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Peter Whelan

PETER WHELAN

  (1931 - 2014)
Nationality:    English
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  

Peter Whelan, born 03 October 1931; died 03 July 2014, Whelan was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and raised in Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent. He was an award-winning playwright who has been producing modern classic plays since 1970s. He began his career in advertising and short film scripting before starting to write for the stage. In 1996 he was appointed an Honorary Artistic Associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His numerous plays include A Revolutionary Marriage, The Earthly Paradise, A Russian in the Woods, Overture, Divine Right, The Herbal Bed, Shakespeare Country and The School of Night.

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

         Accrington Pals, The         Bright and Bold Design, The         Captain Swing         Clay         Cold Wind Blowing Up, A         Divine Right         Double Edge         Earthly Paradise, The         Herbal Bed the         Lakota         Nativity         Night Before the Morning After Show, The         Overture         Russian In the Woods, A         School Of the Night, The         Shakespeare Country         Tinder Box, The         World's Apart

Accrington Pals, The

Accrington Pals, The
the Accrington Pals is a poignant and harrowing play set in the early years of the First World War, as the country's jingoistic optimism starts to wane and the true terror of warfare gradually becomes clear. the play looks at both the terrifying experiences of the men at the front and the women who were left behind to face social changes, deprivation and the lies of propaganda. While often comic vignettes portray the everyday life of a town denuded of men, the men face the terror that is the Battle of the Somme. This compassionate play portrays the devastating effects of war on a typical Lancashire mill town and the suffering of everyday people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Warehouse, Covent Garden, London    10 Apr 1981

Organisations:

1st Published:
in Whelan Plays: 1, Methuen, London, 2003
Methuen Drama, London   978-1408137109

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Bright and Bold Design, The

Synopsis:
loosely inspired by the life of Clarice Cliff, a Potteries decorative artist of the 1930s, in which a kinetic flow of incident and argument among factory girls hired on low rates melded into a fascinating episode of cultural history

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
the Pit, London    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Warner Chappell Plays, London, 1991   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Captain Swing

Synopsis:
a feisty account of the farm workers' riots of 1830

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stratford-on-Avon    1978

Organisations:
RSC

1st Published:
Collings, London, 1979   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
historical play

Parts:
Male:  13            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Clay

Synopsis:
three generations share a converted hill farm turned pottery studio and are confronted by distant terrors which threaten to blight their most basic and private freedoms

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Cold Wind Blowing Up, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Les Darbon

1st Produced:
Cologne, Germany    1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Divine Right

Synopsis:
Year 2000

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Warner Chappell Plays, London, 1996   -

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:
Topical Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Double Edge

Synopsis:
failed assassination of Prime Minister and death of Home Secretaries wife investigated by Oxford Professor of History

Notes:
written with Leslie Darbon

1st Produced:
Richmond Theatre, Richmond, Surrey    1975

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1976   -

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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Earthly Paradise, The

Synopsis:
When Topsy - poet and designer William Morris - takes a dreamy Oxfordshire manor house for the summer of 1871 the whisper goes round that it is to make the very public affair between his wife Janey and close friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti less conspicuous. The tensions between the three of them create an emotional undertow that keeps threatening to break surface. When Morris leaves them to their sanctuary and goes abroad as the alchemy of love works unexpected changes.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Almeida Theatre, London >>>    18 Nov 2004

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:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Herbal Bed the

Synopsis:
Based on actual events in which Shakespeare's daughter sues for slander.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1998   -

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:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Lakota

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Don Kincaid

1st Produced:
London    1970

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nativity

Synopsis:
Nativity is theatre at its most spectacular; a tale for all the family, for people of all faiths and ages. After two thousand years, Nativity remains one of the world's most astonishing and deeply moving stories.

Notes:
written by Peter Whelan and Bill Alexander

1st Produced:
Forum Studio Theatre (formerly the Chester Gateway)    22 Jan 1997

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:
comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Night Before the Morning After Show, The

Synopsis:
with the programme you get a party pack of paper hats and streamers and the skits continue

Notes:
written by Alan Ayckbourn, Oliver Beamish, Ken Campbell, Bob Eaton, Sayan Kent, John Kirkpatrick, Byrony Lavery, Jenny Lecoat, Chris Martin, Greg Palmer, Carole Ruggier, Peter Whelan And Johnson Willis

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:
Musical Review

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Overture

Synopsis:
Set on the outskirts of the potteries an ageing man tries to realise his life's dream in retirement only to bring catastrophe on himself and his family.

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Russian In the Woods, A

Russian In the Woods, A
Amongst the ruins of post-war Berlin, a young soldier is sent for a weekend to guard a deserted British army office. In the corrosive atmosphere of Cold War power struggles, he innocently finds himself caught up in a situation where his conscience is on trial.

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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School Of the Night, The

Synopsis:
Charged with treason and heresy Christopher Marlowe is on the run from the law. As he sits in the Rose theatre, hiding, and composing his greatest lyric, Marlowe reflects upon the intrigues that have brought him to the brink of ruin, and contemplates his escape from England before the inevitable and mysterious bar-room brawl that will end his life on 30 May 1593

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Warner Chappell Plays, London, 1992   -

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:  9            Female:  2            Other:  extras

Further Reference:

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Shakespeare Country

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nationwide    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Warner Chappell Plays, London, 1993   -

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:  8            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Tinder Box, The

Synopsis:
The adventures of a common soldier who wins the hands of the beautiful princess with the help of his magic tinderbox and a trio of unusual hounds with extraordinary eyes. This glorious fairytale brimming with enchantment, humour and music is a splendid treat to delight the whole family.

Notes:
Story by Hans Christian Andersen

1st Produced:
-    1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1995   -

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 with Music

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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World's Apart

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stratford-on-Avon    1986

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:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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