doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Samantha Ellis

SAMANTHA ELLIS

  (1975 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  

Samantha ellis' plays include Cling To Me Like Ivy (Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Lowry Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, North Wall), the Thousand and Second Night (LaMDa), a Sudden Visitation of Calamith (Menagerie Theatre), Startle Response (Young Vic Theatre workshop production), Sugar and Snow (Hampstead Theatre/BBC Radio Four), Martin's Wedding (Blind Summit Theatre/BaC), Patching Havoc (Theatre 503) and, for the Miniaturists, the short plays Postfeminism and Scattering (arcola), Unfinished (Liverpool everyman Theatre), and Cat in a Sieve (Southwark Playhouse). She has also written short plays for Pursued by a Bear and Floodtide Theatre. She was a MacDowell Colony Fellow and has been in residence at Metal and on attachment at the Soho Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Hampstead Theatre. as a journalist she worked for publications including the Guardian, evening Standard, Observer, Jewish Quarterly and Prospect She is writing a children's play called Operation Magic Carpet for the Unicorn Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and a book called How to be a Heroine for Chatto & Windus. Her play the Last Wolf in Scotland will be produced at the Edinburgh fringe in 2012. She blogs at http://samanthaellisblog.blogspot.com.

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 Samantha Ellis's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Agent 160 theatre Organisations: Short Plays         Almonds         Candy Jar, The         Cat In A Sieve         Cling To Me Like Ivy         Devil Speaks True, The         Feel the Plastic         Martin's Wedding         Operation Magic Carpet         Patching Havoc         Postfeminism         Scattering         Startle Response         Sugar And Snow         Unfinished         Use Me As Your Cardigan

Agent 160 theatre Organisations: Short Plays

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
agent 160 theatre Organisations: Short plays. Agent 160 is A new company Aiming to Address the fact that women write just 17 per cent of All theatre work produced in the UK.

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:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Almonds

Synopsis:
In 1834 Parliament burns down. In 2005, a woman tries to fight the war on terror with a nut allergy. a play about democracy.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Network Theatre     2005

Organisations:
Floodtide 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:
short play One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Candy Jar, The

Synopsis:
an artist, his models and a wry look at Generation X and the politics of kitsch.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playroom, Cambridge     1996

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:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Cat In A Sieve

Synopsis:
James VI encounters a witch in a castle in Scotland in 1591. a play about the events which inspired Macbeth.

Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 1 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the Miniaturists

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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Cling To Me Like Ivy

Cling To Me Like Ivy
a sassy, offbeat comedy-Drama about rebelling against your roots. Rivka wants the perfect Orthodox wedding. With two weeks to go, she has the man, the dress - and the wig. But when doubt is cast on her wig, everything starts to unravel. Rivka finds herself far from home, up a tree and in the midst of an anti-road protest, not knowing whether she'll be able to go back to where she came from. . . Or even if she wants to. Samantha ellis' play was inspired by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham in 2004 which sparked a crisis within the Orthodox Jewish community about the wigs worn by married women.

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:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Devil Speaks True, The

Synopsis:
The Devil Speaks True is a chilling visceral experience with you, the audience, cast as Banquo from Macbeth in an adventure tracing Banquo's journey from bloody battlefield to spectral banquet table. Sitting in darkness for a large part of the production and wearing wireless headphones, you will be surrounded by a world created through binaural sound, video projection and live performance. The Devil Speaks True is a total immersive experience offering an intimate perspective of a man struggling to come to terms with his place in a violent and tyrannical world. Focussing on the physiological effects on men returning home from war and the bond between soldiers, the production intersperses Shakespeare's text with interviews with ex-servicemen.

Notes:
Vaults Festival 2016

1st Produced:
The Vaults, Leake St, Waterloo, SE1 7NN     17 Feb 2016

Organisations:
Goat and Monkey

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 60 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Feel the Plastic

Synopsis:
Nine months ago, Lara's boyfriend went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back. But then, weeks before she is about to have his baby, her flatmate brings home a stranger.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Camden People's Theatre     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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Martin's Wedding

Synopsis:
Fashion photographer Martin (a puppet) wakes on his wedding morning with a hangover. Full of regret, he throws himself out of a window. He hits the ground, bangs his head and when he comes round he can't remember anything. the story of a small man pursued by three women trying to get to the altar to marry a woman he can't remember.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Blind Summit

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:  2            Other:  1 puppet

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Operation Magic Carpet

Synopsis:
Nomi wants a story of her own. She lives in London but dreams about Baghdad, where her parents are from. Why can't London be like her family's fantastical stories of flying carpets and shooting stars? One night over dinner, a genie bursts out of a mango pickle jar and Nomi is swept away on a magic carpet to Baghdad. Characters from the Arabian Nights come to life as Nomi meets Sinbad and swims the Tigris in a quest to discover her story. But when her three wishes run out, how will Nomi get back home? A magical play about exploring your culture and knowing where you come from so you know where you're going.

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:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Patching Havoc

Synopsis:
What do you do when your fiance thinks he's the messiah?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Theatre 503/Liquid 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Postfeminism

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 24 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today

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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Scattering

Synopsis:
How can you be a Muslim and a Jew? When Kemal's Father tells him he is a follower of 17th century mystic Sabbatai Tsvi, he goes on a journey of discovery to find out who he wants to be.

Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 5 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today

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:  2            Female:  1            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Startle Response

Synopsis:
a play inspired by a true story of life imitating art. In 1996 a group of Kurdish amateur actors were rehearsing a production of Harold Pinter's Mountain Language. their rehearsals were raided by police who mistook their prop guns for real ones, and told them to speak no language but english. This story is at the heart of a play about post-traumatic stress disorder, memory, language, loss and assimilation.

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:
short play One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Sugar And Snow

Synopsis:
a play about love, coffee readings and freedom, set in a cafe in north London and in the mountains of Kurdistan.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bbc Radio 4     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:
radio play Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Unfinished

Synopsis:
contemporary dybbuk comedy, with songs

Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 7 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today

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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Use Me As Your Cardigan

Synopsis:
a dark comedy about postnatal depression.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Jackson's Lane, London     2002

Organisations:
the Miniaturists

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 Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page