1-Act Drama

by Derek Webb,
published on

Plays are arranged by cast size, ranging from small to large.

Five actors or less

Calling Time

Four actors (2M, 2F - but variable up to 12M, 12F) Running time: Variable from 30 minutes to 60 mins.  Calling Time offers any company great versatility. Not only does it have variable casting but it can vary in length from around 30 minutes to an hour. Set in a pub, Calling Time is made up of five linked short plays that take place the same evening. Click here for details

My Funny Valentine

Three actors (1M, 2F) Running time: 45 mins. When Chris gives his wife Nicola a present of some saucy undies as well as a card on Valentine's Day, it's with the hope of spicing up their marriage. In the post, she also gets another card from someone called Stuart who she doesn't know. But he seems to know her and isn't content with just sending a card... Click here for details

The Mind in the Willows

Four actors (4M) Running time: 55 mins.Mr Molesworth (Mole), Mr B (Badger), Mr Rattenbury (Ratty) and Algernon St John Buffy (Toad) meet up at Mole's house and discover how their lives are intertwined with that of Kennth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows. Click here for details 

Needle Time

Three actors (1M, 1F, 1M or F) Running time: 45 mins.  Rob is an ageing hippy DJ, warm but cynical. When Suzie, the new girl at the radio station, comes in he's more concerned in scoring points and showing off. Is anything he says actually true? Or is it all meaningless banter? Click here for details

Youth 

Three actors (2M, 1F) Running time: 45 mins. Who is the mysterious youth who turns up unannounced one day at Mr George's house and how come he seems to know the most intimate details about his life? Click here for details

Heaven's Paradise 

Four actors (2M, 2F) Running time: 50-60 mins.  After a failed business venture, Ann and Michael Hampton decide to take a recuperative break on Lundy Island. While there, Ann becomes totally fascinated by the history of the Victorian owners of the island - the Heaven family; leading to consequences that neither of them could foretell...  Click here for details

Another Life

Four actors (2M, 2F, with doubling) Running time: 45 mins. Mary has cancer and knows she only has a limited time to live. For her, travelling to Switzerland to end her life with dignity is the only way. With touches of wry humour, the play ultimately is a celebration of a life. Click here for details

Man's View

Four actors (1M, 3F) Running time: 45 mins. Three young women, Carol, Ann and Judy, are having a reunion one evening. But, when Carol suggests playing a kind of truth game, secrets they have kept hidden for years emerge with disastrous consequences.  Click here for details

Colon: Full Stop

Five actors (2M, 3F) Running time: 45 mins.‘Colon: full stop’ explores the thoughts and imaginings of someone who has just been told he has cancer of the colon. Click here for details

Seven actors or less

No Smoke

Six actors (2M, 4F) Running Time: 50 minutes.  Paul Taylor is a music teacher who is accused of sexual assaulting one of his students.  Click here for details

Welsh Lessons

Seven actors (2M, 5F) Running time: 60 minutes approx. It's the beginning of an adult Welsh learners' class and as the new students get to grips with Welsh for the first time, one of them not only discovers the language coming naturally to his thoughts, but he also seems able to transmit those thoughts to a fellow student. Click here for details

More than seven actors

The Chimes - adapted from the Charles Dickens short story

Eleven actors (8M 3F or 4M 1F with doubling) Running time: 70 minutes approx. 'The Chimes' is the second of Charles Dickens' Christmas books, published in 1844, a year after 'A Christmas Carol'. It is the story of humble Toby Veck, ticket porter, who spends his life running errands for other people, while trying to support his daughter Meg. In this new adaptation of the classic Dickens' tale, Toby learns the importance of love and hope in a most extraordinary way. Click here for details