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Donna Franceschild

DONNA FRANCESCHILD

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Alan Brodie Representation Ltd  represented by Alan Brodie

Best known for her BAFTA award winning drama serial, Takin Over the Asylum set in a mental hospitals radio station, Donna Franceschild has consistently put the struggles of people on the margins of society at the heart of her work. Her stage credits include Songs for Stray Cats (Paines Plough), And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon (Traverse Theatre) and the highly acclaimed stage version of Takin Over the Asylum(Citizens/Lyceum). Her TV credits include A Mugs Game (BBC), The Key (BBC), and the BAFTA-nominated Donovan Quick with Colin Firth. Her short film Bridge, directed by Iain Robertson, started life as 2-minute play for Oran Mor in 2010, and premiered at the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival earlier this year.

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

         And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon         Bridge         Lottery Ticket, The         Quartet         Rebel         Soap Opera         Songs For Stray Cats And Other Living Creatures         Sunshine Cafe, The         Taking Over the Asylum         Tap Dance On A Telephone Line
And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon

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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:

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Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Traverse - acc.10180/75
Theatre Record Vol X (1990) Page 1555 - [Theatre: Traverse Theatre - Edinburgh]

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Bridge

Synopsis:
Late one night, two strangers meet on a bridge. Davy says he's looking for a light. The woman says she's waiting for a friend. Both of them are lying. By turns funny and sad, "Bridge" follows the woman's increasingly desperate efforts to get rid of the affable, annoying and seemingly oblivious Davy, who insists on telling her long-winded, often impenetrable stories about his life, and asking her questions that she pointedly ignores. Why, for example, has she not got her handbag with her? Out of the roller coaster of their strangely emerging relationship comes the realisation that this chance encounter between two damaged people is anything but what it seems.

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A Play A Pie & A Pint

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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

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Lottery Ticket, The

Synopsis:
Salih and Jacek are on a run of bad luck. Salihs asylum claim has been turned down, Jacek hasnt been able to send money to his wife in Krakow for two months, and theyve just been ejected from their hostel for rowdy behaviour. But when a lottery ticket blows into Jaceks coat as he sleeps, Salih is convinced their fortunes are about to change.

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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:
60 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Quartet

Synopsis:
about a group of strangers who come together with the objective to form a jazz band, apparently!

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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:
one act comedy

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Rebel

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Albany Empire, London     1986

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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:
Musical

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Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Soap Opera

Synopsis:
trapped in a launderette, a group of women talk to each other about their lives

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1st Produced:
-     1978

Organisations:
Women's Theatre Group

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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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Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Songs For Stray Cats And Other Living Creatures

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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:
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Sunshine Cafe, The

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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:

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Taking Over the Asylum

Taking Over the Asylum
You don't have to be mad to work here. But it helps. . .When Ready Eddie McKenna, soul survivor and double glazing salesman, arrives to reinvigorate St Jude's defunct hospital radio station, he turns more than the ramshackle station upside down. the whisky-drinking wannabe DJ meets his match among patients who include the 19-year-old bipolar Campbell; the schizophrenic, electronic genius Fergus; the obsessive compulsive Rosalie and the elusive, self-harming Francine. Fighting against mental illness and perceptions of those with mental health problems, Eddie and the patients of St Jude's strive for their dreams in a struggle to be accepted and celebrated for who they are and what they might be. Hope and joy in the fragile power and beauty of the human heart wash over Donna Franceschild's hilarious and heartfelt adaptation of her own classic 90s TV series set in Glasgow. Features a fantastic R&B soundtrack including Soul Man, Rainy Night in Georgia and Can't Get Next To You.

Notes:
Adapted for the stage by the author, Takin' Over the Asylum is a hilarious, updated and profoundly moving adaptation of Donna Franceschild's Bafta-winning BBC TV-series. Set in a Scottish mental institution, the play reveals hope and joy in the fragile beauty of the human heart.

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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 90 min

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  -

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Tap Dance On A Telephone Line

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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:

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