 24 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | One-act drama written for performance by older youth theatre students (16-19 year olds). Can be performed on minimal sets. |
| Synopsis | A series of vignettes follows three different men, their relationships with the women in their lives and their involvement in the First World War. The scenes take place at various intervals between 1914 and 1916. |
| 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 Filming of Das Kapital by Vithal Rajan |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 5. Minimum Female roles = 0. Minimum total with doubling = 5. Minimum total without doubling = 7. No chorus. Two of the characters make a brief non-speaking appearance (and therefore could be regarded as optional). |
| Run Time | Around 25 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A combination of Indian storytelling and chess! Simple props, but needs a means of displaying the chess moves to the audience. |
| Synopsis | Game Nine in the Varadachary Chess Cycle. A Bollywood producer has plans to make a film of the life of Karl Marx, part of which is played out through a chess game. An amateur theatre group - including the author! - runs through the script (and the chess game), criticising the producer's distortions of history! |
| 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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| Find the Lady by Helen Sharman |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 4. No chorus. Written for two men and two women, but each taking several roles. |
| Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | One act play. Minimal set, with only a dressing table and clothes rail, plus a sofa and table arrangement that remain onstage throughout. Contains very mild swearing. |
| Synopsis | An actress struggles to contain the character of Lady Macbeth as the play both infects and reflects other parts of her life. |
| 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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Finding Goddard by Deborah Hugill
Performance by Ury Players won the Gallery Trophy in the Aberdeen District of the SCDA one-act play festival 2023. |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 1. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 7. Minimum total without doubling = 16. No chorus. 11 minor roles can be easily shared by two actors. |
| Run Time | Around 29 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A one-act comedy with a variety of locations but minimal set requirements. |
| Synopsis | When it turns out a modest, unassuming man in Helions Bumpstead is really God, everyone has an angle and everyone wants in. But soon enough, people affected by 'Acts of God' want their day in court. |
| 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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| The Finish Line by Paul A J Rudelhoff & Jane Hilliard |
| Roles | Minimum Male roles = 5. Minimum Female roles = 7. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 12. No chorus. |
| Run Time | Around 130 minutes. [Estimated!] |
| Music | None. |
| Style | A fast moving farce with a single (kitchen) set. |
| Synopsis | In each Olympic year bumbling Sir Humphrey hosts an international gathering of like minded enthusiasts. He fails to recognise that the 2012 party comprises fake nuns, art forgers and grasping relatives, despite which he manages to get over the finishing line. |
| 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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