The Playwrights Database
RICHARD BAINES
Nationality: Australian
email: n/a Website: n/a
Literary Agent: n/a
Richard Baines is a former drama and English teacher who is very experienced in drama productions by and for secondary students. He has written several plays.
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below is a list of Richard Baines's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Beggar of Uttar Pradesh, The Casandra - And other Monologues For Girls Caucasian Chalk Thing, The Girl Who Ran with Gazelles, The Miss Antigone Working TitleBeggar of Uttar Pradesh, The
The Beggar of Uttar Pradesh is a play which tells the comic story of the beggar Harisarman, who manages to get rich by sheer good luck! The Beggar of Uttar Pradesh keeps faith with the Bollywood tradition. It is based on an old Indian folktale. It contains seven songs, all of which comment on the action taking place on the stage. There are three major song-and-dance routines: in the market place, at the wedding and outside the royal palace. There is also a solo dance sequence. Being a melodrama, The Beggar of Uttar Pradesh contains a dramatic reversal of fortune and several convenient coincidences. It is a comedy which also delivers a nasty villain, an unlikely hero, a love affair, a happy ending and a cow.
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education 978-1-921586-96-5
Music:
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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
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Genre:
Bollywood comedy / musical 15 min to 1 hour
Parts:
Male: 8 Female: 5 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageCasandra - And other Monologues For Girls
A monologue. One person alone on stage. Here are fourteen female voices. They cover a wide range. They are angry, confused and embarrassed. They are comic, pitying and strident. These are voices from modern day Australia, with a strong cross-cultural flavour. Some of the pieces are harsh, others are lyrical, but all show problems facing today's young people. The topics are universal: AIDS, rape, suicide, poor parenting, change, the difficulty of facing up to reality and the need for control. There is violence, there is humour. Above all, these monologues work as theatre. Cassandra provides drama students with material that is relevant, that is complete in itself [as opposed to being sliced from a full length play] and that runs for a significant length of time, and above all, which work as theatre.
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education 978-1-921586-32-3
Music:
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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:
monologues 20 min
Parts:
Male: - Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageCaucasian Chalk Thing, The
Why tinker with The Caucasian Chalk Circle? It's a long play. It's a complicated play. The propaganda can become a bit repetitive. Epic theatre, as Brecht's theatre is called, is like a row of boxcars, each scene standing on its own, and so the sets are constantly changing. Most school productions would take a knife to the original text. Our version simplifies and streamlines the production. Extra lines are added without taking away the spirit and mood of the original. There are parts here for twenty or more actors, half of them playing several characters. But this is Brecht. His poetry is here. His humour is here. His characters continue to be amusing because of their blatantly self-centred approach to life. Many of them are caricatures, but that is what makes them fun to play. This is not Stanislavski. Actors do not need to be talented thespians to take part in a Brecht play. So 'have fun with it' as Drama Directors are wont to say on opening nights.
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1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education 978-1-921586-59-0
Music:
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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 45 min
Parts:
Male: 12 Female: 8 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageGirl Who Ran with Gazelles, The
It is important for people to keep in touch with their traditional stories. One way of telling these stories, some might say the best way, is through drama. This collection of five plays consists of traditional tales from Morocco, Persia, Palestine, Ancient Egypt and the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights from the Middle East. The Girl Who Ran with Gazelles: A folktale from Morocco about a young Arab girl who outwitted a lecherous Muezzin and a thieving Vizier. This is a mystery thriller with a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. Sohrab and Rustum: This story comes from the Persian Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran. It is the complicated tale of passionate yet tragic family ties in the lives of strong and arrogant men. Our play includes several crowd sequences and ends with a dramatic stage fight. Im 'Ali and Abu 'Ali: This Arab folktale from Palestine tells of a poor, uneducated, hen-pecked husband who manages to rise to be a friend of the King! It is a comic story about the relationships between men and women. The Return of Sinuhe: The story of Sinuhe is one of the best-loved tales of the literature of Ancient Egypt. It tells of a hero travelling from his home in disgrace only to return as a wiser old man. It is a dramatic tale of love, betrayal, murder, revenge and the long journey into the territory of the soul. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp: This tale is from the Middle Eastern (Syria / Iraq?) One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. A favourite theme in all folklore is the triumph of good over evil. This version, however, has something additional to say about high finance, true love and shopping. It is a light-hearted musical comedy.
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education -
Music:
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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:
folktale full length
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageMiss Antigone
Miss Antigone is a modern interpretation of the play Antigone by the Greek playwright Sophocles [441 BC]. The story of Antigone is an old Theban legend, the story centring around a handful of soil. As with folktales and myths, legends have been retold time and again over the years, the different versions making the story relevant to modern readers and audiences. Miss Antigone explores questions for our own time: the different ways the old and the young view the world, the conflict between believers and non-believers, the difficult relationship between justice and the law, as well as anarchy, sexism and the extent to which we are in control of our own lives. The events of our story generally follow the old legend, but finish with an intriguing and original twist.
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1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education 978-1-921586-46-0
Music:
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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 45 min
Parts:
Male: 7 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageWorking Title
Working Title is the play you have when you don't have a play. It doesn't have a recognisable plot, the characters come and go. They interrupt each other. They are funny, they are violent - occasionally they burst into song. Working Title is an excursion into various types, kinds and fashions of theatre. It introduces us to Ionesco, Brecht and Ibsen. There are scenes illustrating Theatre of the Absurd, Brechtian Theatre, Musical Theatre and Theatre of Realism. All in one play.
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Phoenix Education 978-1-921586-55-2
Music:
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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 45 min
Parts:
Male: 17 Female: 7 Other: -
Further Reference:
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