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Rob Johnston

ROB JOHNSTON

  (1962 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Rob is a Manchester-based playwright and producer with Breathe Out Theatre. His plays have been produced many times across the region as well as in Scotland, the Isle of Man, and London. He is an in-house company writer at the Studio Salford Theatre collective.

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

         Airborne Adventures Of Elisabeth And Jeanne, The         Bantams         Einstein's Daughter         Extraordinary Light, An         Fencing For Losers         Human Habitation         In a Land Much Like Ours         Kafkaesque         Miss Julie         Myth Of Escape, The         Now Breathe Out         Opposite Of Claustrophobic, The         Plan B For the Workers         Poe: Macabre Resurrections         Rid the World         Short Sharp Shocks (Head Space)         Taking Stock         Under My Skin         War Stories
Airborne Adventures Of Elisabeth And Jeanne, The

Synopsis:
For a woman in 1799, the only way was up. In 2011, other directions are available. 31st Dec 1799. elisabeth and Jeanne, balloonists extraordinaire, are about to perform their most daring feat and parachute into a new century. ahead, a future where women and men are said to be equal in all things. But at what price . . .?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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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Bantams

Synopsis:
1915. The Great War Rages On. Hundreds of thousands have already enlisted. Hundreds of thousands more want to and will. But not every man who wants to enlist can. Some are too old. Or too thin. Or have poor eyes. Or poor hearing. Or a bad leg. Or. . .Unable to enlist, they must remain at home to endure accusations of cowardice, humiliation on every street, white-feathers in the morning-post Until finally, these men are given their chance. Bantams tells the story of men who could have stayed out of The Great War. Could have stayed safe. But chose not to. Chose instead to take part in the most appalling, most destructive, most deadly conflict the world had ever seen.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Hyde Festival Theatre, Corporation Street, Hyde, Tameside Sk14 1Ab     2014

Organisations:
Hyde Festival Theatre Company & Tameside Council Cultural Services

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Einstein's Daughter

Synopsis:
Maggie lives in an isolated farmhouse in the north of england with her Father andrew, a celebrated scientist. they lead a life that is as conventional as it is idyllic. Into this blissful, humdrum picture bursts Cath, a childhood friend of Maggie's, away for ten years but now back to tell Maggie something she should have learned a long time ago. By the end of the night nothing is left of the picture-box idyll so carefully constructed by andrew and taken for granted by Maggie. "One night. One secret. One final act."

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Hyde Festival Theatre Company in association with Breathe Out Theatre and Freerange Theatre Company.

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
80 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Extraordinary Light, An

Synopsis:
Scientist Rosalind Franklin's innovative work on the structure of DNA helped Crick and Watson win a Nobel Prize. Yet Rosalind's contribution went unrecognised. This new play celebrates the achievements and tragedy of Rosalind Franklin, who dedicated her life to science at great personal cost.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Old Clubhouse, Buxton Festival Fringe     09 Jul 2014

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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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Fencing For Losers

Synopsis:
Mancunian Danny attempts to escape a life that is going nowhere by signing up for fencing classes but seeks nothing less than Olympic gold. His fencing teacher Susan needs to escape a going-nowhere life of her own. Together they learn that escape and gold medals are not the impossibilities they first appear.

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:
Paupers Pit Buxton     01 May 2009

Organisations:
Ignition Stage

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
75 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Human Habitation

Synopsis:
Michael has come to a new town looking for a new life. Frank is meant to help him find one. But who is going to help Frank find a new life of his own?

Notes:
part of Manchester's 24:7 theatre Festival

1st Produced:
Blue, Manchester     2008

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
45 min Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In a Land Much Like Ours

Synopsis:
Following a violent and unexplained tragedy, a couple are slowly torn apart by the corrosive need to understand why. Looking on and providing a perspective of his own, a perspective that is bizarre, compelling, and disturbing, is the young man at the centre of the tragedy.

Notes:
Developed as part of 'Plays of innocence and experience' with the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and RADA.

1st Produced:
Liverpool: Lantern Theatre     25 Jan 2013

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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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Kafkaesque

Synopsis:
Inspired by the stories of author Franz Kafka, four comic and compelling tales exploring what it means to be human.

Notes:
Written by Peter Farrar and Rob Johnston

1st Produced:
Preston     01 Sep 2012

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Miss Julie

Synopsis:
The 1950s is currently the place to be seen as far as a lot of contemporary TV drama is concerned, and it certainly suits this revision of a classic play as elegantly as the central character's A-line dress. The post-war period setting gives an added relevance to the changes in class consciousness at the heart of the story, and makes a plausible battleground for the play's conflict between sexual passion and social position. - http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/miss-julie-korova-arts-c-9552

Notes:
Original Playwright - August Strindberg

1st Produced:
Korova Arts & Cafe Bar, Preston     25 Oct 2013

Organisations:
Hyde Festival Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Myth Of Escape, The

Synopsis:
Billy finds himself in a cell next to alex. Neither are quite sure what they have done wrong. Perhaps nothing. It doesn't seem to matter. Someone wanted them imprisoned and so they have been. absurdist political Drama about isolation, oppression, and fighting to hold on to everything you believe in.

Notes:
part of Not Part Of Festival

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Happystorm Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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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Now Breathe Out

Synopsis:
a play about the perils and pitfalls of finding a lump in your undies.

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
35 minute black comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Opposite Of Claustrophobic, The

Synopsis:
a lonely housewife's axe-filled encounter with a would-be burglar reveals that neither are exactly what they seem. Breaking in is easy. Breaking out is difficult.

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
50 min One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Plan B For the Workers

Synopsis:
a factory in Manchester, almost the last of its kind. the men who work there, almost the last of their kind. But not quite. Until today. Friendships are tested. Loyalties are questioned. Plan a hasn't worked. So what's Plan B?

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee. 'Plan B for the Workers' can Also be performed As part of A double with 'taking Stock' under the title 'Workers' Playtime'.

1st Produced:
Hyde Festival Theatre     01 Nov 2009

Organisations:
RLT

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
55 minute comic Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Poe: Macabre Resurrections

Synopsis:
Under the overall artistic direction of andy McQuade, he and five other directors present specially commissioned treatments of five Poe's stories rethought for today, plus his best known poem the Raven incorporated in the framing device of a preacher who introduces the evening and guides the audience through the promenade performance. they have not simply transposed the stories to a modern setting, these are not literal transpositions but rethinking in the spirit of what is behind Poe's plots.
- Howard Loxton, British theatre Guide

Notes:
written by Rob Johnston, Richard Allden, Mike Carter, Jacob Hodgkinson And Nadine Hearity

1st Produced:
St Mary's Old Church, Stoke Newington, London     16 Nov 2011

Organisations:
Second Skin Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Rid the World

Synopsis:
In 1911 political activist Tom Mann came to Liverpool to co-ordinate what would become a full-blown transport strike, transforming Liverpool into a city with its own sense of working-class outrage and social responsibility. Britain was brought close to popular revolt, with gunboats up the Mersey and the workers of Liverpool standing as one to face odds that were surely stacked against them. . .

Notes:
based on An unproduced screenplay by Trevor Griffiths

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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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Short Sharp Shocks (Head Space)

Synopsis:
an ultra-short comic Drama about taking care when you cross the road.

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
Ten min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Taking Stock

Synopsis:
Five women meet up in the tea-room of the supermarket where they work. In the middle of a fuel crisis they try to avert the end of civilization as we know it. "Women are from Salford. Who cares where men are from?"

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee. 'taking Stock' can Also be performed As part of A double with 'Plan B for the Workers' under the title 'Workers' Playtime'.

1st Produced:
Hyde Festival Theatre     01 Feb 2006

Organisations:
RLT

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
50 min One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Under My Skin

Synopsis:
Will and Jimmy - two Salford boys at the bottom of the pile - have lost their moral compass. While waiting for it to turn up they decide to follow the example set by our illustrious politicians : it's only a crime if you get caught! Moral compass? Yes they've got one. But it doesn't always point true north! "a pitch-black comedy about guilt-free crime."

Notes:
Please contact the Author directly regarding performance license fee.

1st Produced:
Paupers Pit Buxton     01 Nov 2009

Organisations:
Breathe Out Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
black comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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War Stories

Synopsis:
This exciting project further cements the unique collaboration between two festivals on opposite sides of the world. Two writers, one from Australia and one from the UK, collaborate on an original piece of writing, exploring the impact of the First World War.

Notes:
written by Rob Johnston and Emma Gibson

1st Produced:
[Rehearsed Reading] The Basement, Manchester     22 Jul 2014

Organisations:
Manchester 24:7 Theatre festival

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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:
short drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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