David Lane: Available Plays for Youth Theatres
All scripts are under author copyright. All enquiries to mattc@berlinassociates.com
I AM ENGLAND
Commissioned and produced by the egg (Theatre Royal Bath)
Adapted from Shakespeare’s Coriolanus this is a contemporary version of a political
tale told amidst class revolution. Taking a tough look at an England facing right-wing
governments, UK devolution, fading oil supplies and a rising sense of aggressive
patriotism, at the centre is Marc: a courageous young soldier who returns from war to
find the friends he left behind either apathetic or anti-war, and all fighting for the
wrong reasons. Uncompromising and challenging, echoing Shakespeare’s eloquent
language through a chorus that is both the city’s citizens and an emblem of a nation’s
past, this is a modern vision of England asking difficult questions of its audience.
Cast: 20+ (minimum 3M required)
Length: 75mins
THE FORGOTTEN ODYSSEY
Commissioned and produced by 3YT (Cheltenham Everyman, Salisbury Playhouse,
Sixth Sense)
This full-length play presents the untold story of the people of Ithaca: Greek hero
Odysseus has spent twenty years away from his city whilst fighting and attempting to
return from the Trojan War – but what awaits his return? This large-cast play
explores the trials of a city left to waste and the choices a community faces when the
structures that bind them together begin to crumble away.
Cast: 35 – 50 performers, mixed gender casting possible and suggested within
script. Suits ages 12 – 18.
Length: 105 – 120mins
THE ROAD
Commissioned and produced by Immediate Theatre
The brief for this play was to create a piece exploring gang culture, postcode
territories and teenage violence without bringing knives, guns or gangs visibly on
stage. What emerged was a future world: Hackney in twenty years’ time, a military
council patrolling the streets with curfews and the sense of psychological identity
among young people lost now their territories were no longer theirs. Intercut with the
central story of a young girl considering her escape route are fictional cut-aways,
glimpses of the adult world where a distant political force is calling the shots. And is
there something more fundamentally wired into us desiring havoc?
Cast: 16 – 25 performers (4M, 3F, 5 mixed gender roles and a chorus of any
number), suits ages 15 – 18.
Length: 70 – 75mins
SILVERCLAW
Developed with Mountview Theatre Academy and National Theatre Studio (MA
Birkbeck Directors’ Course): not yet produced
Set on a remote island possibly in the present day, possibly in a mythological world
far from ours, this full-length play written from scratch over two weeks with actors
from Mountview Academy was constructed from ideas around community, fictional
mythology, magic and the restrictions of faith and belief. Within a dwindling
population a young boy uncovers the lies that have bound his community together
and is faced with a choice: to destroy it by leaving, or stay to lead the survivors.
Cast: 11 performers (3M, 8F), suits ages 16 – 18.
Length: 80 – 85mins
BLOODLINES
Originally commissioned and produced by Immediate Theatre
This play is a response piece to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, telling the story of
their young friends overcoming their deaths and bringing together a contemporary
and classical world that begins with the funeral. Deliberately colliding urban and
formal language to separate the teenagers from the adults, a cycle of conflict is set to
continue in the city of Verona, as families turn upon themselves and loyalties are
stretched to breaking point. The play also offers opportunities for devising and
development in its opening and closing scenes, which were originally non-verbal
scenes developed by the company, and physical interpretation through the roles of
the Questioners. A dark drama with high emotion and a challenging structure.
Cast: 15 performers (7M, 6F and 2 non-gender specific)
Length: 70mins
ALL I EVER WANTED
Commissioned and performed as part of Half Moon Young People’s Theatre’s
Performance Works project
What would happen if money fell from the sky? What are the stories and experiences
that would emerge? Tasked with this question, the writer, director and company on
Performance Works created a play that wove together a series of reflections around
this theme, with the overarching story framed by a Grandmother’s recollection of
events being passed down to her two granddaughters. An excellent piece for
introducing mixed gender casting, improvised sections and original devised
sequences.
Cast: 16 – 20 performers, mixed gender. Suits ages 13 – 17.
Length: 35 - 40mins
CLEAR AS MUD
Commissioned by the egg (Theatre Royal Bath), performed by their summer holidays
company and Lewisham Youth Theatre
Adapted from a short story by Paul Jennings (the cult Australian children’s novelist
behind the famous Round the Twist series), this play turns the tables on its bullying
protagonist by visiting a disturbing and grotesque fate upon him via a magical beetle.
Using a chorus of quirky victims to frame and present a fantastical tale, this short
play will push the theatrical talents of an adventurous young company, incorporating
puppetry, choric speaking, quick-paced dialogue and characters you love to hate:
perfect for a young company looking for theatricality with minimal set and design.
Cast: 15 – 25 performers, mixed gender. Suits ages 9 – 13.
Length: 30 - 35 mins
THE OUTPOST
Developed as part of a full-day workshop with Sidmouth Amateur Dramatics’ Young
Company, performed at Exmouth One Act Play Festival
Set on a remote army outpost and the seaside town of Sidmouth (but adaptable to
other locations if required) this play draws together contributions and ideas from a
cast of thirty young people interested in exploring love, loss, mafia gangsters and
what might happen if their home town was a little bit more exciting. The result is a
one-act play with a hard life experience at its centre, but a lot of fun either side and
lots of doubling available for smaller youth theatres.
Cast: 20 – 35 performers, mixed gender. Suits ages 9 – 13.
Length: 40 - 45mins
THE CURSE OF BOG FARM
Commissioned and performed as a Summer Project by Pursued by a Bear
Developed through story improvisation and collaborative devising with a director and
cast of 8 – 11 year-olds over one week, this one-act play tells the story of a young
farm boy fascinated by the stars and his journey gradually uncovering the dark secret
behind the family farm and his own upbringing. Bizarre, funny and with several leaps
of the imagination, this play honoured the original ideas of the group by binding them
together in an unlikely madcap comedy-adventure story.
Cast: 15 – 25 performers, mixed gender. Suits ages 7 – 11.
Length: 40 – 45mins