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James A Saunders

JAMES A SAUNDERS

  (1925 - 2004)
Nationality:    English
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd  

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James Saunders was born in Islington, North London. Educated at Wembley County School and Southampton University, he became a chemistry tutor by day at Davis's, Holland Park (London) and a playwright by night, until devoting all his time to writing. He received an Arts Council playwright's bursary for the Ark in 1960, and became a full-time playwright in 1964. His early plays led him to be considered one of the main British exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd. Later works continued to explore the limits of traditional Theatre. In 1984 he was awarded a Major Bursary.

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below is a list of James A Saunders's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Act         After Liverpool         Alas, Poor Fred         Ark, The         Barnstable         Birdsong         Bodies         Borage Pigeon Affair, The         Bye Bye Blues         Caucasian Chalk Circle, The         Cinderella Comes of Age         Committal         Dog Accident         Double, Double         Ends And Echoes         Fall         Games         Girl in Melanie Klein, The         Hans Kohlhaas         Haven         Island, The         Italian Girl, The         Journey to London, A         Last Word?, The         Making It Better         Man's Best Friend, A         Moonshine         Mountain, The         Mrs Scour and the Future of Western Civilisation         Neighbours         Next Time I'll Sing To You         Nothing To Declare         Old Man Who Liked Cats, The         Opus         Over the Wall         Pedagogue,the         Play For Yesterday, or the Little Hut Of Enmity         Player Piano         Playforms         Poor Old Simon         Random Moments in a May Garden         Redevelopment, or Slum Clearance         Retreat         Return To A City         Savoury Meringue         Scent of Flowers, A         Slight Accident, A         Squat         Travails of Sancho Panza, The         Triangle         Trio         What theatre Really Is         Who Was Hilary Maconochie?

Act

Synopsis:
In 1972, it's first year, the Fun Art Bus (a converted double decker) toured the London boroughs and other parts of Britain presenting a unique combination of entertainment and theatre for children and adults. This volume contains an account of the ideas of 'environmental theatre' which are central to the work of Inter-Action and of the Fun Art Bus project. It also contains a selection of the material performed on the Bus, including short plays written for the Bus by Jim Hiley, James Saunders, Chris Bailey, Michael Stevens, Henry Livings, Frank Marcus, David Halliwell and Neil Hornick. It will be a valuable source book for anyone concerned with youth and community Drama.
(from Fun Art Bus - Eyre Menthuen 1973)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Fun Art Bus, An Inter-Action Project By Ed Berman    1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "the Fun Art Bus", compiled by Justin Wintle, Methuen, London, 1973   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  2 characters

Further Reference:
-

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After Liverpool

Synopsis:
Using a musical analogy the script gives some themes, within and between any number of variations.

Notes:
broadcast 1971

1st Produced:
Edinburgh    1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1973   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Pieces Piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  any number

Further Reference:
-

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Alas, Poor Fred

Synopsis:
the original published script was modestly sub-titled 'a duologue in the style of Ionesco'. Certainly he learned from Ionesco - as did Beckett - but the main lesson was freedom. Aristotelian Drama had three rules of unity (time, place and action). Modern Drama has no rules at all and the playwright is free to do whatever he likes. Quite apart from being able to move around freely in space and time, he is released from all restrictions of logic, causality and consistency. He can change his mind as he goes along about what kind of play he's writing and his characters don't have to stay 'in character'. Fantasies can be translated into outward events and the playwright can use all the conventions and all the amenities of theatre as a giant box of tricks to play with - or experiment with.
Ronald Hayman (from the commentary, Heinemann, 1968)

Notes:
Original Playwright - Eugene Ionesco

1st Produced:
Studio Theatre Limited At The Library Theatre (The Theatre-In-The-Round), Scarborough    25 Jun 1959

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Studio theatre, Scarborough, 1960   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VI (1986) Page 0507

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Ark, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
music by Geoffrey Wright

1st Produced:
Westminster Theatre, London    09 Sep 1959

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
Wearing - the London Stage 59.192

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Barnstable

Synopsis:
the Carboy household is frantic: chimneys are crashing to the ground, dead moles strew the lawn and Barnstable is persistently shooting thrushes

Notes:
broadcast 1959

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Hutchinson, London, 1961   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Birdsong

Synopsis:
set inside a birdcage, with the birds as characters, the play has universal connotations

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Savoury Meringue and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bodies

Synopsis:
As the play begins, Anne and Mervyn, a seemingly well-setded middle-aged couple, are awaiting the arrival of Helen and David, a younger couple who were formerly their neighbors and close friends. their reunion begins on a light and humorous note, but as the after-dinner talk grows more serious we become aware that the two couples had once engaged in an adulterous arrangement - and both have found it difficult to deal with the self-recriminations which this has created. Mervyn has begun to drink more than he should; Anne is coldly cynical; and Helen and David have turned to group therapy. But their problems still remain and, as the conversation becomes more revealing - and provocative - the underlying values of human existence are drawn into question. In the end the inescapability of the deep-seated guilt is powerfully evident with Mervyn, his vulnerability touchingly evident, sinking into tearful, defeated despair.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1978   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XVI (1996) Page 1023

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Borage Pigeon Affair, The

Synopsis:
Borage, a quiet suburban spot not too many miles from Hyde Park, is a town in trouble. Apart from the usual domestic problems, there's the problem of pigeons. Should the offending birds be exterminated - a solution vigorously proposed by Conservative Councillor Dr Dinsdale Badger - or should they continue to live and multiply (and to befoul the statue of Borage's greatest benefactor)? Opposing Badger is Socialist Councillor Makepeace Garnish, whose two great loves are pigeons and Mabel Badger (Dinsdale's wife), with whom he enjoys clandestine meetings in neighbouring telephone boxes. To this already explosive mixture is added the randy Peter Loathing and the Travesty television team, who have been sent out to investigate - and preferably exacerbate - the problem. What happens to Borage and its all-too-familiar citizens makes this not only one of the funniest plays to have been written for years, but also an abrasive comment on the fatuities and sheer nastiness of so much of our public and private life.
(from Andre Deutsch 1970)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Deutsch, London, 1970   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  15            Female:  6            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Bye Bye Blues

Synopsis:
deals with the conflicts between freedom, control and responsibility, discussed by three pairs of strangers

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Richmond Fringe Theatre

1st Published:
Fringescripts, London, 1973   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Caucasian Chalk Circle, The

Synopsis:
an Old Chinese Legend, a cruel town governor murdered, wife escapes leaving baby. Returns to try and 'drag the baby out of the Chal Circle'

Notes:
Original Playwright - Bertolt Brecht

1st Produced:
Richmond, Surrey    1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  38            Female:  11            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXI (2001) Page 1400

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Cinderella Comes of Age

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
London    1949

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Committal

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dog Accident

Synopsis:
A naturalistic play is one that is written as if the story had happened in real life. In staging it, the actors will try to seem just like people one might meet outside the theatre. the extreme case of a naturalistic play would be one that would be mistaken for real life if it were performed in a real life setting. In the theatre, even the most naturalistic play has to follow certain conventions. It has a Dramatic 'shape' which real life doesn't have: for instance, a play has a beginning, a middle and an end whereas real life goes on and on; in a play, only the incident shown can be seen whereas in life things are happening simultaneously all over the world. A play therefore has to condense time and exaggerate effects; anything which is not relevant to the action is left out. the conventions are hidden but they are still there. Can you see them in Dog Accident? No playwright wants simply to present a slice of life. the writer wants the play to do something to the audience, to involve its emotions or make it think in a particular way. What do you think were the playwright's intentions in Dog Accident? It shows how four young people might react to a commonplace situation, but it gives only one possibility. If you improvise the scene and react to it in your own way, it will be interesting to see how the course of events differs. A version of Dog Accident was in fact performed some years ago in the street of a shopping area in Liverpool. the 'dog' was radio-controlled to whine and twitch. A small crowd gathered mostly at a distance, not wanting to risk getting involved in what was happening. then some people came closer: one bystander entered into the dialogue, another covered the dog with a blanket before walking away. Someone called the police. When they arrived, the policemen were at first stern. ('What's going on here?') When told it was only a play, they became jolly. It was as if they had decided to act a different kind of policemen and, being in uniform, they knew that the audience - their audience now - was waiting to see how well they played their parts. Afterwards, the actors, the director and the author discussed whether they had cheated in pretending that the play was real. they decided that perhaps they had. Were they right? What do you think?
(from Playforms - Cambridge University Press 1997)

Notes:
broadcast 1958

1st Produced:
London    1969

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Ten of the Best, Inter-Action Imprint, London, 1979   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Double, Double

Synopsis:
comedy set in a bus garage canteen

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Rada, London    1962

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1964   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ends And Echoes

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
includes Barnstable, Committal, Return To A City

1st Produced:
London    1960

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Return To a City in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fall

Synopsis:
three very different sisters meet at their mothers house to await the death of their father, they gradually reveal the complexities of their own lives

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1985   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol I (1981) Page 0608; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol IV (1984) Page 0768

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Games

Synopsis:
about freedom, responsibility and choice treated as aspects of an actual event which takes place during the performance

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Edinburgh    1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1973   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Unstructured

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  any number

Further Reference:
-

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Girl in Melanie Klein, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
from novel by Ronald Harwood

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hans Kohlhaas

Synopsis:
in 16C Germany fair minded family man is used in exploitation of war

Notes:
Original Playwright - Heinrich von Kleist; Aka Michael Kohlhaas

1st Produced:
London    1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London,    -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol III (1983) Page 0618; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VI (1986) Page 1238

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Haven

Synopsis:
an entertainment on marriage

Notes:
aka A Man's Best Friend, in We Who Are About To . . ., later called Mixed Doubles

1st Produced:
Comedy Theatre, London    1969

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Sketch

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Island, The

Synopsis:
on a semi tropical island five sisters live in idyllic paradise until two brothers are washed up on the beach

Notes:
first professional production was by the Richmond Fringe At the Orange Tree theatre, Richmond (Surrey, England), on 21 January, 1977

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Bye Bye Blues and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Male Chauvinist comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XIV (1994) Page 0464

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Italian Girl, The

Synopsis:
the action of the play takes place in and around a large house in the North Country, including Isabel's sitting-room, the kitchen, Otto's workshop and part of the garden. Focus on sexual intrigue and disturbed social conventions with an odious set of people

Notes:
written with Iris Murdoch, from novel by Murdoch

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Journey to London, A

Synopsis:
the naive Headpiece come to London and Saunders continues the story of their encounters with disreputable types

Notes:
completion of play by Vanbrugh

1st Produced:
London    1974

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VI (1986) Page 0066; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXV (2005) Page 1647

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Last Word?, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written by Alan Ayckbourn, John Bowen, Lyndon Brook, David Campton, John Gorrie, Julia Jones, James Saunders and Faye Weldon

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:
entertainment

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Making It Better

Synopsis:
In the London of the late eighties two Czech migrants betray everything after entanglement with husband and wife journalists

Notes:
broadcast 1991

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1992   -

Music:
-

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Booksellers:

Genre:
Political Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 0176; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 1269

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Man's Best Friend, A

Synopsis:
Mixed Doubles, 'an entertainment on marriage,' takes the form of eight short plays, each for two characters. . . Each is an independent play in its own right but the whole sequence, linked by a series of wickedly anti-authoritarian monologues written by George Melly adds up to an amusing if acid picture of the progress of married life from honeymoon to cemetry.

Notes:
Originally presented As one of eight plays under the title "We Who Are About To. . ." At the Hampstead theatre Club on February 6th 1969, which was subsequently presented As "Mixed Doubles" At the Comedy theatre, London on April 9th 1969

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Mixed Doubles - An Entertainment On Marriage, Methuen, London, 1970   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Booksellers:

Genre:
Sketch

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Moonshine

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
London    1955

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mountain, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bristol    1979

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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Mrs Scour and the Future of Western Civilisation

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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Neighbours

Synopsis:
Two people. A man. A woman. . . black, white, liberal, impulsive. Two people sitting in a room stripping each other of their masks. This story, this play is about who we think we are, what we think we think until somebody places a mirror in front of us. It is about those prejudices (as a white woman and as a black man) we assume we don't have and those tensions we choose to ignore. A black man. A white woman. And no "rule of thumb" to follow. these characters and their colors that cannot be pigeon holed. This man, this woman. the observer must not only watch the play, but herself. Not only should she see the prejudices and generalizations that are prevalent, but follow her own conclusions and expectations and see where they will lead her: maybe a dead end, maybe an unexplored room? Whatever happens it's about trying to jump over those conclusions we make so quickly and really stop to think, look and reflect.
Djahane Salehabadi & Eamon Shelton (from an introduction to a performance given by them at Ecole d'Humanite, Switzerland)

Notes:
First professional performance in Great Britain At the Hampstead theatre Club on May 8, 1967, in A double bill with LeRoi Jones' Dutchman. Subsequently it transferred to the Mayfair theatre

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Next Time I'll Sing To You

Synopsis:
examines why a man chose to live as a hermit for 36 years until his eventual death

Notes:
from A theme from "A Hermit Disclosed" by Raleigh Trevelyan

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Deutsch, London, 1963   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXXI (2011) Page 1252

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Nothing To Declare

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
broadcast 1982

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol III (1983) Page 0967

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Old Man Who Liked Cats, The

Synopsis:
setting: the old man's bedroom, his house, and the house of his widowed daughter and grandson

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Playforms - seven scripts for secondary Drama - James Saunders and Robin Rook, CUP, Cambridge, 1997   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Opus

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Loughton, Essex    1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Over the Wall

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
London    1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Play 10", Arnold, London, 1977   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  any number

Further Reference:
-

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Pedagogue,the

Synopsis:
the Pedagogue was. . . written for the Questors - in April 1963. they produced it two months later. the schoolmaster.. [lives] by logic and [expects] things to go smoothly. He believes in science, authority, man's capacity for survival, and has faith that everything happens for the best. the children in the classroom are created partly through sound-effects but chiefly by writing in one side of the dialogue that the schoolmaster has with them, which makes it possible for us to guess not only what they say but also how they move. Beryl is particularly vivid. the second half of the play becomes less realistic, as the teacher gets carried away from Phipps's essay into his own account of the Creation. This prepares for the end of the play when the unspecified events outside - perhaps the beginnings of a nuclear war - scare all the children into running away. the pedagogue talks on to an empty classroom and finally the Word fades into silence.
Ronald Hayman (from the commentary, Heinemann, 1968)

Notes:
BBC 1964

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Play For Yesterday, or the Little Hut Of Enmity

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Savoury Meringue and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Player Piano

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
from novel by Kurt Vonnegut

1st Produced:
London    1978

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Playforms

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Poor Old Simon

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
in Mixed Blessings

1st Produced:
Capitol Theatre, Horsham (Sussex, England)    1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Savoury Meringue and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Random Moments in a May Garden

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on 20 January, 1974

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Bye Bye Blues and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Redevelopment, or Slum Clearance

Synopsis:
architects plan a radical restoration of a village that is a soulless, characterless drawing board monstrosity, residents protest met with arrogance from authorities

Notes:
Original Playwright - Vaclav Havel, from A literal translation by Marie Winn

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Faber and Faber, London, 1990   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol X (1990) Page 1198

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Retreat

Synopsis:
A middle-aged man and a 19 year old girl together in a room late at night take each other on a journey of exploration into the realms of grief and guilt. As layer after layer is stripped away we see how they can find comfort and healing from each other. This is one of those plays that grips you so totally and affects you so beautifully that you feel you want to spend the whole night in the company of these two wounded but fascinating human beings.
http://www.jamessaunders.org/jsretrea.php

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
First Writes, London, 1995   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XV (1995) Page 0584

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Return To A City

Synopsis:
Return to a city was written in 1959. . . It's tone and atmosphere are reminiscent of Beckett's Endgame. We are in a broken world in which only a handful of characters seem to have survived. the comforts and protections which we take for granted are denied to them. the house has only half a roof and two walls (and a bit). Food is so scarce that a bone is a treat. As in King Lear, desolation drives 'unaccompanied man' to ask basic questions about his own existence.
Ronald Hayman (from the commentary, Heinemann, 1968)

Notes:
First performance At the Questors theatre, Ealing, 13th June 1960 with two other one-act plays, Barnstable And Committal, under the title Ends And Echoes

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Andre Deutsch, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Modern Drama Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Savoury Meringue

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ambiance Lunch-Hour Theatre Club At The Almost Free Theatre, London    1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Savoury Meringue and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Scent of Flowers, A

Synopsis:
a girl has died in deep distress and, as the priest and the undertaker's men proceed with burial, she is present on stage

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Duke Of York's Theatre, London    1964

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Deutsch, London, 1965   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Slight Accident, A

Synopsis:
a wife seeks to explain the accidental shooting of her husband

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nottingham    1961

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Squat

Synopsis:
a documentary about Grosvenor Road, Twickenham. http://www.wussu.com/squatting/grosroad.php

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
60 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Travails of Sancho Panza, The

Synopsis:
Cervantes's story of Don Quixte and his long-suffering servant Sancho Panza has a universal and timeless appeal. James Saunders has taken some favourite episodes from it and woven them into a boisterous and humane comedy.
(from Heinemann Educational Books 1970)

Notes:
from Don Quixote by Cervantes

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre Company

1st Published:
Heinemann, London, 1970   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Triangle

Synopsis:
As the play begins, our Actor is undergoing psychoanalysis. Oh yes, the psychiatrist is imaginary. It soon becomes clear that the Actor is involved in a piece of experimental theatre. the nature of the experiment is that he has been given 20 minutes of script, and contracted to perform for at least 40 minutes. As a result, his scathing wit has free reign as he meanders from text to improv and back again. One more thing - he has an insatiable appetite for whisky, and is close to a nervous breakdown. Fun for all the family.
Top Banana - synopsis - Val Widdowson

Notes:
written with others

1st Produced:
Close Theatre, Glasgow    1965

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Monologue Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Trio

Synopsis:
Trio was one of a series of sketches written in 1964. . . It's about a performance in front of a public. It keeps getting interrupted and the cellist's joke of aiming his bow like a rifle at a noisy aeroplane is developed into more elaborate visual jokes as the musicians are beSieged by real or imaginary insects. there is some clowning with a fly-spray, and sound-effects are added in as we get bursts of machine-gun fire from the violin and the cello is used as an anti-aircraft gun.
Ronald Hayman (from the commentary, Heinemann, 1968)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Neighbours and Other Plays", Deutsh, London, 1968   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Violent Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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What theatre Really Is

Synopsis:
Any number can play. But for convenience I have assumed nine actors, designated by numbers, and nine members of the auduience, designated by letters. This play was written to be done in a classroom (though, if you want to have a go at adapting it for a 'real' stage and a 'real' audience, you can). the play is unfinished. What follows, I imagine, is that the teacher, playing the part of the Teacher, brilliantly resolves the paradox; this is followed by an improvised discussion, or argument, or riot; and the bell goes, or the police are called.
James Saunders

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Play 10", Arnold, London, 1977   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  18 characters

Further Reference:
-

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Who Was Hilary Maconochie?

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
the first professional production was by the theatre In the Round Company in Scarborough (Yorkshire, England), in 1963

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Savoury Meringue and Other Plays", Amber Lane Press, Ambergate, Derbyshire, 1980   -

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:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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