Last Revised:

2014

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Characterisation:

4f

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Set Requirements:

One Set: burned-out ruins of a country peasant's home

On the eve of the Battle of Bannockburn, JANET and her daughter, KATE, sit destitute in the ruins of their home, burned down by a party of marauding English soldiers, who have also taken their livestock. Camp followers, PEGGY and NANCY, arrive and try to persuade Janet and Kate that they can avoid starvation by coming with them to the battlefield where there will be plenty of work when the battle is over. Janet adamantly refuses, but Kate is eager to help the wounded, little realising that Peggy and Nancy have other plans for her. Who will prevail and how will the battle's outcome affect mother and daughter? PLACED THIRD IN THE SCOTT SALVER COMPETITION 2014

Last Revised:

2007

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Characterisation:

2m 3f

​

Set Requirements:

Split Set: 2 living-rooms

SANDRA and RONNIE HARRIS, comfortably off, middle-class and well-educated, seem ideal adoptive parents, but after a visit from MRS. KENNEDY, a court representative, the darker side of their relationship is revealed. They hope to adopt the baby of FIONA, a student, and her married lover. Fiona comes from a Hebridean island where attitudes about unmarried mothers are entrenched in a bygone age. When Mrs. Kennedy visits Fiona, Fiona delays signing her final consent till her boyfriend arrives, in the hope he will have a change of attitude that will allow her to alter her decision. However his arrival adds a further sinister dimension. AWARD WINNER IN DRAMA ASSOCIATION OF WALES ONE-ACT PLAYWRITING COMPETITION 1996.

Last Revised:

2007

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Characterisation:

4f

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Set Requirements:

One Set: the reception area of Hell

MAISIE is a 'borderline' case, working for points for a transfer out of Hell. When SATANIA puts her on reception duty she is overwhelmed to meet her two idols, JADE and AMBER, 'over-the-hill' film stars, killed in a stunt that went wrong when they were making a 'come back' film. Furious at being refused entry to Heaven, Amber and Jade set out to have the decision reversed, and finally turn for help to Maisie, their devoted fan. But Maisie has seen through them and rejects them. Ultimately Satania is the only winner.

Last Revised:

2009

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Characterisation:

4f 

​

Set Requirements:

Split Set: 3 acting areas

Having left Ireland to escape famine and build a new life in Glasgow, SARAH McBRIDE is finding it hard for her weaver husband, herself and her sister, MARY ANN, to be accepted by the locals in Calton, who resent the fact their standard of living is dropping because of the influx of Irish labour. Mary Ann is ambitious to leave for America but is using dubious means to attain this goal. Neighbours, LIZZIE SIMPSON and MA SIMPSON, Lizzie's mother-in-law, make it very plain how much they resent and despise the incomers. When both families are caught up in the Glasgow Bread Riots of 1848, Sarah faces tragedy, but this moves the Simpsons to welcome her at last. PLACED THIRD EQUAL IN THE SCOTT SALVER COMPETITION 2009. HIGHLY COMMENDED IN THE GEOFFREY WHITWORTH COMPETITION 2009

Last Revised:

2007

​

Characterisation:

3m 3f 

​

Set Requirements:

One Set: a waiting room

Five dead people meet in the waiting room between Heaven and Hell. BARRY's life of social service should ensure his place in Heaven. And how can KAY, a pillar of society, have anything to fear? But what is in store for TAM 'MAD FERRET' MALARKEY, experienced mugger and drunk driver. And what about his wife, TERESA? The arrival of ELSIE, a confused, elderly woman, causes the friction between the others to degenerate into violence, but ST. PETER'S entrance saves Kay from disaster ... he will judge them. Nothing is hidden from him. How many will he permit into Heaven? And does present behaviour count as well as past? PLACED THIRD IN THE SCOTT SALVER COMPETITION 2007

Last Revised:

2008

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Characterisation:

3m (1 non-speaking) 3f 

​

Set Requirements:

Split Set: 4/5 acting areas

It is 1965, when pregnancy outwith marriage is taboo, and religious bigotry is accepted as the norm in Glasgow. DAVIE and BETTY CARMICHAEL are trapped in an unhappy marriage, the result of a rushed wedding when Betty became pregnant. Davie is determined their daughter, LIZ, will have all the academic chances he missed. At university, Liz meets and falls in love with BRENDAN. When her friend, MORAG, inadvertently reveals to bigoted Davie that Brendan is a Catholic, Davie is enraged, all the more so when he and Betty suspect Liz is pregnant. Tragedy follows when Davie sets out for revenge. FINALIST IN THE 2008 DYLAN DAYS ONE-ACT PLAYWRITING COMPETITION RUN BY HIBBING COMMUNITY COLLEGE, MINNESOTA; THE COMPETITION ATTRACTED 108 ENTRIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

Last Revised:

2008

​

Characterisation:

2m 4-6f 1m/f

​

Set Requirements:

One Set: a railway platform

Why do people leave home and family to wander anonymously and alone? NICOLA dozes in a lonely railway station, haunted by bad dreams of past tormentors - her MOTHER and TWO SCHOOLMATES. As a MAN tries to engage her in conversation, he is interrupted by the arrival of local hooligans, TRACY, KELLY-ANN, and DARREN. Nicola's secretive manner irritates them, and the present mirrors the past when they make her their prey. The bullying escalates to become dangerously physical, but the Man intervenes to drive them off. However, left alone with Nicola, he exploits the situation when he discovers her secret - she has lost her memory.

Last Revised:

2011

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Characterisation:

3m 2f plus extras (non-speaking)

​

Set Requirements:

Split Set: 4/6 acting areas

Glasgow, 1919, and striking workers are demanding shorter working hours to reduce unemployment. Shop steward, JIMMY BARR, and his sister, MAGGIE, encourage their hen-pecked, next-door neighbour, BILLY DIXON, to join them in a demonstration in George Square, unbeknown to his disapproving, right-wing wife, JENNY. A full-scale riot ensues, SHERIFF MACKENZIE tries to read the Riot Act, then tanks and troops are sent to occupy the city, and Billy goes missing. Jenny is forced to seek help from the neighbours she despises and to reveal her guilty secret, convinced it has led to Billy's suicide. Jimmy sets out to find Billy, only to put himself at risk. PLACED 2ND. IN THE SCOTT SALVER COMPETITION 2011.

Last Revised:

2016

​

Characterisation:

3m 5f 

​

Set Requirements:

Split Set: 2 acting areas

Scotland 1700, and ROBBIE WATSON's employer has been ruined by the failed Darien Scheme. His wife, ANNIE, fears the family faces destitution. Now unemployed, Robbie's drinking brings disaster for Annie's mother, MARY, who resorts to begging, and for their daughter, JESSIE, whose tavern work leads to more dubious employment. Life will only get worse, they believe, if the Act of Union is agreed. Scotland 2014, and moves to repeal the Act threaten the HAMILTON family. BRENDA's daughter, ABBY, and her younger son, CRAIG, are determined 'Yes' voters in the impending referendum on independence, while her older son, MICHAEL, abhors everything such a vote could mean. Family relationships degenerate into vicious acrimony and near violence. Can Brenda prevent total family breakdown? WINNER OF THE SCOTT SALVER COMPETITION 2016. RUNNER-UP IN THE GEOFFREY WHITWORTH COMPETITION 2016

Last Revised:

2018

​

Characterisation:

1m 2f 

​

Set Requirements:

One set: a family living-room in 1916

1916, and World War 1 is starting to take its toll on MRS. ROBERTSON and her family. Her daughter, LIZZIE, has just lost her fiancé, killed in action. When her son, DAVIE, decides to follow his brother and join up, Mrs. Robertson is horrified and tries, in vain, to dissuade him. Then Lizzie puts aside her dreams of a husband and children, and sets out to build a life for herself only to meet anger and resentment from her mother. Davie returns from the Front, disabled and bitter on account of his own experiences and the fact his younger brother has gone missing in action. However hope starts to return when the Armistice is declared. Includes 3 strong monologues.

FIRST PERFORMED IN RUTHERGLEN TOWN HALL IN NOVEMBER 2018 AS PART OF THE ARMISTICE CENTENERY COMMEMORATIONS.

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Last Revised:

2007

​

Characterisation:

4f 

​

Set Requirements:

One Set: a village hall

A frightening storm drives ELLEN and her elderly mother, MRS. YULE, from their dilapidated cottage to shelter in the village hall. But WENDY PENNINGTON, chairwoman of the Hall Committee highhandedly forbids them the use of the hall, fuelling Mrs. Yule's resentment of incomers (white settlers) to the village. Her animosity gets out of hand and she attempts to burn down the hall. Mrs. Yule and Wendy eventually come to blows and Ellen's daughter, KAREN, intervenes, but she becomes the agent of disaster when the conflict ends in tragedy. AWARD WINNER IN DRAMA ASSOCIATION OF WALES ONE-ACT PLAYWRITING COMPETITION 1997