Ashes to Dust

Ashes to Dust is a side-splitting tale touching on the trials and tribulations of modern marriage - and international cricket. Mayhem unfolds as Lydia discovers a new lease on life the night before she and her daughter are due to scatter the ashes of their recently departed husband and father into Fremantle Harbour.

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Style: Black Comedy

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 2 female and 2 male

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"Kevin wanted to stay home and watch it. I think he has a man crush on the entire Australian cricket team. Pathetic I know. He asked if we could put off scattering Dad’s ashes until next weekend because Steve Smith is at the crease. I mean, where are his priorities? I went off my brain at him.”

-Catherine, Ashes to Dust

 

"It’s alright. It’s a normal reaction for a daughter when she finally sees her mother as a sexual being. It can be confronting. Challenging. "

-Dhavit, Ashes to Dust
 

This script was awarded Third Place and Audience Choice Award in the  2020 Edythe Brook Cooper Playwriting Competition.

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Being Juliet

The cast of The Magic Mushroom have their own drama happening backstage whilst the play is being performed. Brenda who plays the Mushroom has fallen for Jordan who plays the very wooden Talking Tree. But Jordan is already involved with the drunken director’s wife, Tina, who plays the Saucy Sorceress. Meanwhile Lillian, the seasoned actor, who plays the Fairy Queen wants to direct Romeo and Juliet. Mayhem reigns in this play within a play. The show must go on but does it? 

 

 

Style: Comedy with adult themes

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 3 female and 1 male

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"She tries hard Lillian, I know, but she’s not very good. She has zero expression and no idea about her character. When she’s angry on stage she looks like she’s constipated."

-Brenda, Being Juliet

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"We took the play on tour to retirement villages. None of the patrons could hear a damn thing, most of them were deaf or just about dead, so we decided to mime it."

-Tina, Being Juliet

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Bitten

Bitten turns the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as we know it, on its head. God is not whom you expect. The devil is a Snake who loves to rap. Eve is smart and sassy. Adam is a dimwit. Who was responsible for The Fall? This very funny play challenges stereotypes and perceptions of this event and make you wonder what really did happen.

 

Style: Black comedy

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 1 male, 1 female, 2 male/female 

Casting notes: All roles for young people

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"I've known God for a very long time now. God is very flexible on these matters."

-Snake, Bitten

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"Throughout the course of time woman will sometimes be misunderstood and suppressed all because Eve bit the apple."

-God, Bitten

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Cinderella (the slightly deviated version) Pantomime

Cinderella (the slightly deviated version) is a fun pantomime where the tale of Cinderella takes an unexpected and hilarious turn. The fairy godmother is on stress leave, Cinderella’s horrid sisters want to be Instafamous on Instascam and Prince Dreamy wants to leave the royal family. Add a very loyal and royal butler, a wicked stepmother who brags that she is an ex-musical theatre star, meddling mice, Savage the cat and cucumber sandwiches and you have a very modern pantomime, with singing and dancing, that everyone will love. Laughs are guaranteed. 

 

Style: Pantomime/Comedy

Length: 110 minutes (2 Acts)

Cast: 22 roles 

Casting Notes: Prince Dreamy can be played by any gender. The roles of Monsterosa and Groteska are played by males (Dame style). There are 5 non-speaking mouse roles specifically for small children.

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Cracked

Hamlet meets Humpty Dumpty in this very funny spoof on community theatre. The characters might be a tad familiar – the stressed out production manager, the stubborn set-builder, the hysterical writer, the flamboyant costumier and the sensitive actress. This comedy has it all, including lots of sequins!

 

Style: Comedy

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 2 female, 3 male

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"My mother was a well-known writer who gave me up for adoption at birth. I get my talent from her you see. She didn’t want me and that’s when my feelings of abandonment began. I would sit in my bedroom alone and scribble on loo paper to ease my pain. The scribble turned into words…love, hate, sorrow, kill, forest, alien, turnip and that’s when my script writing started."

-Mark, Cracked

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"What? It is never a silly play. It is art. My costumes are also art. I put my heart, my soul, my blood, my sweat, my tears and my sequins into every single costume I make. This egg is a masterpiece. Has anyone seen my blue sequins?"

-Sergio, Cracked

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Dilate

In this comedy, the heavily pregnant Marnie, wanting a home-birth, goes into labour with her sisters, Bec and Kirsten joining her for support. Marnie’s plans are interrupted when her overbearing mother, Pauline, and eccentric Gran turn up out of the blue. Pauline disagrees with the notion of a home-birth, whilst Gran is keen to deliver the baby herself with a pair of kitchen tongs! All this tension eventually leads to truths being told. It’s time to dilate in more ways than one.

 

Style: Drama

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 5 female, 1 male

 

"Don’t you worry, Marnie. I saved my poor sister’s life. I delivered her twins on the bus in the middle of the coldest winter on record with my bare hands and one of them  was breech. I was covered in blood from head to toe and I haven’t worn red since." 

- Gran, Dilate

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"I saw a birth once. She sounded just like that. Like a walrus being attacked by a polar bear, I reckon. Aw crap, I’m feelin’ queasy. Anyone got a bucket?"

-Micko, Dilate

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Dolls From the Sky

It is 1953 and the war is over. Stalin is dead. Queen Elizabeth II comes to the throne. Polish migrant, Anna Bakowski, is a housekeeper working for Australian ex-serviceman, Tom Johnson. Anna is paid a visit by local parishioners, Betty Brown and Margaret Wilson. Tensions rise and truths are revealed as Margaret and Tom’s pasts intersect. Is the war truly over?

 

Style: Drama with adult themes

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 3 female, 1 male

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"Wallis Simpson or whatever she chooses to call herself is to blame for King Edward abdicating and everything that's happened after. What kind of woman would have a christian name like Wallis anyway?"

-Betty, Dolls from the Sky
 

"I’m sick of the likes of you, not being welcoming to people like Anna, treating them like they’re not good enough. It’s not bloody Australian!"

-Tom, Dolls from the Sky

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Eating Bread

Lisa, a middle-aged budding writer, is working on her second book about her life titled Eating Bread. She is interrupted by her self-absorbed mother, Stella, who has always said she doesn’t remember who Lisa’s father was. Stella leaves and Lisa is interrupted again by her husband, Sam, a detective who is troubled by a murder case he is working on. Sam confides in Lisa, suddenly turning her world upside down. Lisa confronts Stella and demands the truth. But what is the truth? Will it finally be revealed? 

 

Style: Drama 

Length: 45 minutes

Cast: 2 female, 1 male

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"Writing makes me feel...alive. It's the only thing that does."

-Lisa, Eating Bread

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"He was an accountant, a very successful accountant. Lots of money. Good looking. He looked like Clark Gable. But he was another bastard, just like all the rest."

-Stella, Eating Bread

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Following the Black Sheep

It is 1946. Jack, haunted by his past, returns home from the war to stay with his sister, Shirley, and her family. Tensions rise when Shirley’s head strong daughter, Frances, makes an important decision about her future. Jack and Frances form an affinity and soon discover that they share the same challenge – being true to one’s self.

 

Style: Drama with light comedy

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 3 female, 1 male

Casting notes:  Patty is a child’s role 9+

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"I'm only young I know, but I've learned that nothing ever stays the same. The world changes all the time. There's always a place for you somewhere. You just have to find it."

-Frances, Following the Black Sheep

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"What was I supposed to tell you? That my brother was weak? That he objected to war? He may have gone to war but he didn't want to fight for his country."

-Shirley, Following the Black Sheep

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Little Angels

It is 1966 at St Bernadette's Hostel for young unmarried girls who are pregnant, run by Catholic nuns.This piece portrays the vulnerability and courage of two young women at this time - Trish and Joanie. Trish is about to give birth and the traumatised Joanie now believes she sees the Blessed Virgin. Sister Gabriel understands the plight of the young women but the cruel Sister Francis considers them to be sinners. This piece is poignant and shocking.

 

Style: Drama

Length: 30 minutes

Cast: 4 female

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"Oh I knew you’d be trouble. You stayed in the world far too long before you came here. You entered the convent too late in life."

-Sister Francis, Little Angels
 

"I said go ahead. I don’t want this baby anyway. I never did. And you know what? I’d rather die than spend one more day in this shit hole with you."

-Trish, Little Angels
 

This script was awarded Third Place in the 2019 Noosa Arts Theatre National One-Act Playwriting Competition.

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Long Live the King

It is 1547 and King Henry VIII has died. His daughter, Lady Elizabeth, and his son Prince Edward who is now King, are told the news and discreetly wander off on the royal estate accompanied by Prince Edward's troublemaking companion, Lady Lucy. Unexpectedly, they meet a farm girl, Alice, whose presence is unsettling for all. This is a tale of love and loss. Long Live the King!

 

Style: Drama

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 3 female, 1 male

Casting notes: All roles are for young people 9+

 

"It's simple. I can learn from you and you can learn from me. We must seize every opportunity to learn. Knowledge hides in the most unusual places."

-Lady Elizabeth, Long Live the King

 

"I'm a farm girl. I know my story. I'll marry a farmer I do not love and bear ten children, some who will be born dead or not live long after. Three or four will survive if god blesses me. I will work hard day and night, without rest, until I'm old and can no longer walk. And then I will die a painful death and my soul will go to purgatory or hell."

-Alice, Long Live the King

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Looking at the Alps

Trin and Sal are lifelong friends who have shared a home for many years. They are yin and yang in many ways and take pleasure in comparing themselves to Thelma and Louise. Sudden news disrupts their lives and they will never be the same again. Past wounds resurface and secrets are revealed culminating in a final test of their friendship.

 

Style: Drama with light comedy

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 2 female

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"My dear Trin, just because I have two new hips, one new knee and am about to get my other knee replaced in a couple of days does not mean that I do not have urges, if you know what I mean. I may be like the what’s it called….the bionic woman, but if you oil me up a bit I’m sure I can still go."

-Sally, Looking at the Alps

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"I don’t want to suffer unnecessarily. I want to die looking at the Alps, the real ones. Won’t that be nice?"

-Trin, Looking at the Alps

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Milly & Joan

Milly and Joan have been friends since their high school days, leading very different lives. The years pass by and Milly, whose mind is not what it once was, resides in an aged care home.  One afternoon, the highly manipulative Joan pays Milly a visit with one goal in mind. Past events resurface that inevitably shatter the present. In the end, will Joan get what she wants or perhaps what she deserves.

 

Style: Drama 

Length: 35 minutes

Cast: 2 female

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"I was married to Dennis, do you remember him, he passed away ten years ago. Lung cancer. Smoked all his life. Stupid man. I told him, I told him it would kill him but do you think he would listen to me? He just sat back in his chair with that ridiculous look on his face and puffed away. Do you know there is still an awful black mark in his chair? I can’t get it out. It’s like he is still there, haunting me."

-Joan, Milly and Joan

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"Scrub the floor, every inch. Scrub your sins away."

-Milly, Milly and Joan

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Outback Angels

Following the death of her mother, 16 year old Annabelle is sent from London to a cattle station in outback Western Australia to stay with her late mother's best friend and family. Life becomes interesting when the internet connection dies and she suddenly has to play 'nanny' to the younger, Pete, and his sister Lainey. In the end Annabelle finds a new connection, one she never expected. 

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Style: Drama 

Length: 30 minutes

Cast: 2 female and 1 male

Casting notes: All roles for young people

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"What do you mean why not? I have a huge Insta following. I'm almost Instafamous. I mean, oh my god, it's my life."

-Annabelle, Outback Angels

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"You think you're better than all of us don't ya? You think you're so cool cause you're from London and you talk like a bloody Princess and you're famous on Insta-crap. That doesn't mean shit. You are way from being cool."

-Pete, Outback Angels

 

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Please Sit on My Throne 

Cream cake, herring and bubonic plague reign in this royal one-act comedy. Queen Elizabeth 1 is on the throne or is she? Who can she trust? Will she declare war on Spain? Will she give Francis Drake a knighthood? Will she smile sweetly at a Viking? All will be revealed as history is twisted ever so slightly….

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Style: Comedy with adult themes

Length: 35 minutes

 

Cast: 2 female, 2 male

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Pulling Weeds

Carla returns home unexpectedly from London to visit her dying father, Joe, her mother, Wendy, and her younger sister, Kel. Family tensions are quickly revived, old patterns play out and denial is rife. This family is much like Joe’s neglected garden - a mess and full of weeds. 

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Style: Drama with adult themes

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 3 female, 1 male

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“You’ve made Kel the needy wreck she is. As long as she needs you, you can live half a life and hide away here making your endless brownies and stuffing her full of cake.”

-Carla, Pulling Weeds

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“Don’t you fuckin’ touch me. Thank Christ this will be over soon. I won’t have to put up with you. Then you’ll have your Poppet to keep you company for the rest of your bloody life. And good luck with that.”

-Joe, Pulling Weeds

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Snow White (the off-white version) Pantomime

Snow White (the off-white version) is a fractured fairytale fun pantomime with a modern twist, where the tale of Snow White takes an unexpected and hilarious turn. This famous heroine ends up in an episode of I’m a fairytale character get me out of here with Red Riding Hood and Prince Charming on board, but the dwarves are nowhere to be seen! Meanwhile the Wicked Queen has her own problems with the melancholy Magic Mirror and Snow White’s dead parents keep on turning up. Add to the mix a royal nanny (Nanny Nice), a royal French chef (Pierre Pate’), Forest Creatures who protest and a couple of Talking Trees and you have a very modern pantomime, with singing and dancing, that everyone will love. Laughs are guaranteed. 

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Style: Pantomime/Comedy

Length: 110 minutes (2 Acts)

Cast: 20 roles

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The Broken Slipper

Cinderella appears before the Fairytale Tribunal for refusing to marry Prince Charming and leaving her story. The tribunal is headed by Grandma from Little Red Riding Hood with the Wicked Witch from Hansel and Gretel as second in charge and Snow White as Secretary and Administrator. Mayhem and hilarity reign as Cinderella’s fate is decided. Will anyone live happily ever after?

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Style: Black comedy with adult themes

Length: 40 minutes

Cast: 1 male, 4 female

Casting notes: The Wicked Witch can be played by a male or female

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"What do you know about trauma? I have to live with seven men, eat that bloody poison apple time after time and fall into a coma. That apple is not even organic. Now that's traumatic!"

-Snow White, The Broken Slipper

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"There are too many rules Grandma. This is not allowed, that is not allowed. We have to do everything by the book. If you keep us down long enough we'll rise up."

-Cinderella, The Broken Slipper

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The Sisters of St Judas

Sister Job is left in charge of The Sisters of St Judas whilst Mother Superior is in Rome having bread and wine with the Pope! Order is disrupted and mayhem reigns when Mother Superior Superior arrives to judge the Sisters in the Nuns of the Year competition. Sisters Jezebel, Monk, Gabe and Benediction each do their best to ruin their chances of winning the competition leaving Sister Job to live up to her name!

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Style: Black comedy

Length: 40 minutes​

Cast: 6 female

Casting notes: Sr Gabe can be played by a male

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"Well, third prize is a flagon of holy water from the Dead Sea, second prize is a statue of St Joan that you can actually light up so she burns at the stake and first prize is…well, they’ve gone all out this year."

-Sr Job, The Sisters of St Judas

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"Did you know Sister Job that your Mother Superior and I were novices together? I was Sister Cain and she was Sister Abel. What a team we were, for a while anyway. But then I climbed Jacob’s ladder of success and she ended up here as Mother Superior with…you lot. "

-Mother Superior Superior, The Sisters of St Judas

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