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Paul Rothwell

PAUL ROTHWELL

  
Nationality:    New Zealander
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Playmarket Inc  

Paul Rothwell's last full-length play was the Blackening at Bats in mid -2009. He was the winner of the Bruce Mason Award for Emerging Playwrights in 2008. He lives in Robert Lord's cottage in Dunedin and is a student at Otago University.

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

         A Is For Apple         Aerial View         Blackening, The         Case of Amontillado, A         Christmas Indoors         Cut Out         Deliver Us         Felinity of Wendell, The         FunShy         Golden Boys         GUNPLAY / Happiness Is A Warm Gun / the Complete History Of Firearms And High School Shootings         Hate Crimes         Kissing Bone         No Taste Forever!         Office Palms         Parts For the Princes         Pupil Zero         Robin Goblin         Undine         You Be the Angel I Be the Ghost

A Is For Apple

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2002

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Aerial View

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2005

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Blackening, The

Synopsis:
Mal returns home after ten years. He is surprised that things have changed so little apart from the fact that his childhood sweetheart has married his brother

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bats, Wellington    2009

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:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Case of Amontillado, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe

1st Produced:
-    2003

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:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Christmas Indoors

Synopsis:
She was believed dead but Trisha was kidnapped and held for over a year. She returns home to find that this has changed her family. Her sister has become her. He boyfriend tends a shrine to her memory. Her Father runs a support group for families of murdered children. Her grandmother is convinced that she Trisha has been presenting a television make-over show

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:
Black comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cut Out

Synopsis:
A group of High School kids - the slut, the homo, the bitch and the self-mutilator

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2003

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:
Black comedy. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Deliver Us

Synopsis:
A grandmother is besotted with her new grand daughter until she starts sensing something is very wrong

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2007

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Felinity of Wendell, The

Synopsis:
A girl follows her heart and comes to a bad end

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2002

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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FunShy

Synopsis:
tells the story of Matthias, a religious zealot with visions of the apocalypse who is brought back to earth' by an outgoing and fun-loving stranger and his circle of friends. Matthias gradually becomes accustomed to the ways of the world and the lifestyle of his newfound buddies, but a powerful force has followed him and taken up residence in the inner-city apartment. When world views inevitably collide, it will unleash itself on everyone.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
As Is Theatre, 377 Princes St, Dunedin    09 Dec 2010

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:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Golden Boys

Synopsis:
the inspiration for the play was the disappearance of Teresa Cormack while walking to school, and the finding of her murdered body. the play concerns the effect of the abduction and murder of a thirteen year old boy, particularly on his friends. While the theme is dark and tragic, the script is magically lightened by the teens' vitality and optimism in the face of the grim world about them. the script challenges the audience to pay close attention in order to follow the story, but Rothwell is careful not to overstress the importance of Golden Boys' plot. "It's about mood, language, tone, resonance . . . I want it to be an aesthetic experience, like a theatrical poem. . . beautiful, poetic, sad," says Paul.
Playmarket News

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Circa 2, Nz    2006

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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GUNPLAY / Happiness Is A Warm Gun / the Complete History Of Firearms And High School Shootings

Synopsis:
Multi-award winning guerilla theatre company the Bacchanals are back at BATS this August with a brand new show exploring that most hallowed of American traditions: the mass shooting. When will people learn semi-automatic weapons are not for killing people? they are for collecting and storing in the unlikely event that the government turns against us and civilians need to take control back for our own protection! Ever since John Billington became the new colony's first murderer in 1630, guns have been a controversial but defining part of US culture. Every day, 34 people are killed with guns in America. In March this year Yoko Ono marked her wedding anniversary to the late John Lennon by reminding the world that over 1,057,000 people  that's nearly a quarter of the population of New Zealand  have been killed by guns in America since her husband was shot to death in 1980. In April 1999, the Columbine mass shooting arguably set a new standard for the impending new millennium  now, every year, the challenge for gun-loving Americans seems to be: how can we make this year's gun tragedy bigger and better than the last? As one of the characters in Gunplay says, "something is seriously wrong with this country." When something is wrong with the world, the Bacchanals don't like to say, But it's thousands of miles away, it's not our problem!  they like to poke it with a stick and see if it bites back. Having explored NZ's involvement in the illegal War on Terror in Other People's Wars, corrupt political systems in Coriolanus and the myths of higher education and tertiary learning in the Clouds, the Bacchanals and playwright Paul Rothwell now turn their attention to questioning just how the "right of the people to keep and bear arms" has turned the world's biggest superpower into a nation of murderers and sociopaths. Is there any way of predicting who can or cannot be trusted with firearms? Just who do you need protecting from? Where did America's fascination with and love of guns come from? And what future might it ultimately lead to? the Bacchanals go on a heartwarming journey with the sole survivor of the slaughter of a cheerleading squad as she turns her tragedy into triumph!
- http://www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bats - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington    20 Aug 2013

Organisations:
the Bacchanals

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:  9            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hate Crimes

Synopsis:
Teenager Gareth is a failure - even his attempt at suicide fails and he ends up as a wheelchair bound vegetable. Yet everyone who comes in contact with him have their lives turned upside down - from the gay music teacher to the school bully

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2005

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. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kissing Bone

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2007

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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No Taste Forever!

Synopsis:
In No Taste Forever, the human race is under attack from an insidious force. Nutritionist Malcolm Sweet realises something is wrong when his morbidly obese patients start dropping like flies. When a little girl is crushed beneath the wheels of his SUV, crying for her ice cream, Malcolm knows for certain that something terrifying has a hold over the human race and he's determined to find out what it is. What he discovers will shock you to the pit of your stomach.

Notes:
Produced 2001 ?

1st Produced:
Bats, Wellington    13 Jan 2011

Organisations:
the BACCHANALS in association with Bovine University and the Wild Duck

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:  8            Female:  9            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Office Palms

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2007

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Parts For the Princes

Synopsis:
Parts for the Princess by Paul Rothwell begins innocently enough - Sarah Thomson is the gorgeous princess, seated elegantly in a long off-white dress doing needlepoint and chattering excitedly about her impending betrothal to her perfect prince, whom she first met in a dream. Initially I couldn't see what's so monstrous about this, but as the slightly demented maiden elaborates on the Frankensteinian methods of procuring said groom it not only answered my question, but thinking back over the septet it'd be fair to say she's ultimately the most monstrous of the lot.
- Nik Smythe, www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
part of the Monster Monologues

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pupil Zero

Synopsis:
Over the course of 60 breathless minutes two actors bring an entire school to life in this new dark comedy by award-winning playwright Paul Rothwell. The twist being is that the school is in quarantine due to a newly discovered virus.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Gryphon, Wellington    05 Mar 2015

Organisations:
Big Lies 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:
dark comedy 60 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=4408

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Robin Goblin

Synopsis:
This unusual new theatre play is the story of a successful entrepreneur called Robin, and her experience of a common psychological phenomenon casually known as Impostor Syndrome, which convinces her that she is really a changeling, a goblin swapped with a human child at birth. Award-winning playwright Paul Rothwell drew inspiration from a chance encounter with a stranger, a depressed manager who confided her secret self-doubt and belief that despite her apparent success she was really a lucky fraud on the verge of being found out. The woman disappeared back into her own world without realising she had sowed the seed of an idea that would develop into a play based on her life - but with a twist. Rothwell's childhood fascination with goblins and changelings transported her sad story from the world of business into the realm of the fantastical. Impostor syndrome afflicts successful people such as Emma Watson and is characterised by a lack of belief in their own qualities. It is a very negative experience in the business world, which requires confidence and self-worth in order to get ahead. Goblins are mythical creatures from fairytales, such as Rumpelstiltskin. Goblins live in dark places, collect treasures and play tricks on unsuspecting humans.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland    16 Feb 2015

Organisations:
14 stones

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=4331

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Undine

Synopsis:
Television needs people to share their pain and problems. Odette is perfect she is articulate and presentable - unfortunately she has no problems

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2004

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:
Black comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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You Be the Angel I Be the Ghost

Synopsis:
You Be the Angel I Be the Ghost is an unusual and entertaining show about identity, relationships, delusions and reality. Paul is a character in a deeply personal play he is writing about himself and his experience of the world; the only problem is that the other characters aren't doing what he tells them to do. Morgan is a lonely, needy dreamer who might finally make some friends, if he can stay asleep. the playful and elusive Courtney has a huge imagination and and even bigger ego. She also has a Secret, and if her two imaginary friends learn her secret, they will gain a terrible power over her. . .
- www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bats Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace, Wellington    08 Feb 2012

Organisations:
NZ Fringe Festival 2012

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:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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