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Stuart Pursell

STUART PURSELL

  
Nationality:    Australian
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Stuart trained in the performing Arts at Ballarat University in Australia. Within a year of graduating he had been nominated for the Wal Cherry Award and received a grant from the Queen's Trust of Australia to produce and tour his first play. After a number of minor productions in Australia Stuart re-located to the UK in 2005 in search of greater opportunities as a playwright. His play When Autumn Leaves won the 2009 full-length play competition run by the Sussex Playwrights' Club. Stuart has spent three years working with the Millfield Youth Theatre Company, in north London, writing three plays for their young performers as well as directing and devising a number of productions.

Research:    https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/242147

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

         Body of Water         Comfort Zone         Do You Want A Smacked Bottom?         Garrulous Delusion, The         Green Room, The         In Syncopated Time         Listen To the Scarecrow         Love's Lonely Heart         Misoneism         Submissive         That Sucks For You         Untangled

Body of Water

Synopsis:
In a dilapidated mansion in central London a group of squatters host a party to launch their anti-capitalist campaign: a raucous rave that will destroy the house and change their lives forever.

Notes:
Original production nominated by the Stage for Best Ensemble Performance At the Edinburgh Fringe

1st Produced:
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe Festival     06 Aug 2011

Organisations:
Made From Scratch

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:  4            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Comfort Zone

Synopsis:
the Arts Minister's coming and the media's on their way, but still there's not enough balloons for the launch of next year's theatre season! In the upstairs office of a small inner city theatre an ugly battle for ultimate power is in full swing. the Artistic Director, the Yes-man, the writer and God forbid, even the cleaning lady are slamming doors and opening windows in this fast paced, action-packed tour de farce that takes a knife to this incestuous theatre industry. Comfort Zone tells the story of a woman with more power than she deserves, whose lost touch with the reality of the industry she claims to have single-handedly created. Deirdre James is a protagonist clinging to the last bastion of power (let alone integrity) and in between programming her friend's work and shagging the Art's Minister's PA, she flaunts herself with an air of superiority wrapped round a Greenroom Award. This is a woman who can make or break the drug and alcohol addictions of many aspiring playwrights.

Notes:
written by Darren Brealey And Stuart Pursell

1st Produced:
Melbourne, Australia     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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Do You Want A Smacked Bottom?

Synopsis:
Two actors play for fourteen different characters in this fast-paced adventure. the seven stories intertwine the lives of these comic and tragic characters, structured in a way that allows each story to reveal a larger piece of the puzzle; a shop assistant charged with murder, a young mother struggling with parenthood, a hopeless theatre usher desperate for fame, a young girl with a secret passion for kicking dogs and a host of other characters designed to frustrate and entertain.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Altitude Bar, Melbourne, VIC     05 Oct 2002

Organisations:
C&L Productions for the Melbourne Fringe Festival

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/19947

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Garrulous Delusion, The

Synopsis:
A comical murder mystery where nobody is who they say they are and everybody wants to be the murderer! Each winter solstice at the Garrulous Hotel three mysterious letters are randomly given to guests, drastically changing their lives. the owner, Henry Garrulous is determined to find out who is behind these letters, which appear to be linked to his murky past. A private detective has been hired by a former guest to also find out about the mysterious letters whilst this year the hotel is booked out by the Agatha Christie Appreciation Society who are plotting a coup against their president. When a journalist is murdered all staff and guests find themselves entwined in an unorthodox attempt to solve the crime, all the while characters are slowly revealing their true identity until the truth behind the solstice letters, and Mr Garrulous's past is fully revealed.

Notes:
First performed by the Millfield Youth theatre Company

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Millfield Arts Centre

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Green Room, The

Synopsis:
Backstage of a fictitious West End musical all hell is about to break loose; the leading man has failed to turn up for the show. As an unprepared understudy vomits nervously in the wings cracks are appearing amongst the cast. the gentleman of the cast is looking for his suduko booklet whilst factions are forming and the stage crew set out to further sabotage the show. When the leading lady, hiding an affair from her husband, the dance captain, learns what has happened she refuses to go back on stage, forcing yet another unprepared understudy to go on. the dance captain then appears covered in blood and everyone assumes he has killed his rival, the absent leading man. However, emergency rehearsals are called before the interval number where the leading lady finds the severed finger of the leading man, which ultimately reveals the unsuspected killer.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Millfield Arts Centre

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  9            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In Syncopated Time

Synopsis:
A vibrant teenage girl meets a circus clown on the day of his last performance. their antagonistic meeting eventually becomes a friendship of hope and survival as he learns to deal with life not doing the only job he was ever passionate about while she must learn to live with the consequences of her actions. When she is diagnosed as HIV positive her world is a mess of other people's opinions, but it is the lonely clown who enables her to find hope and embrace life, and in turn encourage the clown to follow his dreams.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Secondary Schools Tour, Victoria     01 Aug 1996

Organisations:
Unaccompanied 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:
-

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Listen To the Scarecrow

Synopsis:
A teenage girl's only friend is a scarecrow. Her mother can't understand why she spends so much time alone, but for her she is never alone as the scarecrow is there to support her, comfort her, frustrate her and ultimately force her to confront the past.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Secondary Schools Tour, Victoria     01 Feb 1997

Organisations:
Jumpin' 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:
-

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Love's Lonely Heart

Synopsis:
In this bittersweet exploration of love, a coach load of eccentric characters are pulled over by an over zealous police inspector and ordered into the Little Chef for questioning; all suspects in the case of a missing girl. It quickly becomes evident that each character has something to hide, including the contents of his/her suitcase. the inspector only has a hand drawn picture of the missing girl to go on and repeatedly jumps to illogical conclusions. As each character reveals their secrets, the world they inhabit becomes more and more surreal with the ensemble functioning as a chorus, re-telling the events from each character's life. When the poet convinces the musician to open her violin case, her out of tune heart strings fall to the floor and the police inspector is at her wits end. This leads the passengers to start questioning if the missing girl actually exits. It is not until they have each revealed the contents of their luggage that the inspector is forced to confront the truth.

Notes:
First performed by the Millfield Youth theatre Company

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Millfield Arts Centre

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Misoneism

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Park Theatre, London     Jul 2016

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Submissive

Synopsis:
When a new play about Muslim fundamentalists is submitted to a theatre company the Artistic Director and the Literary Manager are at loggerheads about political correctness and self censorship.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Made From Scratch

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 one-act play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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That Sucks For You

Synopsis:
A slightly absurdist play where anti-hero Troy, believing he's the victim of a government conspiracy, is determined to not have his life ruined by a job. When bubbly Louise from Pointless Community Surveys turns up we enter the surreal world that Troy inhabits. the annoying Louise demands that Troy ask her questions in an attempt to complete her survey. their battle of wills begins to suggest that Troy's conspiracy theory maybe more than just a theory. Having had his faculties - such as his self-confidence - confiscated by the government, the irritating Louise tells him that he now has a job; as a victim. Adamant that he would never work, this news is disappointing. When Louise reveals that she has been sent to assess Troy's rehabilitation the situation appears to be out of everybody's control. Louise becomes more vindictive and Troy becomes more and more helpless until the boundaries of reality are completely blurred. When the frustrated Louise leaves, Troy, and the audience are left unsure of exactly who or what she was.

Notes:
Produced under the title My First Threesome, comprising three short one-act plays

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Unaccompanied 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Untangled

Synopsis:
Untangled is a spiteful black comedy where two ex-lovers briefly find themselves back in the same room. Where at first it appears to be a meeting between the two ex-lovers, Mark and Jane, the play slowly reveals the truth behind the characters' actions and it soon becomes obvious they are on suicide watch for the man who came between them, Mark's brother. Mark is a fast talking under-achieving genius determined to torment Jane as much as possible, whilst Jane tries to approach the unfortunate situation with maturity.

Notes:
Produced under the title My First Threesome, comprising three short one-act plays

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Unaccompanied 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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