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Daniel R Lillford

DANIEL R LILLFORD

  (1961 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Kensington Literary Representation  represented by Michael Petrasek

Daniel R. Lillford was born in St. Helier, Jersey, ChAnnel Islands. He grew up in Melbourne, Australia, after his parents immigrated there in 1973. In 1997 he immigrated to Canada with his wife, Rachel Brighton. they live in Bridgetown, the annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, with their three Canadian boys, Harry, Jesse and Rupert. He trained to be an actor under the direction of Peggy Rush and Bill akers, and was accepted into the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts in 1983. after a year at the VCa, he left and began a two year stint with the newly formed U-25 Theatre Co as the actor/playwright within the group. He was the co-founder, along with Robert Chuter, of Performing Arts Projects in Melbourne. a long association as a playwright/director with La Mama Theatre, under the artistic directorship of Liz Jones, also began around this time His first play, the Helter-Skelter Principa, was performed by U25 Theatre for the Next Wave Festival, at the Organ Factory, Clifton Hill, in 1985. Since then he has had over 30 productions of his plays produced in Australia, Canada, the United States and Scotland. He has received a number of awards and one of his plays, Sheep, was made into a short film. He continues to work in the Theatre and the film industry as a writer and an actor.

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below is a list of Daniel R Lillford's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Apple Tree Road         Are You Evil Tonight?         Critical Stranger , A         Dark Heart         Dunny , The         Going Down         Helter Skelter Principa, The         Homage         Is It True What they're Sayin''Bout You?         Kisses For Vera         Mystery Of Maddy Heisler, The         Quintessence         Sheep         Shivers         Slow Trains An' Dirty Towns         Station, The         there's No Time For Dying         Thy Kingdom Come         Understudy , The         Vegetable, The         When the Day Is Done

Apple Tree Road

Synopsis:
a bittersweet comedy about ghosts, secrets from the past, how we say hello and how we say goodbye. Vincent Miller's relatively quiet life is about to be interrupted by the arrival of an old, old friend. . .and a secret that he should have told his daughter Marilyn, about years ago is going to change everything. and if the Australian gardener can keep away from falling into septic tanks, he might get his wish and marry the woman of his dreams. But before all that happens, Vincent has to have a little chat with the dead. . .and the dying.

Notes:
My first Canadian professional production, directed by Scott Burke, And starring A great ex-pat Aussie talent, David Renton, in the lead.

1st Produced:
Ship's Co. Theatre. Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Canada     1999

Organisations:
Ship's Co. Theatre

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

Music:
-

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Genre:
black comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  a pit pony

Further Reference:
-

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Are You Evil Tonight?

Synopsis:
Tammy Wade watches her youth dry up in the Texas heat and dust. With only the attention of a red-neck deputy and a lonely old Comanche for company, her little world is about to be turned head-over-heels with the arrival of a stranger: a wanted man. . .a man who might just change her life forever. the play is set in the 1950s. It is the first of my Texas Diner plays.

Notes:
This was my swansong production before leaving Australia for Canada. It has strong wonderful evocative memories for me, not least of which was the calibre of the Actors involved And Greg Carrol's fantastic set. I said goodbye to ten years of work At La Mama with this play. Goodbye to so many old friends. It's memory remains, naturally, bittersweet.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama Theatre

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Critical Stranger , A

Synopsis:
Helen Makin, theatre critic, returns to her newspaper office after a night at the theatre, a night she has not enjoyed. the playwright is in for an eviscerating review. Unbeknowns to Helen, the playwright has hired a hitman to make sure the review she writes tonight is a good one. and so begins the real story, a play within a play about power, responsibility, corruption, deceit and lies.

Notes:
Close to my All time favourite piece. the Melbourne critics loved it too, but then they had to, I laced their own words And Arguments throughout the script. Opening night was my revenge on them, And I had A ball. I directed the play in the shadowy world of film-noir And used A Bernard Hermann soundtrack. If I have A moment in my career where I feel my work was complete, it was with this play.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama Theatre

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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

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Genre:
black comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dark Heart

Synopsis:
the daughter of a corrupt unionist is held hostage by two men who are avenging the murder of a comrade. the Stockholm syndrome drags the night into an uncertain morning where death awaits, and the well made plan faces a virago with her own sense of justice.

Notes:
This has been, so far, my most successful play. It has had At least 6 productions And continues to get one nearly every year in Australia. It remains A favourite. I wrote it in poverty, in unhappiness, with A broken heart. It was completed in two weeks . It is not for the prudes or those faint of heart. Some have said that Dark Heart is the most vicious psychological play in the Australian canon. I would Agree with that.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Sacred Tree Productions

1st Published:
Published in Currency Press, Six Plays for the 90's, 1996   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
crime thriller

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dunny , The

Synopsis:
a story about harsh friendship. Three Australian men, all signwriters go bush to build a dunny (outhouse) next to their rabbiting shack. Robbo is having marital troubles, Pops is losing his sight and is going to get sacked, Chooky is drinking too much and mouthing off, and some bastard has violated the shack. Three blind mice in a hostile land where a snake bite can be lethal. . .and you'd better pray your mates are good blokes, not arseholes - like the boss, or those politicians that sent young men off to die in Vietnam - because in the end you have to trust someone. a story about mateship, what that means now when the times have changed and the code's all buggered up.

Notes:
I returned to Australia to direct two of my new plays for La Mama in 2002. the Dunny was A joy to work on. the Actors were All first rate And I had A wonderful crew. I dedicated the production to the memory of David Branson, my friend, who was killed in car Accident in December 2001. Sadly, Michael Burkett, who played Chooky - A part I wrote for him, took his own life A few years later. I remember the great Actors, like Michael, whom I worked with many times, because he had that mercurial quality And Ability to get under the skin of A character And make it his own. Whenever I read the Dunny, I hear Michael's voice, I hear his laughter, And in my mind's eye he is still dancing to AC/DC's Highway to Hell in his leopard-skin jocks, And that crazy image just cracks me up All over Again. Michael was unique. He was A great Australian Actor, And his loss still haunts All of us that knew him And worked with him. the Dunny was nominated by La Mama theatre for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Drama).

1st Produced:
La Mama @ The Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne, Australia     2002

Organisations:
Polar Bear Plays and La Mama

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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

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Genre:
black comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Going Down

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Helter Skelter Principa, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Organ Factory, Clifton Hill    

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Homage

Synopsis:
Love and obsession make for interesting bedbugs in this mad fractured fairy tale from Portugal circa 1362. It is the story of the tragedy of Ines De Castro and Prince Pedro of arragon. an hystErical romp seen through the eyes of a blarney-soaked Irish mercenary.

Notes:
This play has been produced in Australia And in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is Rachel's favourite play of mine.

1st Produced:
La Mama @ The Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne, Australia     1995

Organisations:
La Mama 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

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Genre:
black comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Is It True What they're Sayin''Bout You?

Synopsis:
a chilling, sobering Drama that explores the last few hours of a convicted serial killer on Death Row as old sparky is assembled before his very eyes.

Notes:
This was the second And last time I Acted in one of my own plays. I enjoyed working with my good friend And colleague Jeff Kovski, who played the character Valdez. It was Jeff who gave me the idea to write the play in the first place.

1st Produced:
Carlton Courthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Australia     1992

Organisations:
Sacred Tree Productions

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kisses For Vera

Synopsis:
there's a killer on the loose; a killer that takes delight in butchering women on the game. That green VW down the street hasn't moved. Mr. Dugg has noticed that. . .he notices everything. a lingerie salesman, Mr. Brixton, turns up with a suitcase full of garments and a smile that charms. He says he doesn't own the green VW. Vera believes him. . .Vera's interested. . .Mr. Dugg is getting jealous. . .That could be fatal when all he wants is a kiss. But then everyone wants to kiss Vera.

Notes:
I disowned this production due to lack of care by the director. Thus ending my partnership with Performing Arts Projects And director Rob Chuter. Looking back now, I was probably A little too hot under the collar. As the playwright it was, And remains, one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I regret it still to this day, even though I know my decision was the right one At the time. That said, the play did remarkably well, garnering several good reviews And An Acceptable run.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Performing Arts Projects

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

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Genre:
black comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mystery Of Maddy Heisler, The

Synopsis:
Jacob Meisner is a washed up writer of not very mysterious mysteries. the best story he ever had he's never written about. When a long lost childhood friend pricks his conscience and his memory, the haunting begins, taking us back in time to the war years and the U-boat watch on a lonely Nova Scotian beach, where a young man came of age, and the most beautiful woman, Maddy Heisler, entered into his life. . .then vanished. Or did she? the past is catching up with Jacob, but he has no idea, yet, how this mystery will unravel itself. the story crosses time, history, and racial divides. It is a mystery, a search for identity, a love story. In fact, many love stories.

Notes:
Pamela Halstead directed A knock-out production of this play. A stand out performance from Actor Michael Chiasson, still makes me smile. One of the most satisfying productions of one of my plays. I wrote it when living on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Lots of rumours, half-truths, About German submarines coloured my imagination And got me thinking. A chance stumbling over Nazi propaganda, plus An interesting ride Across A lake to view A cottage built in the 1930s, filled my mind with many questions. All seemed to start off: What if? It's my favourite premise to write Any play. And this one took me to An interest I'll never tire of, namely the Second World War. It will Always be those small stories, the personal ones, that interest me. Nominated for 5 east Coast theatre Awards, including Best Play. Has recently been produced At the prestigious Centaur theatre, Montreal. Directed by Roy Surette.

1st Produced:
Ship's Co. Theatre. Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Canada     2006

Organisations:
Ship's Co. 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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Quintessence

Synopsis:
the play follows the journey - through the lower depths, of Count eloquence, an egotistical rake , as he tries to work out why it is he is in Hell. the devil has the time of his life putting stumbling blocks in the way. eloquence will face himself in the end. the mirror of his sordid life is not pretty.

Notes:
This play was ill conceived by me As the writer. the subject was greater than what I could realize At that time. I look back on this work with fondness, but I'm glad I do not write like that Any more. Copies of the play Are rare, And should be burned if found. Thanks.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Performing Arts Projects

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

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Genre:
magic realism absurd

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sheep

Synopsis:
Two men, sheep rustlers, wait for a call from the boss that will lead them to their next victim. But something isn't right. . .Someone has been telling lies. . .Someone might have to die. . .Someone knows something they shouldn't. . .and the truck's coming.

Notes:
This was the first of my plays that I directed. It did very well, And was highlighted by reviewers As the play to see during the festival. Sheep received the best production of the year - A tie with the RSC's Richard III - from Radio 3CR. the play went on A six-week tour of Tasmania with the Tasmanian Arts Council that same year. Sheep was made into A short film by director Wain Fimeri, funded by Film Victoria, in 1991.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Shrapnel Productions in association with the Next Wave Festival

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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:
crime Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shivers

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Australia [As A Playreading]     1995

Organisations:
La Mama 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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Slow Trains An' Dirty Towns

Synopsis:
Bee Jackson waits in a lonely Diner with whisky for company and the memory of a lost love eating away at what youth she has left. She waits for a rattlesnake to come home. . .and she knows he's coming. . .she can feel it. She's always felt him. as the first Gulf war rages across the airwaves, in nowheresville Texas, another more personal war is about to erupt on the domestic front, changing Bee and this little world of her's forever. It is the 2nd of my Texas Diner plays.

Notes:
Perhaps the greatest And most coherent cast I ever worked with As A director. every night they took the Audience to small town Texas, And we believed them. Nominated by La Mama theatre for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Drama). Also nominated for the Wal Cherry Award. This play was revived, with my new re-write, in 1997 by La Mama Again, going to the bigger Courthouse Venue. I was in Canada At that time.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama Theatre

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Station, The

Synopsis:
Two interweaving but never connecting monologues recalling a meeting at a railway station between two shy teens.

Notes:
This play was called A Pinteresque miniature. I won't Argue with that, the great man has influenced so many of us from my generation And beyond.

1st Produced:
Anthill Theatre, Melbourne, Australia     1991

Organisations:
Workhouse 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:
magic realis, One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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there's No Time For Dying

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
La Mama Theatre, Carlton    

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:
-

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Thy Kingdom Come

Synopsis:
Thy Kingdom Come is a collection of short plays - each stand on their own, put together to form a cohesive pastiche of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. they are connected by a single event and the ramifications of that event, linked by monologues and dialogue scenes that document those awful times through history, memory and the day to day bloody ordinary.

Notes:
My favourite play. It started After I wrote When the Day is Done. I'm very interested in the perfect one-act play, And I thought it would be really something if I could write About A subject, in this case the Northern Ireland Troubles, And create perfect one-act plays within the full length format that could still tell A cohesive story. It worked, And it worked on such A large canvas of opinion. each story can be taken out of the play And play on its own merit. This has happened A number of times Already with small one-act productions in Canada And the United States. Thy Kingdom Come was nominated by La Mama theatre for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Drama).

1st Produced:
La Mama Theatre, Carlton     2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Understudy , The

Synopsis:
Two men dressed up as Santa Claus, one of them must be wrong. One has been kidnapped, held for a strange ransom. a black comedy of manners, what it takes to be the perfect Santa, and the gifts we receive from the most unusual of places. Ho-ho-ho!

Notes:
This play would be A nice contrast to A lot of the bilge produced in the silly season. I'm still trying to get people interested in doing it here, in Canada, but the one-act format has limited opportunities in the theatre world of today.

1st Produced:
La Mama @ The Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne, Australia     2002

Organisations:
Polar Bear Plays and La Mama

1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto,    -

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 One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Vegetable, The

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:
-

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When the Day Is Done

Synopsis:
Two Belfast childhood pals, one of which is still a foot soldier for the IRa, find out their political and personal differences in a muddy field. For both of them it will be a losing battle.

Notes:
This one-act play won the innaugural Golden Squib Award At the Melbourne Writers' Festival -'95. It has been equally honoured in the United States At City Playhouse, Los Angeles. This play now belongs to An entire play collection dealing with the Troubles in Northern Ireland called Thy Kingdom Come, which I wrote After seeing the effect When the Day is Done had on members of the public. Like many of my better plays, the idea for it came to me in A dream, And I wrote the play, literally driven from my sleep, At Tiamo's coffee shop in Carlton, Melbourne, in Approximately four hours.

1st Produced:
Theatreworks, Melbourne, Australia     1997

Organisations:
St. Kilda Writers Festival New Short Works

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 One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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