TOLD BY AN IDIOT (1993 - ) |
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Nationality: British Email: Click here to contact Website: Click here to visit |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
Told by an Idiot was founded in 1992 by Hayley Carmichael, Paul Hunter and John Wright. Told by an Idiot set out to discover the epic in the most personal of stories. With a passionate taste for diverse narrative and constantly inspired by a variety of influences, they pursue a committment to producing work that is both popular and challenging. In their huge world of extremes the line between comedy and tragedy has never been finer. Through devising and play, the company aim to tell stories using a wealth of imagery and a rich theatrical language, in the hope of producing exciting theatre which is accessible to all.
Plays by Told By An Idiot
Aladdin | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2002 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70140 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Christmas Show Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Living alone with his mother, young Aladdin has nothing to call his own but a head full of dreams. One day, a passing magician leads him to a dusty old lamp, and Aladdin discovers something far more wonderful than he had ever imagined. . .Make your wishes come true this Christmas and join Aladdin, the Genie, the Princess and a host of other characters in an adventure stuffed full of laughter, colour and theatrical magic. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
And the Horse You Rode In On | ||
| 1st Produced: | 24 Feb 2011 | |||||
Company: | Told by an Idiot and Drum Theatre Plymouth production commissioned by the Barbican and Brighton Festival | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #122237 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | conceived by Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter and created by the company | |||||
Synopsis: | A sequence of serious follies. A rather well-known rabbit attempts to stop an alien blowing up the earth. In a Berlin cafe a professor pleads with her student not to commit an atrocious act. And in an infamous London department store, the weirdest ever episode of Are you Being Served? is about to begin. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Beauty And The Beast | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2007 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70138 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | When Beauty's father is caught in a terrible storm he seeks refuge in a remote country house. The house appears to be empty as he meets no-one until the next morning when he picks a rose for his daughter. Told By An Idiot, the company behind previous Lyric Hammersmith Christmas shows Aladdin and The Firework-Maker's Daughter, returns with a production packed with humour and theatrical invention. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Casanova | ||
| 1st Produced: | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds | 2007 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70135 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | adapted by Carol Ann Duffy and Told By An Idiot | |||||
Synopsis: | The year is 1755 and a strange series of events has broken out across Europe. In Flanders, bakers' bread rises without yeast; in Padua, a church service is interrupted as the entire female congregation goes into labour; in Cirencester, several magistrates are seen cavorting naked on St Swithins Day. Could Casanova be the cause of these strange goings-on? | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Dark Philosophers, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | 11 Nov 2010 | |||||
Company: | Told by an Idiot | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #121756 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Adaptation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | adapted by Carl Grose from the works of Gwyn Thomas; music by Iain Johnstone | |||||
Synopsis: | National Theatre Wales will celebrate one of Wales' most distinctive voices of the last century with The Dark Philosophers, a brand new dramatisation of the ink-black comic tales of Gwyn Thomas, the great Welsh storyteller and dark, hilarious chronicler of the Valleys. The youngest of 12 children, Gwyn Thomas (1913-1981) was born and brought up in Cymmer, in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. Growing up in poverty, he won a scholarship to Oxford University, and returned to Wales to teach. The Dark Philosophers, a collection of short stories, was published in 1946, while his novels include The Alone to the Alone (1947); All Things Betray Thee (1949); The World Cannot Hear You (1951), and Now Lead Us Home (1952). His play The Keep opened at the Royal Court Theatre in 1961, to great acclaim. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Don't Laugh It's Mr Life | ||
| 1st Produced: | Weymouth College, Dorset, UK | 1997 | ||||
Company: | Smalltalk and The Dorset Theatre Promoter's Consortium | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34788 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Mime Festival @ BAC 1998 | |||||
Synopsis: | An anarchic tale of redemption. In a quiet house in a quiet street the kids are beating dad with twigs, mum's at the end of her tether and grandma thinks the lodger is Jesus. Don't Laugh it's my Life is inspired by Tartuffe, Molière's classic comedy of human obsession. It tells the story of a man who seemingly has everything but is persuaded to give it all up in search of a better life. He falls under the influence of an enigmatic stranger, a holy man. His first impressions prove misleading and chaos ensues for everyone. Don't Laugh it's my Life is a farce with occasional dark and disturbing undertones. In an attempt to rediscover the spontaneity and invention of Commedia dell'Arte, the Company has drawn heavily on the techniques and structures of that form whilst managing to avoid the distinctive marks at the tradition. The result is a vigorous mix of physical comedy and high drama with flights of fancy that have you gasping for breath as a family falls apart. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Evening with the Bondress, An | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1995 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34789 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
Evocation Of Papa Mas, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2006 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70141 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | A collaboration with Nitro and the Theatre Royal Plymouth | |||||
Synopsis: | An awe-inspiring and epic event combining the spectacular imagery of Trinidadian carnival with compelling live music and the theatrical inventiveness that has become Told by an Idiot's trademark. This is a superbly anarchic show that lifts you off your feet. When the plantation owner, Mr Walker, kills a penniless street beggar trying to court his daughter, he's haunted to the grave and into the spirit world beyond - to a point where carnival is his only option. Set in a cartoon world, The Evocation of Papa Mas is a love story and a mischievous parody which is sometimes beautiful and poignant, yet shocking and raucously funny at the same time. This is a show for everyone with a zest for life! | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Fahrenheit Twins, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | 24 Sep 2009 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #106962 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | from the novel by Michel Faber, adapted by Told by an Idiot and Matthew Dunster | |||||
Synopsis: | the parable of man's innate need to destroy is illustrated using carefully crafted physical theatre | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Firework-Maker's Daughter, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2003 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70142 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | devised bt Told by an Idiot and Philip Pullman | |||||
Synopsis: | Lila wants to be a firework-maker more than anything else-but her father won't tell her the final trade secret. There's a quest, a kidnap and Crackle Dragons in this explosive story about talent, determination, luck and simply loving what you do! | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Happy Birthday, Mister Deka D | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1999 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | ISBN/ASIN: | - | ||||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70143 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | devised by Told by an Idiot and Biyi Bandele-Thomas | |||||
Synopsis: | A haunting love story laced with delicious comedy. Collaborating with a writer for the first time, Told by an Idiot has commissioned the acclaimed Biyi Bandele. The commissioning of this new play marks a major development for the Company and fulfils a desire to tackle a text, from a writer we have long admired. In a place where time has stood still, Mister Deka D celebrates his birthday. A man, Trisk, and a woman, Lika, come together to confront their past, whilst doing all they can to avoid it. Meanwhile, Mister Deka D doesn't seem to realise what is taking place around him, in the same way that Trisk and Lika don't seem to notice Mister Deka D's presence. The genesis of collaboration between Biyi Bandele and Told by an Idiot comes from a mutual fascination with storytelling. The rich vein of humour that runs through Biyi's work is a particular area that the Company wishes to explore and challenge with its own approach of mixing comedy and tragedy. Ultimately to attempt the fusion of new writing and physical theatre feels like an exciting departure and a natural progression for Told by an Idiot. The play aims to focus as much on what is unspoken in a relationship as what is said, and creating a world where the smallest detail can prove to have the greatest resonance. Mister Deka D celebrates his birthday in a place where time has stood still. A man and a woman come together to confront their past, whilst doing all they can to avoid it. Happy Birthday, Mister Deka D is an intense, moving and comic look at the nature of love and the effect that the past has on the present. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
I Can't Wake Up | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70144 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | based on an original story by Paul Hunter | |||||
Synopsis: | Seeking to tell an epic story of desperation and survival, the Company creates a comic and touching account of dementia. I Can't Wake Up is set in an 1830s hospital and tells the story of William and Emily. A happy couple who believed they shared the same memories, whereas in reality they drifted further and further apart. The show explores memory through the relationship between an ill man who can't remember anything and his wife, and through their individual flashbacks of happy times. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
I Weep at My Piano | ||
| 1st Produced: | Gulbenkian Studio, Newcastle | 1998 | ||||
Company: | Northern Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34790 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A moving homage to an exceptional friendship. Following Northern Stage's invitation to open their Lorca Festival in May 1998 to celebrate the centenary of Lorca's birth, Told by an Idiot devised a new piece of work, I Weep at my Piano. Inspired by a mutual fascination with the work and imagination of three great artists, Lorca, Dalí and Bunuel, the Company has created a show as captivating and as charismatic as the men themselves. They were drawn to these three artists because of their anarchy, reflected in works such as Bunuel's Viridiana, their imagistic poetry, seen in all of Lorca's plays and their teasing morality, a running theme in the work of Dalí. Overall we were probably most attracted by their startling innovation. Told by an Idiot recognise and respond to this area of creativity, where there is no judgement of ideas and a wildness of the imagination. Rather than making an autobiographical play, the Company captures something of their spirit, their use of truth and lies, their naughtiness and passion, their genius and glamour. I Weep at my Piano marks a departure for the Company in several ways: for the first time, narrative is not the driving force within the production. The focus shifts instead to a dreamlike world full of atmosphere and illusion. To avoid a simple collage of images the piece is set in a real environment and situation from which we can constantly depart and return. Three men, one tough, one skinny and one ugly, meet for the first time. The men would come to be regarded as three of Spain's greatest and most influential artists: Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca and film maker Luis Bunuel. I weep at my piano is inspired by the tempestuous relationship between these one-time friends. Lorca waits in a government building hours away from the bullets that will kill him. He begins to remember the years past when he first met Salvador Dalí and Luis Bunuel, at the Residencia in Madrid in 1923. As these stories combine a strange dreamlike world is evoked. Whilst making no attempt to make a purely autobiographical play, I weep at my piano takes elements of Lorca's life, mixes them up and adds some bits. Told by an Idiot aims to capture something of the spirit of these three great artists, with Bunuel and Dalí appearing as Lorca's memories leading him to his fate. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
I'm a Fool to Want You | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2004 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34791 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | mix of jazz, mime and speech Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Conceived by Paul Hunter, devised and presented by Told By An Idiot | |||||
Synopsis: | a 75 minute meditation on the life of Boris Vian, the French novelist, poet, jazz musician, surrealist and absurdist, who died in a Paris cinema in 1959 at the age of 39. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
I'm So Big | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1995 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34792 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Devised Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
Little Fantasy, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2002 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34793 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Mime Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | doubling | |||||
Notes: | London International Mime Festival 2001 | |||||
Synopsis: | A Little Fantasy was first developed as a work in progress as part of the 2001 London International Mime Festival. The Company will re-visit this work and develop it into a full production to tour in the Autumn 2002 - Spring 2003. From Shakespeare to the Sopranos, people have always been fascinated by families and often the more dysfunctional the better. Told by an Idiot gives their own highly original take on 'the family', the power struggles, the egos and the bonds that can never be broken. Set in a time when the natural order of things has collapsed, A Little Fantasy tells the story of a family who dwells outside of the law, living on their wits, and ruled by two women whose hearts 'beat as one.' | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
On The Verge Of Exploding | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1993 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70145 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Playing The Victim | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2003 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Nick Hern Books, London, 2003 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #34794 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Translation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | doubling | |||||
Notes: | Original Playwright - Presnyakov Brothers, The. Translatated by Sasha Dugdale | |||||
Synopsis: | A young man drops out of university and goes to the police. He's done nothing wrong he just wants a job. A particular job. Playing the victim in murder reconstructions. Maybe by getting close to death he can manage to cheat his owm | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
Shoot Me In The Heart | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2000 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #57584 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | doubling | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Shoot Me In The Heart was a co-production with The Gate Theatre, London. Shoot Me In The Heart is based on an Argentinian short story. Dedicated to all those who dare to follow their heart, it tells the story of an unlikely love affair set in a small coastal town in South America in the 1930's. A woman gives birth to a girl whom she adores. On her daughter' seventh birthday, the mother realises that her little girl will never grow again. Time passes. In the town is an ageing romantic figure, whom everybody is fascinated by. On the day of the girl's seventeenth birthday this man buys her a present of a white pony and falls in love with her. He tries to deny this feeling to himself and goes travelling for five years. It is impossible, so he returns. They marry and live happily ever after, until one day a circus comes to town. . .. This is a particular tale, about a particular situation, and yet, like all the best stories, its themes are universal. It is in its essence both sad and ridiculous, funny and painfully familiar. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
You Haven't Embraced Me Yet | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1996 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70146 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Piece | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A beautiful tale of revenge. The past shakes hands with the present in the hypnotic world of the Boombar Club, a place full of crazy music, tender magic and dancing that would make your curtains blush. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||

