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.
Contributors’ Biographies Foreword Introduction Acknowledgements 1. Crossing Bridges Two Sisters by Fiona Doyle A Prince by Dipo Baruwa-Etti Do You Pray? by Yasmin Joseph Don’t Cross Bridges by Katherine Manners 2.‘Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away’ (Dorothy Parker) Consolea by Laura Jayne Ayres Alive Day by Fran Bushe Love By Numbers by Joanne Lau 3. Isn’t She Lovely, Made of Love …. Of Things Unsaid by Jasmin Mandi-Ghomi Stopcock by Christine Robertson 4. Aping the Patriarchy Petal & The Orchid by Clare Joy Langford & Gabrielle Curtis Copycat by Tatty Hennessy Girlboss by Corinne Salisbury 5. To Connect or Dis-connect? Swipe by Grace Ivana Carroll Echoes Through the Dust by Sarah Hehir 6. Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken Coconut Diaries by Stella Ajayi Fox by Sarah Kosar Soon in the 4Ciable Future by Elizabeth Kwenortey A Better Pronoun by Lydia Parker 7. The Class Ceiling The Pillory by Felix O’Brien Tussy by Jaki McCarrick 8. Siblings in Mourning Come Die With Me by Vicki Connerty Hurricane Blues by Daisy Stenham
Biography
Suzette Coon is a playwright and artistic director of Little Pieces of Gold theatre company. Her plays have been produced at theatres across London, and since 2010 she has produced the short plays of over 400 emerging, established and award-winning playwrights.
‘It is work like this that will move the need for change forward. So I hope in borrowing or purchasing this book you feel compelled to be part of this action." -- Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
