ABSTRACT

Short Plays with Great Roles for Women is an antidote to the traditional underrepresentation of women on stage, by offering twenty-two short plays that put women right at the centre of the action.

The push for more women’s roles has gathered force over the last few years, and this collection is part of that movement, with rich, intelligent roles for women of all ages and backgrounds. This anthology offers a vital slice of life, addressing relevant and diverse topics such as: a young, Islamic woman coming out to her religious mother; black women’s navigation of the natural hair movement; bullying in a small-town American school; social media addiction; and the trials and tribulations of family life. Plays from award-winning playwrights are supported by original production details and playwrights’ afterwords, forming a broad and comprehensive collection of complete texts that offer full character journeys.

Appealing to aspiring performers, playwrights, directors and students, Short Plays with Great Roles for Women is an essential resource for actor training, assessments, showcases, show-reels, short films and theatre performances.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

BySuzette Coon

part I|2 pages

Crossing bridges

chapter 1|8 pages

Two Sisters

ByFiona Doyle

chapter 2|7 pages

A Prince

ByDipo Baruwa-Etti

chapter 3|6 pages

Do You Pray?

ByYasmin Joseph

chapter 4|7 pages

Don’t Cross Bridges

ByKatherine Manners

part II|2 pages

‘Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away’ (Dorothy Parker)

chapter 5|9 pages

Consolea

ByLaura Jayne Ayres

chapter 6|10 pages

Alive Day

ByFran Bushe

chapter 7|11 pages

Love By Numbers

ByJoanne Lau

part III|2 pages

Isn’t she lovely, made of love …

chapter 8|8 pages

Of Things Unsaid

ByJasmin Mandi-Ghomi

chapter 9|8 pages

Stopcock

ByChristine Robertson

part IV|2 pages

Aping the patriarchy

chapter 10|9 pages

The Petal and The Orchid

ByClare Joy Langford, Gabrielle Curtis

chapter 11|5 pages

Copycat

ByTatty Hennessy

chapter 12|10 pages

Girlboss

ByCorinne Salisbury

part V|2 pages

To connect or dis-connect?

chapter 13|10 pages

Swipe

ByGrace Ivana Carroll

chapter 14|6 pages

Echoes Through the Dust

BySarah Hehir

part VI|2 pages

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken

chapter 15|9 pages

Coconut Diaries

ByStella Ajayi

chapter 16|11 pages

Fox

BySarah Kosar

chapter 17|7 pages

Soon in the 4ciable Future

ByElizabeth Kwenortey

chapter 18|11 pages

A Better Pronoun

ByLydia Parker

part VII|2 pages

The class ceiling

chapter 19|11 pages

The Pillory

ByFelix O’Brien

chapter 20|11 pages

Tussy

ByJaki McCarrick

part VIII|2 pages

Siblings in mourning

chapter 21|8 pages

Come Die With Me

ByVicki Connerty

chapter 22|12 pages

Hurricane Blues

ByDaisy Stenham