One-Act Dramas
"I LOVE YOU, HELEN TINDALE" - teenagers; 3m., 3f.; simple set.
Probably my most performed drama around the world. The unknowing cruelty of teenagers is brought to bear on the sensitive Ted for the simple but unforgivable crime of declaring his love for Helen.
"THE GUN" - teenagers; 4m.; simple set.
Presently being made into a television movie and the idea for the award-winning "Cain's Hand". Matty finds an old service revolver at home and brings it to show his friends. But it is rusted and they don't know whether it is loaded. They begin to act out television characters and events - and tragedy beckons.
"WAITING" - teenagers; 3m., 1f.; simple set.
Four teenagers, with varying degrees of bravado, wait for news from a mine collapse where their fathers have been working.
"POLES" - teenagers; 3m., 2f.; simple set.
A play about sexual confusion. Mitch and Peter are an item but now Peter wants the relationship to go further. Confused, Mitch writes him a letter which forms the structure of the play. Advice comes from many people but Peter can't bridge the gap to understand his girlfriend's plight.
"A FAREWELL FROM THE HILL" - teenagers; 1m., 3f.; simple set.
A drama with ghosts. On top of a hill on her grandfather's farm, Jenny and her friend Pat experience a ghostly re-enactment of an event in the grandfather's youth.
"A LETTER FROM GRANDPA" - teenagers; 3m., 2f.; simple set.
Somewhat resenting their elderly grandfather who lives with them, Peter and Margaret find an old letter he wrote to their grandmother - and the children learn to their sadness that old people were young once.
"AFTER THE BALL IS OVER" - teenagers; 3m., 3f.; simple set.
It is the end of their school life, the last moments of their Year 12 Farewell event. Six teenagers, coming to terms with the massive changes ahead, learn that life is fragile and tragedy not far away.
"BONDS" - teenagers; 2m., 1f.; simple set.
In an abusive relastionship with his stepfather, Joe tries to escape with his friend, Garry. But then he learns that his sister Mardie is threatened and Joe is caught between loyalty and freedom.
"DANIELS" - teenagers; 4m., 2f.; simple set.
This play is the core for the longer drama "A Daniel Come to Judgement". In a deserted farmhouse, a group of teenagers put a boy on trial for the murder of one of their friends in a car accident. But is it just a game?
"HEARTSFELT" - teenagers; 3m., 2f.; simple set.
Barry, Rod, Ellen and Penny are teenage runaways living in a cheap city flat. They discover an eleven year old boy robbing their home. When he collapses into unconsciousness, they realise that the responsibility for others that comes with freedom is almost too much to bear.
"THE MINE" - teenagers; 3m., 2f.; simple set.
A ghost play. Exploring an abandoned goldmine, four teenagers meet the ghost of a boy who tells them of the tragic circumstances of his death.
"THE CHAMELEON" - science fiction; teenagers; 10 actors, male or female; simple set.
On board the spaceship "Jupiter II" on its return voyage to Earth from the planet Chameleon, Captain Roberts discovers that an alien has smuggled itself aboard, and it can destroy Earth.
"A TASTE OF WINE" - crime mystery; teenagers; 10 actors, male or female; simple set.
Sir Henry Langdon, reclusive millionaire, has been murdered in his mansion and only his three children were present. The police are stumped and it is up to the Coroner to uncover the killer. The answer is in the evidence.
"THE KINGDOM" - horror/drama; teenagers; 3m., 1f.; simple set.
Eb, an old woodcutter, and his wife live in an isolated hut in the middle of the forest. Two brutal trappers invade their home and plan to trap and kill animals. But the forest has horror of its own to stop them.
"THE FORTRESS" - teenagers; 4m., 2f.; simple set.
Madame Garrard and her family lie directly in the path of the advancing German army in France, 1940. They should flee - but to Madame Garrard, her home is not so easily given up - it is her fortress.