PLAYS BY MICHAEL THEODOROU
E mail address : [email protected]
STAGE ADAPTATIONS FROM CLASSIC NOVELS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRACULA
-------------
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, this version is as close as possible to the original book. Set firmly in the late Victorian period of 1897, the play is a serious treatment of the original. There are sinister and genuinely disturbing moments that will challenge any theatre company, either amateur or professional. The plot unfolds as an exciting piece of blood curdling Gothic horror. This dramatisation is also suitable for schools or youth groups and can have a large cast or be done with as few as 12 performers.
Casting : 33 (maximum) or 12 (with doubling) Male 7 Female 5
Duration : 90 minutes
Published by Dramaworks. Enquiries for performance and scripts to [email protected] website www.dramaworks.co.uk
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
------------------------------------
This new version was written in conjunction with Patricia Theodorou and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe 2001. It exquisitely captures the mood of the original ghost story by Henry James. The dramatisation focuses on the supernatural and psychological elements of the story and has a genuinely original twist in the tail. The play would be appropriate for schools and youth groups, as well as amateur companies, and would make an excellent Christmas show. Although there are 17 in the cast it could be played ,for professional productions, by only six performers plus the two young children.
Casting: 17 : Male 7 Female 10
or 8 (with doubling) male 4 female 4
Duration : 75 – 80 minutes.
All enquiries for performance and scripts from the author [email protected]
THE MOONSTONE
-----------------------
Skilfully dramatised from the novel by Wilkie Collins this clear and fast moving stage version of the brilliant detective story retains all the mystery and excitement of the original. With its exploration of superstition, loyalty, fate and destiny, its attractive and intriguing mix of characters from the mid Victorian period makes this an exciting and challenging play for both amateur groups and schools. Published by Nelson Thornes Dramascripts 1999.
‘The author has captured the essence of the novel’ (Amazon).
Casting : 35 mixed
Duration : 90 minutes.
Performance details from www.nelson.co.uk
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
----------------------------
The author has dramatised the well-known Charles Dicken’s novel for a large cast production either for young children, older pupils or a mixture of adults and youngsters. This version traces Scrooge’s personal journey to enlightenment in a particularly clear way. Some of Dicken’s own words are kept, particularly in the speeches allotted to the Narrators, but the language all has a Dickensian feel to it. This serves to set the period and the atmosphere. The simple style of the piece, which could be done without any scenery if desired, makes this an ideal piece to present on its own or as part of a Xmas celebration.
Casting : 33 mixed
Duration 60 minutes
Published by Dramaworks
Performance enquiries to www.dramaworks.co.uk
THE CUCKOO CLOCK
----------------------------
This is a delightful and welcome stage adaptation of Mrs Molesworth’s charming story. Michael Theodorou has captured the magical nature of the original with its Victorian charm and sentimentality while at the same time injecting it with humour to create a link with a more modern audience. It concerns a little girl, Griselda, who goes to live with her maiden aunts in the country and discovers that their mysterious cuckoo clock can come alive and take her on all kinds of adventures both on earth and in space. This is a very flexible script which can be played by as few as thirty or as many as you like.
Casting : 30 mixed, plus chorus.
Duration : 90 minutes.
Published by Dramaworks
Enquiries to the author [email protected] or www.dramaworks.co.uk
ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC PLAYS
---------------------------------------------------------------
LYSISTRATA
-----------------
Adapted and updated from the play by Aristophanes this will always be a topical and relevant work because, somewhere in the world, wars exist which have a greater or lesser impact on us in the West. This new version of the old classic is lively and funny, using modern language without fixing it to any particular period. It is not rooted in the jargon of specific culture. It would be simple to stage this play in whatever background context you desire – in any country or any period - the options are wide. It is loaded with sexual references and innuendos so would probably be more suitable as a Sixth Form Production or would suit a Sixth Form College or University Drama Society.
Published by Dramaworks
Cast size : 30 plus choruses
Duration: 80 minutes
Enquiries and scripts from www.dramaworks.co.uk
ORIGINAL PLAYS
------------------------
VIDEO NASTY
-------------------
The play follows the lives of a group of aimless 14 year old boys living in Reading in the 1980’s, though the themes and issues are just as relevant today. The main issues explored are:
The play does not moralise at all. It can simply be performed as a play which shows boys from a certain kind of background, drifting into a life of petty crime. There is plenty of humour in the play and no definite ending. The play presents us with an explosive situation and leaves us to our own conclusions. There is a longer version available written for television which is more explicit.
Cast size : 12
Duration: 45 minutes.
Published by Dramaworks
All enquiries and scripts from either the author [email protected] or www.dramaworks.co.uk
SHAKESPEARE ADAPTATIONS
------------------------------------------------------
THE TEMPEST
-------------------
A new stage version first performed at the Edinburgh Festival 2000 and set on an island off the coast of Africa. The atmosphere and costumes are exotic with an Arabian Nights feel to the production and an original score by Stephen Barton. This shortened version uses Shakespeare’s language and is particularly suitable for youth groups.
Cast size: 25
Duration: 70 minutes.
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
--------------------------------------------
A magical version first performed at Cokethorpe School in the open air but could just as easily be produced indoors. The original production in 2004 used motor cars, including a 1930’s Bentley, to transport characters on and off stage. The original language is retained but edited and the music used was from the film version of ‘Lord of the Rings’. Costumes are modern for the lovers but fantasy costumes for the spirits.
Cast size : approx 25
Duration : 70 minutes
All enquiries for performance and scripts [email protected]
JULIUS CAESAR
---------------------
This is a modern dress version which was first performed in an outside courtyard quadrangle with cars, jeeps and the sounds of modern warfare – aircraft, bombs and shelling. The original Shakespeare language is retained but updated slightly where necessary. Swords are replaced by guns. ‘The Planets’ by Gustav Holst serves as a musical accompaniment to the action.
Cast size : 25 predominanly male
Duration : 60 minutes.
All enquiries for performance and scripts [email protected]
THE REDUCED MACBETH
-----------------------------------
This is a comedy version to be played as quickly as possible in the spirit of melodrama and farce. The original Shakespeare language is retained but radically cut. The main plot is followed. The pace is frenetic and needs a disciplined ensemble approach. This would make a good competition piece.
Cast : Minimum 15
Maximum 30
Duration : 10 – 15 minutes
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
RICHARD III
-----------------
A physical theatre version where the cast are all dressed in black .Much of the original Shakespeare language is used but there are many sequences which are explained visually This is an ensemble piece which depends on team work and disciplined direction. This would make an exciting competition entry.
Cast size: approx 25
Duration : 40 minutes
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
RADIO PLAYS
----------------------
ABELARD
------------
This historical play for two actors is drawn from the writings of Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux. The play is set in the period 1079-1142 and is based on original sources and documents therefore using as far as possible the actual words of Bernard and Abelard. The play takes the form of a dialectical argument and goes backwards and forwards in time bringing to life other characters from the past lives of the two main characters. The play could be staged in a Cathedral or an ecclesiastical location as an alternative to radio.
Cast : 2 Male
Duration: 60 minutes
All enquiries to the author [email protected]
MONSIEUR PROUST
--------------------------
Based on the biographical notes of Marcel Proust’s housekeeper, Celeste Albaret, the play spans the last ten years of Proust’s life when he was writing his masterpiece ‘Remembrance of Things Past.’ There is a strong evocation through both words and music of the early 1900’s.
Cast: Male 1 Female 1
Duration 60 minutes
All enquiries to the author [email protected]
CLEVER PEOPLE AND GROCERS
-------------------------------------------
The background setting is the Greek Cypriot community of East London in the 1980’s. Teacher, Alan Marshall, falls in love with Helen, a beautiful Greek Cypriot girl, but fails to realise the implications of marrying into her family.
Roles: 15 male, 8 female
Duration 60 minutes.
All enquiries to the author
TRANSLATIONS
---------------------------------
DONA ROSITA, THE SPINSTER by Federico Garcia Lorca
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorca’s style of uniting tragedy and comedy within the same play succeeds brilliantly in this tale of a young girl who is jilted by her lover and spends the rest of her life waiting for him to return. There is a wide variety of challenging roles, especially for females.
Roles: 7 male, 12 female
Duration : 80 minutes
All enquiries to the author
CALIGULA by Albert Camus
-----------------------------------
This play is a searing study of the Roman Emperor Caligula by one of France’s great poets and philosophers. The translation captures all the drama and violence of the original French with fabulous roles for male and female actors. This is a neglected masterpiece which calls for a revival.
Roles: 12 Male, 6 female
Duration : 75 minutes
All enquiries to the author
FEU LA MERE DE MADAME by Georges Feydeau
-----------------------------------------------------------
A superb one- act comic gem by Feydeau in which mistaken identity and madcap humour are superbly squeezed into 45 minutes of sheer exhilarating stagecraft by France’s greatest writer of farce.
Roles : 2 male, 2 female
Duration : 45 minutes
All enquiries to the author
PARTAGE DE MIDI by Paul Claudel
---------------------------------------------
This play was acted with great success by Edwige Feuillere and Jean Louis Barrault when it came to London in the mid- sixties at the world theatre seasons run by Peter Daubeny at the Aldwych. Since then , it has never been produced on the London stage. The highly charged poetic atmosphere of Claudel’s writing is evident in this masterly evocation of physical and spiritual love.
Roles : Male 3, Female 1.
Duration : 2 hours
All enquiries to the author
E mail: [email protected]
E mail address : [email protected]
STAGE ADAPTATIONS FROM CLASSIC NOVELS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRACULA
-------------
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, this version is as close as possible to the original book. Set firmly in the late Victorian period of 1897, the play is a serious treatment of the original. There are sinister and genuinely disturbing moments that will challenge any theatre company, either amateur or professional. The plot unfolds as an exciting piece of blood curdling Gothic horror. This dramatisation is also suitable for schools or youth groups and can have a large cast or be done with as few as 12 performers.
Casting : 33 (maximum) or 12 (with doubling) Male 7 Female 5
Duration : 90 minutes
Published by Dramaworks. Enquiries for performance and scripts to [email protected] website www.dramaworks.co.uk
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
------------------------------------
This new version was written in conjunction with Patricia Theodorou and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe 2001. It exquisitely captures the mood of the original ghost story by Henry James. The dramatisation focuses on the supernatural and psychological elements of the story and has a genuinely original twist in the tail. The play would be appropriate for schools and youth groups, as well as amateur companies, and would make an excellent Christmas show. Although there are 17 in the cast it could be played ,for professional productions, by only six performers plus the two young children.
Casting: 17 : Male 7 Female 10
or 8 (with doubling) male 4 female 4
Duration : 75 – 80 minutes.
All enquiries for performance and scripts from the author [email protected]
THE MOONSTONE
-----------------------
Skilfully dramatised from the novel by Wilkie Collins this clear and fast moving stage version of the brilliant detective story retains all the mystery and excitement of the original. With its exploration of superstition, loyalty, fate and destiny, its attractive and intriguing mix of characters from the mid Victorian period makes this an exciting and challenging play for both amateur groups and schools. Published by Nelson Thornes Dramascripts 1999.
‘The author has captured the essence of the novel’ (Amazon).
Casting : 35 mixed
Duration : 90 minutes.
Performance details from www.nelson.co.uk
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
----------------------------
The author has dramatised the well-known Charles Dicken’s novel for a large cast production either for young children, older pupils or a mixture of adults and youngsters. This version traces Scrooge’s personal journey to enlightenment in a particularly clear way. Some of Dicken’s own words are kept, particularly in the speeches allotted to the Narrators, but the language all has a Dickensian feel to it. This serves to set the period and the atmosphere. The simple style of the piece, which could be done without any scenery if desired, makes this an ideal piece to present on its own or as part of a Xmas celebration.
Casting : 33 mixed
Duration 60 minutes
Published by Dramaworks
Performance enquiries to www.dramaworks.co.uk
THE CUCKOO CLOCK
----------------------------
This is a delightful and welcome stage adaptation of Mrs Molesworth’s charming story. Michael Theodorou has captured the magical nature of the original with its Victorian charm and sentimentality while at the same time injecting it with humour to create a link with a more modern audience. It concerns a little girl, Griselda, who goes to live with her maiden aunts in the country and discovers that their mysterious cuckoo clock can come alive and take her on all kinds of adventures both on earth and in space. This is a very flexible script which can be played by as few as thirty or as many as you like.
Casting : 30 mixed, plus chorus.
Duration : 90 minutes.
Published by Dramaworks
Enquiries to the author [email protected] or www.dramaworks.co.uk
ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC PLAYS
---------------------------------------------------------------
LYSISTRATA
-----------------
Adapted and updated from the play by Aristophanes this will always be a topical and relevant work because, somewhere in the world, wars exist which have a greater or lesser impact on us in the West. This new version of the old classic is lively and funny, using modern language without fixing it to any particular period. It is not rooted in the jargon of specific culture. It would be simple to stage this play in whatever background context you desire – in any country or any period - the options are wide. It is loaded with sexual references and innuendos so would probably be more suitable as a Sixth Form Production or would suit a Sixth Form College or University Drama Society.
Published by Dramaworks
Cast size : 30 plus choruses
Duration: 80 minutes
Enquiries and scripts from www.dramaworks.co.uk
ORIGINAL PLAYS
------------------------
VIDEO NASTY
-------------------
The play follows the lives of a group of aimless 14 year old boys living in Reading in the 1980’s, though the themes and issues are just as relevant today. The main issues explored are:
- street crime
- videos that have an extremely violent or sexual content
- lax parenting
- violence in the home or at school.
- education
The play does not moralise at all. It can simply be performed as a play which shows boys from a certain kind of background, drifting into a life of petty crime. There is plenty of humour in the play and no definite ending. The play presents us with an explosive situation and leaves us to our own conclusions. There is a longer version available written for television which is more explicit.
Cast size : 12
Duration: 45 minutes.
Published by Dramaworks
All enquiries and scripts from either the author [email protected] or www.dramaworks.co.uk
SHAKESPEARE ADAPTATIONS
------------------------------------------------------
THE TEMPEST
-------------------
A new stage version first performed at the Edinburgh Festival 2000 and set on an island off the coast of Africa. The atmosphere and costumes are exotic with an Arabian Nights feel to the production and an original score by Stephen Barton. This shortened version uses Shakespeare’s language and is particularly suitable for youth groups.
Cast size: 25
Duration: 70 minutes.
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
--------------------------------------------
A magical version first performed at Cokethorpe School in the open air but could just as easily be produced indoors. The original production in 2004 used motor cars, including a 1930’s Bentley, to transport characters on and off stage. The original language is retained but edited and the music used was from the film version of ‘Lord of the Rings’. Costumes are modern for the lovers but fantasy costumes for the spirits.
Cast size : approx 25
Duration : 70 minutes
All enquiries for performance and scripts [email protected]
JULIUS CAESAR
---------------------
This is a modern dress version which was first performed in an outside courtyard quadrangle with cars, jeeps and the sounds of modern warfare – aircraft, bombs and shelling. The original Shakespeare language is retained but updated slightly where necessary. Swords are replaced by guns. ‘The Planets’ by Gustav Holst serves as a musical accompaniment to the action.
Cast size : 25 predominanly male
Duration : 60 minutes.
All enquiries for performance and scripts [email protected]
THE REDUCED MACBETH
-----------------------------------
This is a comedy version to be played as quickly as possible in the spirit of melodrama and farce. The original Shakespeare language is retained but radically cut. The main plot is followed. The pace is frenetic and needs a disciplined ensemble approach. This would make a good competition piece.
Cast : Minimum 15
Maximum 30
Duration : 10 – 15 minutes
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
RICHARD III
-----------------
A physical theatre version where the cast are all dressed in black .Much of the original Shakespeare language is used but there are many sequences which are explained visually This is an ensemble piece which depends on team work and disciplined direction. This would make an exciting competition entry.
Cast size: approx 25
Duration : 40 minutes
All enquiries and scripts [email protected]
RADIO PLAYS
----------------------
ABELARD
------------
This historical play for two actors is drawn from the writings of Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux. The play is set in the period 1079-1142 and is based on original sources and documents therefore using as far as possible the actual words of Bernard and Abelard. The play takes the form of a dialectical argument and goes backwards and forwards in time bringing to life other characters from the past lives of the two main characters. The play could be staged in a Cathedral or an ecclesiastical location as an alternative to radio.
Cast : 2 Male
Duration: 60 minutes
All enquiries to the author [email protected]
MONSIEUR PROUST
--------------------------
Based on the biographical notes of Marcel Proust’s housekeeper, Celeste Albaret, the play spans the last ten years of Proust’s life when he was writing his masterpiece ‘Remembrance of Things Past.’ There is a strong evocation through both words and music of the early 1900’s.
Cast: Male 1 Female 1
Duration 60 minutes
All enquiries to the author [email protected]
CLEVER PEOPLE AND GROCERS
-------------------------------------------
The background setting is the Greek Cypriot community of East London in the 1980’s. Teacher, Alan Marshall, falls in love with Helen, a beautiful Greek Cypriot girl, but fails to realise the implications of marrying into her family.
Roles: 15 male, 8 female
Duration 60 minutes.
All enquiries to the author
TRANSLATIONS
---------------------------------
DONA ROSITA, THE SPINSTER by Federico Garcia Lorca
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorca’s style of uniting tragedy and comedy within the same play succeeds brilliantly in this tale of a young girl who is jilted by her lover and spends the rest of her life waiting for him to return. There is a wide variety of challenging roles, especially for females.
Roles: 7 male, 12 female
Duration : 80 minutes
All enquiries to the author
CALIGULA by Albert Camus
-----------------------------------
This play is a searing study of the Roman Emperor Caligula by one of France’s great poets and philosophers. The translation captures all the drama and violence of the original French with fabulous roles for male and female actors. This is a neglected masterpiece which calls for a revival.
Roles: 12 Male, 6 female
Duration : 75 minutes
All enquiries to the author
FEU LA MERE DE MADAME by Georges Feydeau
-----------------------------------------------------------
A superb one- act comic gem by Feydeau in which mistaken identity and madcap humour are superbly squeezed into 45 minutes of sheer exhilarating stagecraft by France’s greatest writer of farce.
Roles : 2 male, 2 female
Duration : 45 minutes
All enquiries to the author
PARTAGE DE MIDI by Paul Claudel
---------------------------------------------
This play was acted with great success by Edwige Feuillere and Jean Louis Barrault when it came to London in the mid- sixties at the world theatre seasons run by Peter Daubeny at the Aldwych. Since then , it has never been produced on the London stage. The highly charged poetic atmosphere of Claudel’s writing is evident in this masterly evocation of physical and spiritual love.
Roles : Male 3, Female 1.
Duration : 2 hours
All enquiries to the author
E mail: [email protected]