doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Ben Elton

BEN ELTON

  (1959 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd  

Benjamin Charles "Ben" elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English-Australian comedian, author, playwright and director. He was the leader of the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as the Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV. He was a high-profile frontman of 1980s left-wing political satire. Since then he has published thirteen novels and more lately become known for writing the musical We Will Rock You (2002) and Love Never Dies (2010), the sequel to the Phantom of the OperA.
- Wiki

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of Ben Elton's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Beautiful Game, The         Blackadder         Blackadder Rides Again..!         Blast From the Past         Gasping         Inconceivable         Lion King, The         Love Never Dies         New Revue         Popcorn         Silly Cow         Skin Deep         Tonight's the Night: the Rod Stewart Musical         We Will Rock You

Beautiful Game, The

Synopsis:
BELFAST, 1969. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton's new musical is the story of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. As the sixties draw to a close, life is just beginning for a group of teenagers. Amongst them are Father O'Donnel's football team including Del and John who both have enough talent to make it big. Their girlfriends, Mary and Christine are dreaming about what to do with their lives and worrying about the way their world is changing. Yearning for a time when they can live and love in peace, they all learn that to escape from bigotry and intolerance will take all the courage they can muster.

Notes:
Book and lyrics by Ben Elton. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Blackadder

Synopsis:
as cunning as a fox with a degree from the University of Cunning. Blackadder across the centuries - Medieval, Elizabethan, Regency and First World War

Notes:
Written by Ben Elton And Richard Curtis

1st Produced:
Guisley Theatre, Yorshire     2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Blackadder Rides Again..!

Synopsis:
Staging one episode from each of the four series of the BBC smash-hit comedy that ran from 1983 to 1989, the production will take audiences on a crazy journey from Medieval Witch Trials, through the court of Elizabeth I, to the lunacy of the Georgian era and end up in the First World War. "We have chosen four of the best remembered episodes - including what many people regard as the 'ultimate classic' - when Baldrick burns Dr Johnson's original dictionary leaving Blackadder to attempt to re-write it overnight!"

Notes:
Written by Ben Elton, Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. The production will also be helping to raise money for Comic Relief, so an evening of nostalgic merriment will also raise funds for a very good cause!

1st Produced:
The Station Theatre, Havant     15 Feb 2014

Organisations:
Interalia Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
show

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Blast From the Past

Synopsis:
At the very end of the Cold War a beautiful teenage subversive nd a dashing US fighter pilot fall in love. Their worlds collide and they can't stay together - parting expecting it to be for ever then late one night the phone rings . . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Quarry, West Yorks     03 Apr 1998

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Gasping

Synopsis:
Vast multi-national company introduce the concept of purified designer air and end up privatising oxygen.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London     1990

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1998   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  extras

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Inconceivable

Synopsis:
Lucy desperately wants a baby. Sam is determined to write a hit movie. The problem is that both their efforts seem to be unfruitful and, given that the average IVF cycle has about a one in five chance of going into full production, Lucy's chances of getting what she wants are considerably better than Sam's. What Sam and Lucy are about to go through is absolutely inconceivable. The question is, can their love survive?

Notes:
adapted from book by Ben Elton by Laurence Boswell; music by Colin Towns

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Lion King, The

Synopsis:
It's based on the hit Disney animated feature, which is itself more or less a transplant of Hamlet to the African jungle. the familiar score from the film, including "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" is augmented with several additional African-style songs.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Tim Rice; Additional music by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor And Hans Zimmer; Additional lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor And Hans Zimmer; Book by Roger Allers And Irene Mecchi; Adapted from the screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts And Linda Woolverton

1st Produced:
Minskoff Theatre, NY     1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: Walt Disney (60802-7) 1998

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Love Never Dies

Synopsis:
continues the story 10 years afte the Phantom has disappeared from Paris.

Notes:
music book And orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber; book And lyrics by Glenn Slater; book by Ben Elton And Frederick Forsyth

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Really Useful Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  1 boy; ensemble

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

New Revue

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Popcorn

Synopsis:
notorious killers determined to use movie director's art as justification for murder

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nottingham Playhouse >>>     12 Sep 1996

Organisations:
W Yorks Playhouse

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1998   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Satirical Comedy Thriller Satire

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Silly Cow

Synopsis:
a tough tabloid columnist finds everything going wrong after winning a libel case

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London     1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1998   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Skin Deep

Synopsis:
A woman lies in bed recovering from yet another bout of cosmetic surgery. A very famous woman, her enormous success has been built around the fiction which passes for reality in modern television. As the bandages are removed her life also starts to unravel and she soon discovers that the real world, the one she thought she had left behind is a very dangerous place to have to live in. A dark and brutally hilarious comedy for our times. Times in which lies have become truths and love, like beauty, is only skin deep.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Tonight's the Night: the Rod Stewart Musical

Synopsis:
From the sexy mean streets of Detroit to the glamorous clubs and the Rock Star mansions of LA and Beverly Hills, Tonight's the Night tracks the story of Stu Roderick, a quiet, shy guy so hung up and tongue tied that he can not even find the courage to declare his love to Mary, the sweet, wholesome girl of his dreams. How different Stu is to his hero, that legendary rock n roll vagabond Rod Stewart - now there s a guy who never had any trouble hitting on a girl. One night, alone and desperate, Stu reflects that if he could only be more like Rod then Mary would surely be his, and for that Stu would sell his very soul. In less time than it takes to say hot legs Mephistopheles, agent of Satan, turns up ready to make a deal. If Stu commits his soul to reside in Hell for all eternity, the Devil will give Stu the soul of Rod Stewart and then it will be bye bye Mr. Dull Guy and hello ladies! Stu is about to learn the hard way that you can t find true love using another man s moves and that Devil or no Devil there s only one Rod Stewart.

Notes:
Book by Ben Elton featuring the songs of Rod Stewart

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

We Will Rock You

Synopsis:
It is the future . . . this place was once called Earth and globalisation is now complete . . . all the kids wear the same styles, watch the same films and think the same thoughts. Rock and Roll has been outlawed for centuries and all musical instruments have been banned. Its a bland, uniform, safe Ga Ga world on Planet Mall with nothing to disturb "The Company" who run everything. Except that the legend persist that somewhere there are still instruments to be found and that the mighty axe of a great and hairy guitar god lies buried deep in rock. But only a hero could possible find and wield the axe and the Bohemians need to find him (or her!) before The Company's Ga Ga Cops do because they will drag him (or her!) before the Killer Queen and banish him beyond the Seven Seas of Rhye. Where is this axe hero? Where is the Hairy One's lost axe? Where is the place of living rock?

Notes:
by Ben Elton, music by Queen

1st Produced:
Dominion, London     2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
Theatre Record Vol XXII (2002) Page 0612 - [Theatre: Dominion]
apply for a license: www.theatricalrights.com/contact-us/

Top of Page Top of Page