doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Bob Charteris

BOB CHARTERIS

  (1946 - )
Nationality:    Australian
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

After almost 50 years' experience in all forms of the media, I have 'retired' to concentrate on writing. I have had three one-act plays produced at Perth's Stirling Players, as well as productions at Bunbury and Esperance in 2014. As an actor, I have appeared in many community theatre productions including The Pajama Game, The Secret Garden, The Mousetrap, Mame and Jesus Christ, Superstar. I have also appeared in the short films Eliza (2011), Poiesis (2012) and The River (due for release in 2014), as well as the web series The Legend of Gavin TAnner (2014). I was born in Glasgow, Scotland 08 December 1946 - a genuine baby boomer. Moving to Peterborough at a very early age I was educated at King's School, where my English master pronounced that I would never earn my living using the English language. Despite this, I started my career in journalism as a trainee reporter with the Peterborough Evening Telegraph and its twice-weekly sister publication the Citizen & Advertiser, followed by a year at the Hull Daily Mail in Yorkshire as a sports reporter. I emigrated to Australia in 1968 working for the Sydney Morning Herald. I joined the (then) Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1972. In my last years at the ABC in Sydney I was a chief-sub-editor of its evening radio news bulletins. I was a member of the Terrey Hills Volunteer Bushfire Brigade. While there, I wrote a history of the brigade - Forty Flaming Years. Moving to Perth, I set up the public relations department of the former Western Australian Fire Brigades Board before rejoining the ABC in Perth as its morning chief sub-editor (radio) and later chief of staff of television news. After a three-year break from the rigours of daily journalism, I worked for a variety of Western Australian Government departments in corporate communications. The last six years of my "working life" were spent at the University of Western Australia as a content editor for the university's website.

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

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

         At Home With The Herringbones         Deadly Relations         Henry Wharton and the Einstein Factor         Lover's Concerto, A         That's What Friends Are For         Varsity Blues         You Can't Hurry Love
At Home With The Herringbones

Synopsis:
Lord Herringbone, an aging relic of the ruling class in Britain, and his wife live in a crumbling country house. Their butler, Wick, is also fast approaching his "use-by" date. The Herringbones are just about broke due to bad investments by the previous Lord Herringbone, and death duties. To make matters worse, an unexpected guest turns their world upside down.

Notes:
This is a gentle comedy-mystery which pokes fun at the "plight" of the ruling class - death duties, taxes and an impossible maintenance bill for crumbling stately homes, the sort which are featured on the UK television program Country House Rescue. There were three productions of At Home with the Herringbones during 2014 - at Stirling Players in Perth, Western Australia, as well as in Bunbury and Esperance in regional WA.

1st Produced:
Stirling Players, Perth, Western Australia     01 Jul 2014

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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/Mystery - one-act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Deadly Relations

Synopsis:
After a long illness, Cynthia Owens dies. Her doctor, who was with her when she passed away, signs the death certificate. It was not unexpected, but what follows uncovers a world of deceit, infidelity and murder. Her husband and his secretary are having an affair and are engaged in fraud. A policeman arrives on an unrelated matter and things start to unravel. But the secretary appears to have more than a passing interest in the policeman. Then the doctor returns with a proposal which just about signs his death warrant.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Unproduced    

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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:
Murder mystery

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Henry Wharton and the Einstein Factor

Synopsis:
Henry Wharton, a 65-year-old barrister, is to be a contestant on the TV show The Einstein Factor. His specialist subject - Petula Clark. Henry thinks he knows everything about the English songstress, but he reckons without the interference of his inept secretary and his sexually promiscuous 85-year-old mother!

Notes:
This play contains references to the Australian television program The Einstein Factor, as well as locations in an around Melbourne, Victoria. However it can be readily adapted by directors to localise it. The name of the play would need to be amended, but could be any television quiz show in any country. The words Einstein Fracture is a reference to the secretary's inability read her own shorthand.

1st Produced:
Stirling Players, Perth, Western Australia     01 Aug 2012

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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 - one-act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Lover's Concerto, A

Synopsis:
The relationship between Sally and Harry looks at the issues of romance for people in their sixties. After many years of happily married life, what do single people in their sixties really want? Is it marriage, to become partners, or do they just want to enjoy the company of others. But eventually the question of sex must arise. And what if one of the couple knows that it won't last because of an undisclosed illness? Does that person go ahead with such a relationship? Is it fair to the other person?

Notes:
Most of the action takes place in the homes of sisters Sally and Martha. The set is split in two with one side of the stage "belonging to" Sally and the other to Martha. The decors and furnishings of the two lounges reflect the different "situations" of Sally and Martha. While the script (as written) is specifically set in Perth, it could be set anywhere in the modern world.

1st Produced:
Unproduced    

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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:
Romantic comedy - full-length play.

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

That's What Friends Are For

Synopsis:
Helen is terminally ill. Her final wish: To bring happiness to the two people dearest to her - her husband and her best friend, a widow. She proposes that the two slept together so they can "enjoy a full life". Both are shocked but promise Helen they will discuss it. Later, after Helen's death they meet again . . . and everything is revealed.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Unproduced    

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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 - one-act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Varsity Blues

Synopsis:
A pedantic university professor is having a bad day. . .and it just gets worse and worse, especially when he has a violent encounter with a washing machine. Then he has to babysit the grandchildren, who have been re-staging the Battle of Hastings in his back garden. There is also the matter of his non-existent love life to compound his problems. But misunderstandings and misfortune continue to dog his humdrum life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Unproduced    

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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 - one-act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

You Can't Hurry Love

Synopsis:
A couple, both in their sixties, meet on the internet. At first, it seems like a perfect match. At a certain stage the question of sex arises. But is the relationship what they had both hoped it would be?

Notes:
This play contains references to local landmarks in Perth, Western Australia, but can easily be adapted by directors to suit any location worldwide. Its storyline is one which resonates with older audiences, many of whom have told me they have experienced the very same situations that arise in the play.

1st Produced:
Stirling Players, Perth, Western Australia     01 Aug 2012

Organisations:
Bob Charteris

1st Published:
Script available through www.ascriptintime.com.au   

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:
Romantic comedy - one act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page