1 set, 6 males, 2 females
Jean is preparing a birthday dinner for her mild mannered
accountant husband. When he arrives he is not himself and suggests they emigrate to
Barcelona. The reason is that Henry has found a briefcase containing £735,000. Other
guests at the dinner are forced into a game of cat and mouse when two police inspectors
call. "A mechanical masterpiece of manufactured mirth" – Spectator
WIFE BEGINS AT FORTY,
by Arne Sultan, Earl Barrett, & Ray
Cooney
1 set, 4 males, 2 females
George and Linda Harper’s 17 year old marriage has gone
stale. George goes out and Linda has a chance to "find herself". However, when
George returns to the family home a few weeks later to sort out maintenance, he and Linda
discover that the flames of passion are not quite dead.
BANG BANG BEIRUT by Ray Cooney
and Tony Hilton
Farce 7M 4F l set
A riotous farce set in a hotel somewhere in the Middle East.
An English variety artiste who is performing in the town gets unwillingly dragged into a
plot to spirit the young king out of his country before the revolutionaries get him.
Needless to say, the pace is fast, furious and hilarious and it all ends happily.
ONE FOR THE POT by Ray Cooney
and Tony Hilton
Farce 6M 3F l set.
A highly successful farce, and one which provides a hilarious
evening's entertainment. It all revolves around a young man, HICKORY WOOD, who has to
prove he is the only child of a former business associate of a rich mill owner in order to
receive £10,000. Unfortunately, his efforts are thwarted and complicated by the arrival
of the other claimants, creating some first class and uproariously funny situations. 'The
public will love it and rightly so'. The Times.
WHY NOT STAY FOR
BREAKFAST? by Gene Stone and Ray Cooney
Comedy. M3 F2 A Flat.
GEORGE CLARKE: neat, prim, but by no means without humour;
late 30s. LOUISE HAMILTON: hippy-type, north country, with outward air of almost arrogant
self-confidence; about l7. DAVEY: much more hippy than Louise, tall, well set-up,
attractive, could be Scots; young. A HIPPY BOY. A HIPPY GIRL.
GEORGE CLARKE is a civil servant, a respected member of the
Establishment, once married, now on his own. He lives in a flat in a converted Hampstead
house. The apartment above is inhabited by hippies, and their noise often disturbs his
peace. One evening young LOUISE HAMILTON arrives on his doorstep. She has had a row with
young DAVEY in their 'pad' upstairs. She is also very pregnant. The clash between the
hippy and the square types is at full strength when LOUISE suddenly starts labour pains.
GEORGE takes charge, the baby is born, and both it and LOUISE remain in the flat for the
time being. Gradually, their relationship deepens, and despite many crises a bridge seems
to have been built between a drop-out from, and a member of, present-day society.
MY GIDDY AUNT by Ray Cooney
and John Chapman
Comedy Thriller. 5M 3F. l set.
Set in LADY EPPINGHAM'S house in India, this play has all the
superb comedy that one would expect from the masters of farce, plus a good measure of
thrills. The eccentric but aristocratic LADY EPPINGHAM lives in a world of fantasy and
past glory of the Empire, while the running of her tea estate is left in the hands of her
unscrupulous nephews. But when BEATRICE HORROCKS, LADY EPPINGHAM'S half-sister of
decidedly lowly birth arrives to claim her right to manage the estate, the situation
changes and in a series of hilariously funny scenes, she slowly but surely sorts
everything out and unmasks the schemes of her nephews.
MOVE OVER MRS MARKHAM by Ray Cooney
and John Chapman
Farce. M4 F5 l set.
PHILIP MARKHAM, a publisher of children's books, is asked by
his business partner, HENRY LODGE, if he can borrow the flat for the evening to gallivant
with his latest girlfriend. As PHILIP and his wife will be out, he reluctantly agrees. At
the same time, JOANNA MARKHAM is being persuaded by LINDA LODGE, to let her borrow the
empty flat in order to entertain her lover. With some misgivings, JOANNA agrees. What
nobody knows is that the interior designer who has been decorating the flat for the past
three months has decided that this is the night that he and the au pair girl will try out
the new oval bed. When the MARKHAM'S evening out is cancelled, it is too late to let any
of the parties know and three sets of hopeful lovers all converge on the bedroom at the
same time. The situation is further complicated by the arrival of OLIVE HARRIET SMYTHE, a
straightlaced authoress of children's books. The frantic efforts of the MARKHAMS to hide
the amorous goings-on and, at the same time sign up MISS SMYTHE, lead to a hectic and
hilarious evening.
NOT NOW DARLING by Ray Cooney
and John Chapman
Farce 5M 6F l set.
The tremendously successful West End hit set in the elegant
fur salon BODLEY, BODLEY & CROUCH. GILBERT BODLEY, a flamboyant extrovert, is scheming
to seduce a beautiful stripper, JANIE, with the aid of a £5,000 mink. Unfortunately, she
is married and her husband HARRY, would notice such an acquisition. So GILBERT reduces the
mink to £500 and JANIE tries to get HARRY to buy the coat for her, GILBERT paying the
difference. HARRY realises a bargain when he sees one and buys it instead for his own
curvacious little secretary, SUE. GILBERT is quite demented by this turn of events and
both he and his dithering assistant, ARNOLD CROUCH, are further embarrassed when JANIE
strips and refuses to leave the salon without the mink. Their frenzied attempts to
retrieve the coat from and hide the naked JANIE are further complicated by the unexpected
arrival of GILBERT'S wife, MAUD. Meanwhile, ARNOLD'S method of hiding any discarded ladies
underwear is to throw them out of the window and it is left to MISS TIPDALE, the firm's
spinster secretary, to retrieve the garments and the situation whenever necessary. The
hilarious permutations reach a point of hysteria before everyone gets their just deserts.
THERE GOES THE BRIDE by Ray Cooney
and John Chapman
Farce 4M 4F l set.
Getting a bride ready is always a trying time but when the
bride's mother is 'helped' by interfering relatives, and the brid e's father is in the
process of falling in love with a seductive girl that only he can see, and more
........you can guarantee that
COONEY and CHAPMAN make sure that a good time is had by all.
'This farce has pace, precision and wit.....gets madder and funnier as it goes
along." Daily Mirror.
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