Derek Benfield was a master at writing farces. Webster’s New Universal Dictionary defines the word “farce” as “a light humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character.” In DON’T LOSE THE PLACE! the characters differ enough to make them interesting, but the plot takes precedence over…
OTHELLO, written by William Shakespeare between 1601 and 1602, continues to hold audiences spellbound. This suspenseful drama of jealously and betrayal begins in Venice where Othello, a dark-skinned Moor and rising military star, has just chosen Cassio to be his lieutenant instead of the ambitious Iago, who wanted the position for himself. Iago immediately vows…
In This comedy by one of Britain’s most popular playwrights is a brilliantly funny link at the English abroad. Al and Bet lead a quiet, boring life in Yorkshire. After twenty years of working for the same company, he has lost his job and cannot find another one. Frustrated with their life and worried about…
In a retrospective on Canadian theatre in the Toronto Globe & Mail, I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT! was called “probably the most produced Canadian play ever.” It has had countless productions in Canada, the USA and Europe, placing the author among the top playwrights working in the mystery thriller genre today. The play is an…
What’s to be done when grown children return home to live with their parents? George and Helene’s kids have finally left the nest. Now the middle-aged couple are alone together and have time to renew their romance that has suffered while raising the family. Or so they think. Within a week, all three sons come…
“What do you do when you are not sure?” This is the question posed by this remarkable new play. The setting is a Catholic church and school in New York in 1964. Twelve-year-old Donald starts behaving strangely and is caught with alcohol on his breath. The principal of the school, Sister Aloysius, suspects that the…
“Love Is All Around” is the name of a feminist publishing house where Harriet Copeland is running a competition to find new romantic fiction written by women only. Leonard Loftus is trying to get his books published, but Harriet keeps sending his manuscripts back because they are the work of a man. When Leonard finally…
Why do people make the wrong decisions in matters of love ? This is the life dilemma that prize-winning playwright Christopher Hampton focuses on in this intelligent, witty play about sexual manners and manipulation. Ann has tried to free herself from Dave by taking on a new lover, Patrick, while Dave is away in Iraq.…
If you think your life is stressful, imagine the life of John Smith, a taxi driver who keeps two separate families in different parts of London. When his teenaged children (a girl from one family and a boy from the other) accidentally meet on the Internet and plan to see each other in person, John’s…
A young playwright returns home to get permission from his mother and father to produce a play he has written about them. His well-to-do (and rather stuffy) parents are horrified at the idea of their private life being exposed on stage, while his sister is furious that she is only a secondary figure in the…