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Ian Hornby
Abanazar's Revenge
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| Company |
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Synopsis:
The Evil Queen and Abanazar have pooled their evil forces to get their own back on the good guys. They kidnap Snow White, Princess Jasmine and Sleeping Beauty and it's up to Dick Whittington, Aladdin and Prince Charming, aided by Widow Twankey, Wishee-Washee, the cat, the good fairy and the genies to make a rescue attempt. An unusual pantomime with three principal boys, three principal girls and a host of well-known characters, plus all the usual ingredients you expect from a pantomime - songs, bad jokes, monsters, slapstick&Oh yes there is!
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| First Produced |
1999
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Panto
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| Parts |
Male
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|
| Female
|
|
| Other
|
Variable
|
Notes
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|
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Top
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Ian Hornby
Boomerang
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
When Duncan's new-found drinking partner Bob meets Duncan's wife Tracy, they seem to share some guilty secret from the past. Could she be the long-lost lover Bob was boasting about before he emigrated to Australia? Duncan must do something about it, but is rather worried what he may have got up to under the influence when out the night before. At their anniversary party some unexpected guests turn up. Duncan tries to force the issue with Bob, but only succeeds in driving the couple away. All is not as it seems, however. Bob is an undercover policeman chasing a drugs smuggler - he is also Tracy's brother!
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| First Produced |
1999
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
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2
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| Female |
4
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Cat's Away, The
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
Alan's wife Marion has gone away for a few days. Alan is planning a quiet night in and a game of cards with workmates Barry and Carl. Barry has other ideas, however - he has plenty of booze and has invited some girls round. How is Alan to keep Marion from finding out, especially with his nosy mother-in-law Muriel living directly opposite? After a few too many drinks Alan falls and loses his memory, and suddenly he doesn't care anymore. Even when Marion arrives back and finds him in an innocent embrace with one of the girls he doesn't care - after all, he can't remember who she is! Something must be done - and it is!
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| First Produced |
1996
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
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4
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| Female |
5
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Cinderella
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
A new look starting from the traditional story but with all the pantomime traditions and some new twists to the characters. Buttons turns into super hero Zips, Blue Peter has always one prepared before. Everything from slapstick to songs to appalling jokes. There are two Dames and two principal boys.
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| First Produced |
1998
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Panto
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| Parts |
Male
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|
| Female |
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| Other |
Variable
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Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Cold Blood
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
When Chris finds her husband Allan is having a torrid affair with her best friend Joanna, she sets about planning his demise and her apparent guilt with cold-blooded expertise, helped by her experience as a forensic pathologist. She chooses her friend and colleague Don, a police inspector, as her perfect alibi. Don knows she is guilty, but every attempt he makes to prove it shows her always one step ahead. So how will he trap her? And does he really want to?
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| First Produced |
1999
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
|
3
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| Female |
3
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Dream, Lover!
| | Company |
|
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| First Produced |
1999
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
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2
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| Female |
5
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Eye For An Eye, Darling
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
Peter decides to throw an anniversary party for wife Amanda. Scatty housekeeper Mildred sees Peter with Caroline - a caterer. Amanda thinks Peter is cheating and hires a detective. Peter sees Amanda with the detective and, thinking she is cheating too, hires another detective. Eventually four detectives are hired by different people. Everyone thinks someone is carrying on with someone else.
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| First Produced |
1992
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
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5
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| Female |
6
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Hello, Is There Any Body There?
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
All is dull and peaceful at Squire Grange. Lady Amelia searches for new ideas for her latest mystery novel as Sir Malcolm sleeps off the excesses of another idle day. Family friend Freddy is persuaded to try and think of new ideas. Meanwhile the hapless Vic Tim arrives and is promptly dispatched by an unknown assailant. Everyone tries hard to discover the murderer before he or she can strike again. The first problem, however, is how to get rid of Vic's body, not just because he is making an untidy mess on the stage, but also because he has to come back in ACT II as a policeman! Smalls, the butler, and Mabel, the maid, try to assist the inept police (and Sir Malcolm attempts to give the delicious WPC Nunall a hand too) but not in time to prevent the Producer being murdered. There is even a suspicion that someone may have poisoned the audience. Eventually Miss Marbles arrives to reveal, Agatha Christie-style, the culprit, who also happens to be the play's prompt. Or is there another culprit? This hilarious farc
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| First Produced |
1994
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
4
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| Female |
5
|
| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Late Of This Address
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
Newly-weds Rick and Vicky Maddocks have bought the run-down house for a song. Okay, so it needs some work doing, but for the price they paid you expect that sort of thing. What they didn't expect, however, was to find the house already occupied by the lovely Jessica. Even worse, it turns out that only Rick can see her - it seems she died mysteriously twenty years previously. Rick finds Jessica very attractive, much to the annoyance of his bride, who, on finding a book left by a visiting psychic, attempts an exorcism, only to rematerialise Jessica's equally ghostly husband. Except, of course, that only Vicky can see him. After the four have sorted out their relationships with one another, and the ensuing jealousies and rivalries they set about trying to solve the murders.
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| First Produced |
1994
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
2
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| Female |
3
|
| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Murdered, Presumed Dead
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
Ruthless businesswoman Lynne discovers husband John in their country cottage entertaining Carol. They fight, not for the first time, and John is killed - or is he? She gets Carol's fingerprints on the murder weapon, and with the help of shady private detective Ronnie to cover the crime up. Lynne has been troubled by the paranormal before and when John reappears and only she can see him she is convinced he is a ghost. They devise a clever story, but when the police arrive they arrest Lynne, supported by the evidence of local fisherman Simon, the man she knew as Ronnie. The three of them had hatched this supposedly foolproof plan to get control of Lynne's business interests. John finds out too late that he too has been duped - Simon is also Carol's lover. They decide they no longer need him, and since he is "already dead" anyway, they simply carry the plan through and kill him, knowing it all points to Lynne. This perfect plan is upset by the chance arrival of two hikers, who, quite simply, know too much. Will
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| First Produced |
1997
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
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3
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| Female |
4
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
One Across
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
This play is set in the days leading up to Christmas. David continually annoys wife Emma by suggesting he may be buying her all sorts of unwanted presents - even though her hints have made it plain enough she wants an eternity ring for Christmas. Things are brought to a head when Emma's mother Agnes comes to stay and takes over the cooking. Emma's fury mounts steadily towards the climax of the play at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, when Emma gets her present and David gets a plate of cold baked beans - all over him!
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| First Produced |
1994
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
1
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| Female |
2
|
| Other |
+ extras
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Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Price To Pay
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
Roger and Laura are just an ordinary married couple. Why then do a man and a woman, posing as police, kidnap Laura and keep her captive in a run-down farmhouse? After all, Roger has no money. The plot unfurls on a dramatically-split stage - half in the couple's flat and half in the farmhouse - as we share Roger's and Laura's private agonies and uncertainties. The police are called, but their motives do not always seem in Laura's best interests. It is left to Laura and Roger to effect the final solution, but there is a price to pay, and their lives will never be the same again. This play has good character parts, especially the schizophrenic kidnapper Dianne and her slow partner Barry. "A tough, taut thriller. As tense as tomorrow's headlines" - T.O.A.D.S.
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| First Produced |
1993
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
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3
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| Female |
4
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Question Of Innocence
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
The idyllic setting of the holiday villa in the South of France where Sally and her husband Matt have invited some friends for a holiday, is shattered by a robbery, one of a series in the area. Further turmoil is caused when Sally is arrested for the crimes, then for a murder. Sally has everything. Why should she steal? Yet all the evidence says she is guilty. Will her husband and her friends stick by her, or will help come from another source?
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| First Produced |
1995
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Drama
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| Parts |
Male
|
4
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| Female |
6
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| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Remember Me
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
On the day of friend Tony's funeral, Calvin is very bitter. He sees his own life fading away with no meaning. The shallow life of two friends only manages to sink him further into the depths, where he examines before us why life is so meaningless. Lynne and Calvin announce their marriage is splitting because of an affair with the recently deceased. This intrigues their friends, but the revelation that it was Calvin who was having the affair and the knowledge that Tony died from AIDS, quickly breaks the final friendship apart, leading to a tragic conclusion.
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| First Produced |
1998
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Drama
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| Parts |
Male
|
2
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| Female |
2
|
| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Robin Hood
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
A rework of the classic tales of Robin Hood. Marian is not the usual fawning principal - this version has fight and is accompanied by her Nurse, Dame Madonna Kebab. The Sheriff is there, complete with his evil plans and two inept henchmen Twiddle and Twoddle, plus witches, Merry Men - "camp" Little John (who changed his name from Willy), Friar Tuck, Wilma Scarlet and Alan-a-Dale, the minstrel who provides a link between scenes - plus a full supporting cast.
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| First Produced |
2000
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
Panto
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| Parts |
Male
|
|
| Female |
|
| Other |
Variable
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Shades Of Blue
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
David is a retired Policeman, terminally ill. Daughter June blames him for her mother's suicide years before so she and husband Alan plan his murder for the inheritance. They hire the shady Jones to do the job, little knowing that David didn't retire - he was discreetly sacked for criminal activities, and Jones was one of his criminal friends. There is honour among thieves - Jones will not see David murdered nor the couple escape. Yet David is shot...
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| First Produced |
2001
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Drama
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| Parts |
Male
|
4
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| Female |
1
|
| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Situation Vacant
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
Unemployed Derek doesn't really want to work, and wife Jane has had enough. After a row she walks out on him, suggesting he should go through the papers for a job. Enraged, he decides to advertise for a new wife. The series of applicants each looks too good to be true at first, but finally he rejects every one. He never realises that each has a quality he had forgotten existed in Jane, who turns up as the final applicant. She turns the interview round on him and offers him the job. The play has six female characters, but these can be doubled up as necessary and could - if desired - all be performed by the same actress.
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| First Produced |
1993
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
1
|
| Female |
6
|
| Other |
variable
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Three Short Plays
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
*Festival Award Winner* The macho style of Sergeant Johnnie Johnson comes under scrutiny when a female D.I. takes up the case of the abduction of a young prostitute. When his son is implicated, does Johnnie Johnson risk his career or her life? Conflicts of attitude disguise real motives and hide a multitude of sins.
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| First Produced |
2001
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Anthology
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| Parts |
Male
|
|
| Female |
|
| Other |
Variable
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Tied Up At The Office
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
Julia has been working late at the office with her boss Geoff. Trouble is, the places has been robbed and ransacked and the villains have departed leaving Geoff and Julia tied up. They have little choice other than to wait for the cleaners to arrive in the morning. Maybe a game of I Spy would pass the time. Or maybe romance is in the air. An especially useful play for actors who never know what to do with their arms!!!
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| First Produced |
2002
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
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| Genre |
One Act Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
1
|
| Female |
1
|
| Other |
|
Notes
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| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
Tim'll Fix It
| | Company |
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Synopsis:
Sara is not very happy when her husband Paul asks his friend Tim - "the handyman from hell" - to help with some electrical work. Tim would do anything for Sara... Anything! After burst pipes, floods, failed heating, power cuts and other disasters Tim gets his marching orders, but not before he mistakenly finds out Sara's feelings for him are the same as his for her, a fact that does not please Tim's dowdy wife June. Hopelessly in love (well, hopeless, anyway) Tim locks himself away with Sara in their lounge, using his D-I-Y skills to nail up the doors and windows so they can be alone together. Well, alone apart from Sara's dad Frank, that is. Paul, daughter Barbara and Sara's mother Kathleen all attempt to rescue her, but it is the blossoming June who takes control and saves the day... Until they smell gas...."Do It Yourself Farce" at its best.
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| First Produced |
1997
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| First Published |
New Theatre Publications
|
| Genre |
Comedy
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| Parts |
Male
|
3
|
| Female |
4
|
| Other |
|
Notes
|
| |
Top
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Ian Hornby
To Sleep, Perchance&
| | Company |
|
Synopsis:
This play was written for a group of 6 girls who are currently Year 12 Speech and Drama students in South Africa. They had searched the catalogues and the Internet for a play for six girls based, roughly, on an insomnia theme, but could find nothing, so this was the result. It involves six young women at a summer camp. Anna has a deep-rooted personal anguish which she eventually decides to share with Brenda. Their chat attracts girls from other rooms and each explores her own real or imaginary problems, until Anna realises she's no alone in the world.
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| First Produced |
2002
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