ERIC CHAPPELL   


Eric Chappell
   Nationality:
British
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Plays by Eric Chappell

ERIC CHAPPELL
Ashes to Ashes
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
2
Female
4
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Dave Thursby's friends are gathered at his funeral. Their memories of him are very different and often clash. When the mysterious Kay arrives to drop her bombshell everyone endeavours to keep up appearances for the sake of the widow. Later, when the time comes to dispose of the ashes and Dave's secret life is finally exposed, tempers and ashes fly.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Banana Box, The
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1974
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Light Drama
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
3
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: a.k.a. Rising Damp
Synopsis: The play that inspired the TV series Rising Damp was produced at the Apollo Theatre, London in 1973 with Leonard Rossiter, Francis de la Tour and Don Warrington in the leading roles. The play has now been revised under the title Rising Damp but is still firmly based in the late sixties. Amateur and repertory rights with Samuel French Ltd.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Cut And Dried
1st Produced:
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Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2003
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
4
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: We Don't Want to Lose You and Cut and Dried are completely self-contained one act plays but can be performed together as Fiddlers Three
Synopsis: In the offices of Multiple Holdings, Rex, Harry and Osborne form a somewhat uncomfortable alliance against the management, as personified by the elegant, devious Fletcher. Cut and Dried opens with the news that Rex's job is now up for grabs and he will have to be interviewed for it along with everyone else - including Harry and Osborne. Harry's efforts to ingratiate himself with the bosses are more successful than Rex's and at the close he seems well on the way to the higher echelons &
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Dead Reckoning
1st Produced:
Robin Hood Theatre, Averham
-
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Thriller
Parts:
Male
3
Female
1
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: A new play and something of a departure for the author, a thriller. When the mysterious Mr Todd arrives at Anthony reed's house and offers to kill his wife's murdered and so satisfy Reed's long desire for revenge - Reed, tempted, finally agrees. After making the decision Reed and Megan, his second wife, find themselves entering a nightmare from which there seems no escape.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Double Vision
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
1
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Myopic ex-boxer Spinks, an impecunious resident of a tower block, lets it be known that he has won the lottery. With the assistance of his alcoholic friend Kingsley he attempts to woo the twin sisters who have come after his alleged fortune.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
False Pretences
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Farce
Parts:
Male
5
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: When confidence trickster Victor Blake descends on his long suffering sister and brother-in-law after a spell in prison he finds that they have a guest - an attractive and wealthy widow. He sees this as a solution to his financial problems and deploys his charm and trickery to ensnare her. But one scheme founders after another until Victor encounters the worst of hidden reefs. The characters in this play were inspired by those in The Bounder, the TV series starring Peter Bowles and George Cole.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Father's Day
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2007
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: based on Eric Chappell's hit TV series Home To Roost
Synopsis: This play inspired the TV series Home to Roost starring John Thaw and Reece Dinsdale. It tells of Henry Willows, a lonely and embittered divorcee, being visited one night by this wayward son, Matthew and Matthew's strange girlfriend Christine. Finally Henry's ex-wife, Sue, arrives in pursuit of Matthew. A strange reconciliation, sometimes stormy, sometimes romantic, takes place over the evening, much of this due to Matthew's guile.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Fidlers Three
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2003
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
2 * 1 Acts
One Act
Parts:
Male
5
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: We Don't Want to Lose You and Cut and Dried are completely self-contained one act plays but can be performed together as Fiddlers Three
Synopsis: A double bill of plays dealing with office life and the struggles of three accounts clerks, Rex, Harry and Osborne to address the twin problems and dismissal and promotion watched over by the steely JF. These plays were inspired by the TV series, The Squirrels, and Fiddlers Three starring Bernard Hepton, Ken Jones, Peter Davison and Paula Wilcox.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Ground Rules
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: When Gerry and Judith, a long married couple, rescue Jo from an assault by her aggressive partner Ashley, one night in a pub they trigger off a chain of events that even Judith - trained in counselling - cannot control.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Haunted
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1995
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Thriller
Parts:
Male
4
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Nigel Burke, playwright, is neurotic and agoraphobic and hasn't written a word in three months much to the chagrin of his wife and agent. One night he is visited by the mysterious Potter who knows of Nigel's obsession with Lord Byron. Potter offers him the skull goblet once owned by Byron. Drinking from the goblet brings a profound change in Nigel and finally Byron's ghost appears.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Haywire
1st Produced:
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Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1998
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
4
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Alec Firth is having an affair with his assistant Liz and has organised his domestic life so that they can go to Spain without making his wife Maggie suspicious. What could go wrong? Plenty as the rest of the family arrive on the doorstep in rapid succession; Phoebe, Alec's mother, who has discharged herself from the old people's home; Alec's son Jamie who has a broken ankle, and finally his daughter Mandy who is heavily pregnant and refuses to marry the father.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Heatstroke
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2004
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
4
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: In a play which involves two couples disputing a holiday villa - assumed identities - a snake which has also taken up residence - a bag of stolen money - and a criminal known as Mad Dog Moon - we have all the ingredients of a mad, fast moving farce. The play has recently enjoyed a successful tour of the Uk under the title Snakes and Ladders starring Paul Nicholas and Ian Ogilvy.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
It Can Damage Your Health
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1996
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
5
Female
1
Parts Other:
-
Notes: aka Only When I Laugh
Synopsis: This play based on the hit TV show Only When I Laugh starring Peter Bowles and James Bolam. In recent years the stage version has toured Sweden, Australia and the Uk and starred such names as Geoffrey Hughes, Michael Elphick and Geoffrey Davies. The play traces the fortunes of a desperate trio in Men's Surgical. Together they form and uneasy alliance against the confusions and insecurities of hospital life.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Mixed Feelings
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
3
Female
3
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: First performed at Malvern Theatre and subsequently toured to excellent reviews, the play starred Paul Nicholas, Mary Tamm and John Benfield. When Vernon, a suburban accountant, takes the plunge and becomes the woman he's always wanted to be he finds life very different to the one he imagined. He's leered at by taxi drivers, propositioned by his boss, pursued by his best friend and jealous mistress. But his main concern is will his wife and daughter understand him!
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Natural Causes
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1993
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Black Comedy
Comedy
Parts:
Male
3
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Vincent is from Exodus, a euthanasia group that assists people in suicide. When he is invited to Walter Bryce's country house to assist in the disposal of Walter's wife he senses something is wrong. Why are the suicide notes unsigned? What is the role of Walter's attractive secretary? Why has the Samaritan been sent for? The play enjoyed a successful tour of the UK with George Cole playing the part of Vincent.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Only When I Laugh
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
in "Situation Comedy 2" Hutchinson, London
1984
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Situation Comedy
Comedy
Parts:
Male
7
Female
-
Parts Other:
extras
Notes: see It Can Damage Your Health
Synopsis:
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Passing Strangers
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Fickle Thing. . .memory'. Malcolm discovers how true his words are when he takes his unhappy and discarded friend, Clive, to a Singles' Evening. There they meet the upwardly-mobile Julie and the cynical, defiant Liz. As Malc tries to pair Clive off with Julie and break down the embittered Liz's defenses, he finds that life, like the evening, is full of surprises.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Rising Damp
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: see The Banana Box
Synopsis: -
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Sitting Tenants
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
3
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Paula Price arrives at the Old Rectory one dark and rainy night accompanied by the landlord Nash. The flat is not what she was promised and Nash is guarded about her fellow tenants. When the tenants begin to reveal themselves the reason for the landlord's reticence becomes clear. . .
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Something's Burning
1st Produced:
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Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Comedy
Parts:
Male
2
Female
3
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: This play was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Windsor and starred Joanna van Gyseghem and Christopher Blake. The play is a wry comedy centred on Nell, an attractive if acerbic woman who has been deserted by her husband and now feels at the crossroads of her life. Her affair with George Rush, a local teacher and poet, is going nowhere until the arrival of an older man. He provides the spark that causes the dying affair to erupt suddenly into flame.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Summer End
1st Produced:
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Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2005
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
1
Female
4
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: Emily Baines is a defiant, embattled old lady who resides in the Summer End retirement home. She believes that her previous companion has been murdered but no-one will listen to her, especially her new fellow tenant May Brewer. Emily points the finger of suspicion at everyone until it finally turns towards her.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Suspicion
1st Produced:
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Company:
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1st Published:
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-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
5
Female
3
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: When a woman is attacked in a city car park the staff of Faraday Finance fall under suspicion - particularly Brian Heath who has been picked out at an identification parade and whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances. Inspector Rudkin is certain of Heath's guilt but the case becomes more complex as the investigation continues.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Theft
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
1996
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Comedy Thriller
Thriller
Parts:
Male
3
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: This play has enjoyed two successful tours of the UK, starring George Cole, Roy Hudd and Leslie Grantham. On returning from a night out two couples discover a burglar and apprehend him. They soon begin to wish they hadn't as he commences to disrupt two seemingly happy marriages and reveal certain uncomfortable truths about their honesty.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
Up and Coming
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
5
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: The play was first produced under its original title 'Up and Running' at the Theatre Royal, Windsor and starred Keith Barron and Susie Blake. Philip Conway is attending a party conference where he intends to make his thrust for power. On the night in question his position is compromised by various visitors including Vicky whose love promises to be a permanent embarrassment.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
We Don't Want To Lose You
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London
2003
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
5
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: We Don't Want to Lose You and Cut and Dried are completely self-contained one act plays but can be performed together as Fiddlers Three
Synopsis: In the offices of Multiple Holdings, Rex, Harry and Osborne form a somewhat uncomfortable alliance against the management, as personified by the elegant, devious Fletcher. In We Don't Want to Lose You, Rex is ordered to sack Osborne, and, spurred on by Harry and the attractive Norma, offers Fletcher his own resignation in protest - and, to his horror, it is accepted! Norma comes to Rex's rescue with a spot of blackmail.
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ERIC CHAPPELL
We're Strangers Here
1st Produced:
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-
Company:
-
1st Published:
Josef Weinberger, London
2004
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male
2
Female
2
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: First performed on TV with Geraldine McEwen and Ian Hendry as a two-hander and subsequently as a four-hander at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, the play eventually became the popular sitcom Duty Free. The play, like the series, deals with two warring couples on holiday in Spain. As in the original play the scene is set in the sixties and maybe played as a two-hander or four-hander and as a double bill or two one acts.
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