doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Alastair Cording

ALASTAIR CORDING

  
Nationality:    Scottish
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Tennyson Agency  

a respected stage and television actor, and author of numerous literary adaptations, alastair has achieved repeated success with his 1993 version of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic SUNSeT SONG, revived by Prime Productions in 2001 and 2002 for national tours of alastair's native Scotland, and now available from Nick Hern Books. amongst the stage pieces now available, following initial commission and production by TaG Theatre and eastern angles T.C., are CLOUD HOWe and GReY GRaNITe (second and third in the SCOTS QUaIR trilogy); LaNaRK; and NO NaMe. In 1998, MRS O's SaTURDaY NIGHT was produced at the Covent Garden Festival (revived 2000); while alastair's acclaimed version of Dickens' DaVID COPPeRFIeLD for a cast of eight (revived for a national tour by eastern angles in Spring 2003) is the foremost stage adaptation available, widely performed on the non-professional stage. the original thriller FaTaLe was premiered at the Horseshoe Theatre, Basingstoke in 2001. eastern angles' Spring 2002 tour of a touching Norfolk-set tale, the WaLSINGHaM ORGaN, played to enthusiastic audiences across east anglia, and was followed by MaRGaReT DOWN UNDeR, seen on a UK regional tour in the autumn of 2004. It is to be followed by an adaptation of John Buchan's WITCH WOOD for RCB Productions, and a further work for eastern angles exploring the life of St edmund the Martyr, scheduled for 2010. there has meanwhile been a successful revival an dsubsequent tour of SUNSeT SONG by His Majesty's Theatre, aberdeen, in the autumn of 2008.

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 Alastair Cording's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Cloud Howe         David Copperfield         Fatale         Grey Granite         Lanark         Margaret Catchpole         Margaret Down Under         Mrs O's Saturday Night         No Name         Sunset Song         Walsingham Organ, The         Witch Wood

Cloud Howe

Synopsis:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

David Copperfield

David Copperfield
One of Dickens's best-loved and most autobiographical stories, brilliantly and faithfully Dramatised by alastair Cording. all Dickens's marvellous creations are here: Mr Micawber, Uriah Heep, Mrs Peggotty, Murdstone, Steerforth and Betsey Trotwood. Weaving through the colourful maze of the storyline is David's hopeless infatuation with emily - and eventual salvation in the arms of the long-suffering agnes. alastair Cording's stage adaptation skilfully concentrates on the essentials of the story while maintaining the colour, humour and Drama of the book. Most notable is its fluidity, with each scene flowing into the next without the need for cumbersome scene changes - or much scenery at all. Performable by a cast of eight, if necessary, but equally offering good roles to thirty or more

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ipswich: New Wolsey Theatre     02 Apr 2003

Organisations:
Eastern Angles 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:  4            Female:  4            Other:  large cast possible

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Fatale

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Horseshoe Theatre, Basingstoke     2001

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:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Grey Granite

Synopsis:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Lanark

Synopsis:
-

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:
National Library of Scotland ref: alastair Cording - acc.11295
Theatre Record Vol XV (1995) Page 1120 - [Theatre: Assembly Hall - Edinburgh]

Top of Page Top of Page

Margaret Catchpole

Synopsis:
Margaret is desperate to see her lover and takes a horse to get to him quickly. they meet but tragedy strikes and he is shot and killed.

Notes:
music by Pat Whymark

1st Produced:
Sir John Mills Theatre, Ipswich     13 Sep 2000

Organisations:
Eastern Angles 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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Margaret Down Under

Synopsis:
the sequel to "Margaret Catchpole". Margaret is arrested for stealing a horse - convicted and sent to Australia. She is befriended by two women Rose and Lizzie. the voyage takes a year and the women are at the mercy of the sailors on the ship

Notes:
written by Alastair Cording, music by Pat Whymark

1st Produced:
Brentwood Theatre, Brentwood     11 Oct 2004

Organisations:
Eastern Angles 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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Mrs O's Saturday Night

Synopsis:
Irish Annie, Tam Wilkie, Willie and Berry, even the unwelcome Mrs Crow all perform under the elegant but steely gaze of Mrs O, publican of the Bridge Inn, mistress of ceremonies. It is Saturday night in Bridge of Allan. Come in, fill your glass, take your place. Mrs O's celebrated entertainment is about to commence. You will be taken back to enjoy the warmth and camaraderie of a Scottish village pub in the early 1950's and get to know a host of extraordinary real-life characters.

Notes:
Music: Alasdair Nicolson; lyrics: Alastair Cording

1st Produced:
Covent Garden Festival, London     01 Jun 1998

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:
musical 80 min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

No Name

Synopsis:
High-spirited Magdalen Vanstone hasn't a care in the world. then her life crashes into the buffers, just like the new railway that was carrying her parents on urgent family business to London. Due to her father's past, she's robbed of her future, her inheritance, even her name. Worse still, the law deposits her family's wealth in the hands of her unscrupulous cousin Noel. Flying in the face of Victorian propriety, Maddie sets off on a singl-minded mission of revenge. She uses disguise, deceit and master of roguery Captain Wragge to hunt down her prey with a ruthless determination. When she ensnares him in a sleepy coastal resort, it's only the start of her troubles. . .

Notes:
from Wilkie Collins

1st Produced:
Eastern Angles Theatre Company     25 Sep 1997

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:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Sunset Song

Sunset Song
along with the two subsequent parts of what became a trilogy, it tells the story of Chris Guthrie through her country childhood and marriages before and after the First World War. the distinguishing feature of the books - and this Dramatisation - is the use of the rhythms and vocabulary of Scots to tell the story. the theme of Sunset Song is how rural and city life fit together - or, rather, often don't. It tells how it feels to be a girl growing up on a farm in Scotland in the early-20th century, how it feels to be in love and in lust, how it feels to be a young mother on her own and how it feels to lose you lover in war.

Notes:
Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901-35) published Sunset Song in 1932

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Walsingham Organ, The

Synopsis:
On November 5th 1866, the recently installed organ at St Mary's, Walsingham in Norfolk, was literally blown up. The church orchestra (which the organ had replaced) and who were fond of the local inn, were already at loggerheads with the unpopular new anti-alcohol Reverend. The Reverend had already made a lot of opponents - and the result was fireworks.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Civic Theatre, Chelmsford     09 Apr 2002

Organisations:
Eastern Angles 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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Witch Wood

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
an Adaptation of John Buchan

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
RCB 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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page