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Jim Burke

JIM BURKE  

 Nationality:    British
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  

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

         Arise         Bestiary         Cornered         Man Who Would Be Bing, The         Moby Dick         Shamer

Arise

Synopsis:
Morty, a key member of a New age millennial cult, loses his faith and attempts to rebuild his life. But the cult leader has programmed his acolytes so successfully that Morty unwittingly fulfils the cult's program even as he flees further away from his former life. the play takes the fragmented form of "extracts from a damaged CD-Rom discovered in a car boot sale".

Notes:
a loose Adaptation of this play, re-titled Arise Jones, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005 And starred Michael Maloney

1st Produced:
Bill Naughton Studio, Bolton Octagon theatre    1999

Organisations:
Rocket 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:
monologue One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bestiary

Synopsis:
Three famous animals - and their famous last words. Moving from a mythical past to a technological future, from the depths of the sea, on to land, and up into space, these three monologues give voice to Jonah's whale, the Hartlepool Monkey (hanged as a French Spy during the Napoleonic Wars), and Laika, the first dog in space. Ostensibly about animals, they question human "progress" and ask: who are the real beasts?

Notes:
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003

1st Produced:
Buxton Festival Fringe    2006

Organisations:
apex Productions

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:
anthropomorphic monologues

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  Can all be performed by one actor

Further Reference:
-

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Cornered

Synopsis:
a nasty, brutal, and short comedy set in a seedy Manchester gym. Rex and his apprentice, Vinnie, are two cornermen working a youth boxing tournament. their boy, Little T, is the favorite to win, but the sinister (unseen) gangster Doxy has other ideas. Unaware of each others' agenda, Rex and Vinnie seek to take advantage of Doxy's activities. But nothing is what it seems, and the two incompetent cornermen's attempts at fancy footwork leave them both sprawling on the ropes.

Notes:
Winner of A Manchester evening News theatre Award (Best New Play)

1st Produced:
Didsbury Studio Theatre, Manchester    1999

Organisations:
Rocket 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:
Black comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Man Who Would Be Bing, The

Synopsis:
a black comedy about a Bing Crosby tribute-act in the north of england. Ronnie Preston looks set for the big time when word reaches him that Bluey Johnson, legendary tribute-act impresario, will be attending his next gig. a chance encounter with his sinister arch-rival, combined with his manager's overreaching incompetence, scuppers Ronnie's chances, and his fragile self-image begins to unravel. a nightmarish gig at a sleazy strip club sends him further over the edge and unable to separate reality from illusion.

Notes:
Nothing to do with the Ken Crossland book of the same name

1st Produced:
Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, Manchester    1999

Organisations:
Flying Pig 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Moby Dick

Synopsis:
an adaptation of Melville's novel about Captain ahab's epic hunt for the legendary white whale.

Notes:
Winner of two Manchester evening News theatre Awards (Best New Play, Best Fringe Production)

1st Produced:
Fitzcarraldo Theatre Ship, national tour    2000

Organisations:
Kaboodle Productions / Walk the Plank 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:
Literary adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  4 upwards (male or female)

Further Reference:
-

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Shamer

Synopsis:
Want someone to literally 'die of shame'? Call Mark Trent, professional. He'll make 'em squirm for you. But when things get too sticky, don't say you weren't warned. Shamer is a dark, adult comedy that looks where it shouldn't.

Notes:
Listed in the Scotsman's Worst of the Fringe, A decision with which Jim Burke shamefully concurs

1st Produced:
Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland    2003

Organisations:
Rocket 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:
noir style comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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