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Linda McLean

LINDA MCLEAN

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

Literary Agent:    Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd  represented by Mel Kenyon

Linda McLean grew up in Glasgow where she studied and trained as a teacher. She travelled teaching English as foreign language in Europe, America, Africa and Scandinavia before she wrote plays. Linda is chairwoman of the Playwrights' Studio Scotland and has worked for the British Council in Mexico City, Teluca and BogotA. She regularly works in Schools and colleges, encouraging new writers to find their own voices. In 2009 she delivered the keynote speech to the Playwrights' Guild of CanadA. From 2010 -2011 Linda was Creative Fellow at Edinburgh University's Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities. Linda's play ANY GIVEN DAY will receive it's U.S premier at the Magic Theatre, San Francisco in Spring 2012.

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

         Any Given Day         Clementina Stirling Graham         Climbing the Walls         Cold Cuts         Como Agua Para Chocolate         CTRL Z         Corridors         Dearly Held         Doch an Doris (a parting drink)         Every Five Minutes         Foreigners         Happy Yet?         Last Mission, The         Like Water For Chocolate         Longer Now, The         Love and Fascism         Olga         One Good Beating         Price Of A Good Dinner, The         Problem, The         Re:Union         Reminded Of Beauty         Riddance         Sex And God         Shimmer         Spirit's Sunday Drive         Strangers, Babies         Thingummy Bob         This Is Water         Uncertainty Files, The         Vile Sinner         What Love Is         Word For Word

Any Given Day

Any Given Day
A sharply perceptive, darkly funny riff on urban isolation by one of Scotland's leading playwrights. This is a big day for Sadie and Bill; their favourite person is coming to visit. they've gone to great lengths to prepare for the occasion. It's an even bigger day for Jackie; and not one she'd anticipated. Should she make the most of it? She doesn't know if she can any more; too many people depend on her. Any Given Day explores our fear of the unknown, and our guilt and responsibility towards ourselves and others.

Notes:
Winner of the RElla Lossy Playwrighting Award (U.S.A) 2011

1st Produced:

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Genre:
Play/Drama

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Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

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Clementina Stirling Graham

Synopsis:
Written by 20 of Scotland's leading writers. Directed by Joe Douglas and Catrin Evans. The Portrait Gallery will take centre-stage this spring as the National Theatre of Scotland explores their collection through the written word and performance in Dear Scotland. In this unique work, twenty of the country's leading writers will pen short, sharp monologues inspired by the Gallery's celebrated portraits which will be performed as a promenade theatre piece, staged within the galleries.

Notes:
Part of "Dear Scotland" : participants include: Peter Arnott; Jo Clifford; Rob Drummond; Janice Galloway; David Greig; Zinnie Harris; Iain Heggie; Stuart Hepburn; Jackie Kay; A L Kennedy; Hardeep Singh Kohli; Liz Lochhead; Iain Finlay Macleod; Nicola McCartney;Johnny McKnight;Linda McLean; Rona Munro; James Robertson; Ali Smith; Louise Welsh

1st Produced:
National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh     24 Apr 2014

Organisations:
National Theatre of Scotland

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
monologue

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Climbing the Walls

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ramshorn Glasgow     1994

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1st Published:
-   -

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Cold Cuts

Cold Cuts
a brief violent act from its beginning to its end

Notes:
to mark Amnesty International's 2005 campaign to stop violence Against women

1st Produced:
7:84 Theatre Company     2005

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  1 boy

Further Reference:
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Como Agua Para Chocolate

Synopsis:
magic realist fable about cooking, family and twarted love.

Notes:
From Novel And screenplay by Laura Esquivel

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Theatre Sans Frontieres

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
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CTRL Z

Synopsis:
Undo the past, change the future

Notes:
The Scottish contribution to this season of short plays on the broad theme of Tomorrow is a cleverly constructed comedy.

1st Produced:
Traverse Breakfast Plays, Edinburgh Festival Fringe     20 Aug 2015

Organisations:
Traverse Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Corridors

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1st Produced:
Benchtours Theatre Company     1998

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Dearly Held

Synopsis:
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1st Produced:
Glasgow    

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Doch an Doris (a parting drink)

Doch an Doris (a parting drink)
about the theme of separation written to coincide with the 300th Anniversary of the Act of Union between Scotland and Enfland

Notes:
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1st Produced:
7:84 Theatre Company     2007

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1st Published:

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Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

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Every Five Minutes

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
San Francisco     01 Apr 2014

Organisations:
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Foreigners

Foreigners
written in Mexico City in 2004 reflects McLean's experience of the people and the City

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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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:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  voice

Further Reference:
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Happy Yet?

Synopsis:
zesty modern take on four Feydeau farces

Notes:
Original Playwright - Georges Feydeau. text by Linda McLean. Adaptated by Ed Woodall And Linda mcLean

1st Produced:

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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:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:

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Last Mission, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
adaptation of Hamlet for Drama students

1st Produced:
Edinburgh International Festival     2003

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Like Water For Chocolate

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Theatre Sans Frontieres     2006

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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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:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Longer Now, The

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Arts Ed, London     2001

Organisations:
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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Love and Fascism

Synopsis:
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Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Istanbul     2014

Organisations:
Galata Perfrom

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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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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Olga

Synopsis:
about a woman of 85 and a young hoodlum of around 18 who find each other.

Notes:
from work by Laura Ruohonen

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Traverse Playwrights in Partnerhip commission

1st Published:
Traverse Publishing, 2001   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Scots/English Version Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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One Good Beating

Synopsis:
Two grown up children lock their Father in the coal shed. A children's game or adult vendetta?

Notes:
Traverse Feb 1999 As part of Family

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
in "Scotland Plays" Nick hern Books, London, 1998   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Price Of A Good Dinner, The

Synopsis:
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Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Derby Playhouse Studio     1998

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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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:
Monologue Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Problem, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Francois Begudeau

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Re:Union

Synopsis:
When should you stay in a partnership and when should you walk away? When is compromise just another word for humiliation? Or are some partnerships worth the struggle? After all, whether it's family, friend or lover, it all needs work. . .

Notes:
Written by Selma Dimitrijevic, Nicola McCartney, Linda McLean And Haresh Sharma. To celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the Act of Union between Scotland And England And the upcoming Scottish Elections, 7:84 has commissioned four writers - Nicola McCartney, Haresh Sharma, Selma Dimitrijevic & Linda McLean - to examine the theme of Separation And Reconciliation. they will use four momentous historical events As A backdrop: Ireland/England 1921; India/Pakistan 1947; Croatia/Serbia 1991; Scotland/England 2007.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
7:84 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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Reminded Of Beauty

Synopsis:
Things take an unexpected turn for three families living in the heart of the city.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
-

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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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Riddance

Riddance
Is murder ever justified? Even in defence of a child? And if you're never caught, are you always in hiding? And though you may feel safe, is it inevitable that there will be a day of Riddance?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 1999   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

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Sex And God

Sex And God
Four women from different moments in the twentieth century talk across time in Linda McLean's extraordinary play about faith, lust and family. Jane, a kitchen maid, the first in her family to move to the big city for work; Lizzie, passionate but unskilled and permanently dodging poverty; Sally, an early school-leaver who escapes a dangerous relationship by working her way into a profession; and Fiona, first in her family to go to university and discover a world of bewildering choices.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Easterhouse, Platform, Scotland     27 Sep 2012

Organisations:
Magnetic North

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
monologues

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Shimmer

Shimmer
No one's day is going to plan. Petal, Missy and Hen are on their way to the island of Iona, looking for a miracle. When their train is halted by floods, they are forced to stay at a B & B by Loch Lomond and contemplate different endings to their adventure. Jim, Guy and Sonny are also at the B & B. Guy is determined to make his own adventure, but Jim and Sonny's experiences make them equally determined to shelter him and stop history repeating. Surrounded by rain, rivers, lochs and floods, three generations of memory and experience ebb and flow through Linda McLean's lyrical new play. Shimmer shows how strange weather and circumstances allow glimpses of others they have loved and lost, and offers them all the tantalising opportunity to dream it better

Notes:
Herald Angel Award

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Traverse Theatre Company

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 2004   -

Music:
-

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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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Spirit's Sunday Drive

Spirit's Sunday Drive
about the morning after the 21st of january 2004 when the space buggy Spirit goes for a drive on mars and sends back pictures and data.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bbc Radio Manchester     2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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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:
15 min radio play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  space buggy and lander

Further Reference:
-

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Strangers, Babies

Strangers, Babies
One woman, five men. When Dan married his wife he knew he wasn't settling for a simple life and, even now, he keeps a wary eye on her. Duncan has never been one for easy pleasantries or loose morality. He's dying and it's really testing his patience. His day is made worse by the arrival of his daughter looking for forgiveness. Roy's first foray onto the internet struck pay dirt and tonight he finds himself face to face with a woman who shares his taste in pain. If Denis didn't ever have to meet his sister again it would be too soon but something in her phone call gave him no option. Abel is young and idealistic so it's no surprise that he's become a Child Protection Officer. One mother's reluctance to give him access to her son sets off Abel's alarm bell. May is the woman in their lives. She ties these men together but she's coming undone as a moment in her life is haunting them all. Sometimes chilling, frequently hilarious, strangers, babies is the story of one woman's desperate attempts at a future.

Notes:
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Traverse Theatre Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

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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:  1            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Thingummy Bob

Synopsis:
Bob has lost something important, something that might make him happy, he just can't remember where. The daughter of an old friend decides to help him. But she'll have to move quickly before Bob forgets everything, including her.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lung Ha Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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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

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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This Is Water

Synopsis:
taps into the quiet everyday confusion people feel via a text adapted from interviews conducted while on a residency in America.
Neil Cooper, Herald

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Impossible Things before Breakfast

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
30 min reading

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Uncertainty Files, The

Synopsis:
When I get really overwhelmed I go to a drugstore and look at the little sample sizes in the travel section and it calms me because I can try anything and not commit to it. In this new play by Linda McLean's only one thing is for sure; nothing.

Notes:
part of A Play, A Pie And A Pint

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Paines Plough

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Vile Sinner

Vile Sinner
armed soldiers and police on the street

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bogota, Columbia     12 Jul 2007

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  voices

Further Reference:
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What Love Is

What Love Is
Gene and Jean won't tell you their age. they won't tell you where they live. they've forgotten what's outside but they remember what love is.

Notes:
part of A Play, A Pie And A Pint

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London   -

Music:
-

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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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Word For Word

Synopsis:
story of the ties which bind a family together through generations meanders through ideas of oral tradition and language

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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