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Peter Shelley

PETER SHELLEY  

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

Literary Agent:    n/a


Peter has been writing plays since 1991. He studied with Timothy Daly at the Australian National Playwrights Centre for 2 years, and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Playwrights Studio in 1995. Peter has had plays read by In The Pink Theatre Company, The Writers Centre, NIDA, the Australian National Playwrights Conference, the Pilgrim Theatre, The Stables, the Actors Centre, The Big Competition for Little Plays, the Queer As Folk Festival, Dangerous Desires, Parnassus Den, New Theatre, Short & Sweet, and the Newtown Festival. His produced plays include The Goose, The Tiny Horse Pin With Amethyst Eyes, See You In Hell, Diary of a Mathematician, Grotto, Any Port In A Storm, and Tight Spot. Peter has also directed productions of 6 of his own plays, as well as those written by other writers. In 2006 he was the Workshop Program Co-ordinator for the New Theatre. In 2008 his 30 minute play See You in Hell was produced in the Short & Sweet One Act Play Festival. In 2009 his play Her Lover will be produced in the Sydney Short & Sweet Festival.

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

 Above And Beyond         Amado Mio         Any Port In A Storm         Belladonna         Bettered         Beyond The Horizon         Blonde Fury: The Ordeal Of Frances Farmer         Dance Me To The Gallows         Day Care         Diary of a Mathematician         Etheric Double, The         Fight Or Flight         Fit         Goose, The         Grotto         Handyman, The         Her Lover         Her Name is Barbra         Hors De Combat         Hunger         Lady of the Camelias         Mask         See You In Hell         Shadow of the Phoenix, The         Snatched From The Jaws Of Death         Tell It To The Marines         Tight Spot         Tiny Horse Pin With Amethyst Eyes, The         Twice Shy         Visitations and Dispensations

Above And Beyond

Synopsis:
After she is the victim of an assault, a woman undergoes a personality change

Notes:
Written for the Rodney Seaborn Foundation

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:
90 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Amado Mio

Synopsis:
Patrick D'Amour is a cross-dressing homosexual with a passion for Rita Hayworth and latter Kurt Weill. His big break in showbiz is threatened by the romantic Russan dinner his friend John Johnson is preparing for his boyfriend Paul, the imminent labour of John's friend Sonya, the criminal agenda of Paul's ex Christina and the arrival of porn director Matt Cougar.

Notes:
Developed At the Australia National Playwrights Centre Playwriting course with Timothy Daly in 1994. Given A public reading At the Pilgrim Theatre, Sydney, in 1996

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:
120 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Any Port In A Storm

Synopsis:
Competing marine biologists Vanessa and Tristan have their professional and personal lives threatened by the arrival of escaped criminal Bart Climpson

Notes:
Developed At the NIDA Playwrights Studio in 1995, where it was given 3 readings. Extended into A full length play, then edited into A 1 Act play for the New Theatre

1st Produced:
New Theatre, Newtown    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

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Genre:
60 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Belladonna

Synopsis:
Marion fakes her own death to escape an unhappy marriage, agreeing to allow her husband's mistress Belle to raise her son, Paul. However the death of the Italian patriarch brings Marion back after 10 years to reclaim what is hers.

Notes:
Given A reading At the Actors Centre, Sydney, in 1998. Scene 1 of this play was read As Contract At the Stables, Kings Cross, in 1998. See Also Grotto.

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bettered

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part of Short + Sweet Festival, Sydney 2010

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Shadowland Productions NSW Peter

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Beyond The Horizon

Synopsis:
A teenage girl leaves Western Sydney with the hope of a better life in the city.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Acting Factory    2008

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:
150 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Blonde Fury: The Ordeal Of Frances Farmer

Synopsis:
The struggle between Hollywood actress Frances Farmer and her mother, Lillian

Notes:
Drafts of this play received A reading At Parnassus Den And The

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dance Me To The Gallows

Synopsis:
The saga of Jean Lee, the last woman to be hanged in Australia.

Notes:
Various drafts of this play were read At Parnassus Den, And The New Theatre

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Day Care

Synopsis:
An HIV+ man challenges the policy of an AIDS day care centre

Notes:
Lookout Theatre

1st Produced:
Pink Shorts, Newtown Theatre    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:
Drama Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Diary of a Mathematician

Synopsis:
A mathematician turns the theory of abstract science of space and numbers into practice.

Notes:
Read At Dangerous Desires, The Pride Centre, 2001. Production directed by the writer.

1st Produced:
Newtown Theatre    2005

Organisations:
Short & Sweet

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 Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Etheric Double, The

Synopsis:
A Swedish housewife believes her estranged twin sister is responsible for a series of fires in her community.

Notes:
Short-listed for the 2005 Sydney Short & Sweet Play Festival

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:
mystery 10 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fight Or Flight

Synopsis:
A teenage boy and his alter ego contend with their abusive father

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Pact Theatre    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:
Drama Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fit

Synopsis:
A gay man is a victim of homophobia at a gym.

Notes:
Produced As An episode of Twisted Tales for television.

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:
Drama (teleplay), 30mins One Act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Goose, The

Synopsis:
Mother Goose narrates the meeting between a budding writer and The Goose, a flamboyant homosexual, who can fly

Notes:
The climactic rooftop scene was produced As A 10 minute play, Also entitled The Goose, in the Short & Sweet Festival, Newtown Theatre, in 2002.

1st Produced:
Edge Theatre, Newtown, Australia    2001

Organisations:
Theatre Songe

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, 30 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Grotto

Synopsis:
Belle visits her prodigal son-in-law Paul in the grotto and tries to persuade him to come home to see his dying father

Notes:
Developed At the NIDA Playwrights Studio And given A reading At the Australian National Playwrights Conference in 1995. Incorporated As scene 2 into the full length play Belladonna. The production At Short & Sweet is to be directed by the writer.

1st Produced:
Short & Sweet, Newtown    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:
Drama Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Handyman, The

Synopsis:
A lonely widow is terrorized by a psychotic drifter.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Old Fitzroy Hotel    2009

Organisations:
Tamarama Rock Surfers

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:
90 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Her Lover

Synopsis:
A Russian clerk helps his landlady communicate with her lost lover

Notes:
Also to be produced for Short & Sweet Sydney 2008

1st Produced:
Short & Sweet, Melbourne    2007

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 Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Her Name is Barbra

Synopsis:
A play about the emergence of 18 year old Barbra Streisand from actress to singer.

Notes:
This play received staged readings in the Queer As Folk Festival At the Lookout Theatre, And Dangerous Desires At The Stables Theatre, both in 1999.

1st Produced:
-    1999

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:
120 min Play with Songs

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hors De Combat

Synopsis:
When the wife of a deceased playboy claims her inheritance she has to face her hostile brother-in-law

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:
Serio/Comedy. 60 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hunger

Synopsis:
A mature-aged married woman has an affair with a mature-aged lesbian, who has another secret.

Notes:
Read At The Pilgrim Theatre. This play was Also rewritten As Nagasaki Noodle, for the Australasian Short Play Festival.

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:
comedy 30 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lady of the Camelias

Synopsis:
A dying courtesan falls in love with an innocent younger man in 1848 Paris

Notes:
A staged reading was directed by the writer who Adapted the classic Alexandre Dumas Fils play.

1st Produced:
New Theatre    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:
90 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mask

Synopsis:
A soothsayer gives a homely woman a second chance at romance

Notes:
Also to be produced in Short & Sweet Sydney, in 2008

1st Produced:
Short & Sweet Melbourne    2007

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 10 Min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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See You In Hell

Synopsis:
A HIV+ man considers suicide

Notes:
Read At Parnassus Den 2001, And At Newtown Theatre 2003. The production was directed by the writer. A 30 minute version of this play was produced in 2008 in the Short & Sweet One Act Play Festival, And directed by the writer.

1st Produced:
Newtown Theatre    2004

Organisations:
Short & Sweet

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 Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shadow of the Phoenix, The

Synopsis:
A semi-fictionalised account of the comeback attempt of actress Frances Farmer.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Read at Dangerous Desires, Bar Me    2000

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, 60 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Snatched From The Jaws Of Death

Synopsis:
A comic treatment of composing a kidnapping ransom note, inspired by the JonBenet Ramsay case.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Old Fitzroy Hotel    2005

Organisations:
Tamarama Rock Surfers

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:
60 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tell It To The Marines

Synopsis:
The events that lead to a violent incident are re-enacted from different points of view

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
reading by Parnassus Den    2007

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tight Spot

Synopsis:
A married couple become stuck in an elevator

Notes:
Written in the style of Noel Coward

1st Produced:
Newtown Theatre    2007

Organisations:
Short & Sweet

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 Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tiny Horse Pin With Amethyst Eyes, The

Synopsis:
A man remembers his mother

Notes:
This play has parallels to The Glass Menagerie And Cinderella. It was Also produced in the Short & Sweet season At Newtown Theatre in 2003.

1st Produced:
Parramatta Riverside    2002

Organisations:
Hook Line and Sinker

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, 15 min One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Twice Shy

Synopsis:
A female pianist considers a second romance with her former lover.

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Visitations and Dispensations

Synopsis:
4 short plays all with religious themes

Notes:
A collection of the 4 short plays The Goose, Grotto, Act of Contrition, And See You In Hell.

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:
120 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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