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André Surridge
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André Surridge is a UK-born playwright and poet who came to NZ in 1972. Experience as an actor and director in the 1960s –1990s helped him create some original and highly successful pieces for theatre including “Zugzwang” which won the Shell Playwrights Award in 1984. In 1987 his full-length play “Child of the Sun” won the Lantern Theatre Trust Award in London. His road safety play “Smashed” toured NZ professionally in the early 1990s amassing over 250 performances. A full listing of his plays, playscripts and licences for production are available from Play Bureau (NZ) Ltd |
| ZUGZWANG A one-act play, 45-50 minutes duration. Cast: 4m 3f. Based on the true story of the defection of the musician Maxim Shostakovich to the west. Set in Nuremberg, 1981 during the Cold War. Characters include members of the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra including an undercover KGB officer, West German Police officials and two spirit characters in the form of a red and white chess player. “A play based on actual events using the allegory of the chess move Zugzwang to give a dramatic representation of the struggle between east and west and of a man’s own conscience.” Brian Staniland SET: Single set. Inspector Klausmann’s room at the Nuremberg Police Station. The script calls for imaginative staging using rostra and a cyclorama or backdrop suitable for projection of an image in the style of Esscher showing chess squares evolving into piano keys. Winner of the Shell Playwrights Award for the best New Zealand written one-act play premiered at the Shell Festival of Community Drama 1984. |
INNER SPACE A one-act play, 30 minutes long. Cast of 6, m or f + 2 off stage voices (1m + 1f). Set within the brain of playwright Ben Taylor, Inner Space explores the bizarre and sometimes remarkable workings of the creative human mind. Neurons in Ben Taylor’s brain are set the task of creating an innovative idea for a one-act play to meet the encroaching deadline of a playwriting competition. They come up with a thrilling re-enactment of an heroic naval battle involving HMS/HMNZS Achilles and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in December 1939. “Found I was constantly revisiting this play – a producer’s delight and a director’s dream.” Joyce Irving. Ideal as a festival play it would also be fascinating to see Inner Space in a NZ double bill with J.A.S Coppard’s Sordid Story, which is set in the mind of tough back-street thug. SET & LIGHTING: As Inner Space is set within the brain of playwright Ben Taylor, the setting is and lighting offers a unique challenge. Inner Space was awarded equal second place in the 2002 Playwrights Association of NZ Playwriting competition and was first performed by Manawatu Theatre Society in 2004 where it reached the Regional Final. |
| CHILD OF THE SUN Full length play, 95-100 minutes. Cast: 4m, 2f. Child of the Sun is dedicated to the memory of New Zealand’s greatest writer, Katherine Mansfield and incorporates an adaptation of her richly fascinating short story “Je ne parle pas francais”. The play places Katherine in the centre of her own story and in the last three months of her life, where she finds herself in a shabby Parisian café in October 1922. As narrator and author, Katherine moves through this world of her own making, interacting with characters real and imagined. Child of the Sun was winner of the Lantern Theatre Trust Playwrights Competition, London in 1987 and received a professional rehearsed reading the same year. The play was first performed by Cambridge Repertory Society in 1992 with excellent reviews. “Child of the Sun has stood the test and André Surridge has once again proved that his work is always to be viewed, he always has an unusual story to tell, one which is usually different and there lies the charm and delight of this dramatic KM dramatisation” Carole Hughes. SETTING: Single set, a shabby Paris café circa 1922. Could be performed in a theatre restaurant. |
SMASHED A one-act play, 45 minutes long. Cast of 5 with doubling of roles: 3m + 2f or a larger cast could be accommodated. Smashed is a hard-hitting drama based on the stunning true story of Earl Hopkins who became a left-sided hemi-plegic after the car in which he was a passenger, was involved in an horrific road accident. The driver was drunk. Using a series of flashbacks, Smashed demonstrates how earl’s life changed from that of a young, healthy, active, sports-loving family man to a shattered human being. Smashed was first performed at Hamilton’s Trustbank Theatre in 1994. In 1997 and 1998 a professional touring company took Smashed to secondary schools the length and breadth of New Zealand. In addition the play was performed in Prisons and at Public Theatres with over 250 performances in total. “The end result was a play that had a strong impact on young people about the dangers of drinking and driving, a play that received wide approval from those interested in Road Safety...” Hon. Rob Storey – Chairman, Smashed Productions Charitable Trust. SETTING: Australia and New Zealand, indoor and outdoor. Minimal set required. Black box ideal. Backdrop for projection of images is recommended but overall flexibility is the key to allow a fast moving production. |
| SWISS CIDER A one-act play, playing time approximately 30 minutes. Cast: minimum required 3m + 3f with doubling of roles. A larger cast is possible. New Zealander Christine Kingsley is a professional actor working in Britain on the verge of going to the West End. Yet her life could so easily have ended tragically by her own hand when she was a teenager. Swiss Cider tackles the difficult subject of teenage suicide by using flashbacks to recall the pressures of Christine’s earlier life and how she survived. Swiss Cider won the 1995 Minolta/Playwrights Association of NZ Playwriting Competition. SETTING: Present day. Black box ideal. |
SHADOW SELF A one-act play 30-35 minutes long. Cast: 1m +2f. Based on the early life and writings of Katherine Mansfield including an adaptation of her short story “A Dill Pickle”. Explores the connections between Katherine’s reality and imagination by placing Katherine at the heart of her own story. Shadow Self achieved 3rd place in the 1988 Leicestershire Playwrights One-Act Competition. First performed on stage by Burnside High School in 2003. The play was adapted for radio, directed by Edna Newnham and broadcast on Coast Access FM in 1998. SETTING: Set in London in 1918 and in the story within a story, Russia prior to WWI. An easy play to stage as lighting and sound effects are used to convey the different settings. An ideal festival play. |
| THE INTERVIEW A one-act comedy-drama, 30 minutes in length. Cast 4m + 3f. This play in the style of theatre of the absurd is a comedy with a dark underbelly. Artistically minded Helen Morton a 19-year-old is interviewed for a place in society by a panel of authoritarian figures. Imaginatively staged using video equipment and the placement of screens either side of the stage; The Interview was premiered in Hamilton by Creative Resources Inc in association with Artlines in 1985. It has had several productions in New Zealand and Australia. SET: Hamilton, New Zealand 1970s. |
THOSE WHO DWELL ON
THE BEACH A one-act drama, 45-50 minutes long. Cast 3m + 1f. Those Who Dwell on the Beach is set in Mt Eden prison in 1877. This historical drama uses flashback sequences to recount the fictitious life of convicted murderer Henry Mann. The play begins with Henry’s early years in Yorkshire where he was press-ganged and includes a dramatic account of the sinking of the HMS Orpheus in 1863. Those Who Dwell on the Beach was an award-winning play in the 1977 Playwriting Competition sponsored by the Onehunga Borough Council. The Onehunga Repertory Players first performed it at the Little Dolphin Theatre, Onehunga in 1978 directed by Tony Forster. SET: Minimum requirements, black box ideal. Imaginative lighting and sound effects will help convey the audience through the flashback sequences. |
| AGATHA & THE
INVISIBLE GIANT A one-act comedy for children, 30 minutes in length. Mixed cast, minimum of 10. A big forgetful silly giant is no match for a very naughty old witch or is he? Tee, hee, hee….! You’ll have to read it and see. This delightful play includes some unusual characters like Dang & Blast, two elf-like creatures and Diabolical, Agatha’s black cat and SuperFairy, a powerful goody-goody fairy. The story is narrated by the Pied Piper with opportunities to include music, song and dance. Agatha & The Invisible Giant was first performed by the Pied Piper Players in Hamilton in 1979. SET: Easy as you like. Could be staged anywhere as it is set in the imagination. |
WHY THE KIWI
CAN’T FLY A one-act play for children, 20-30 minutes in length. Flexible cast, minimum of 11 speaking parts + opportunity to add as many non-speaking parts as desired with actors playing lesser birds and creatures of the forest. Suitable for presentation at young primary school level. Based on the Maori legend of how the Kiwi became a flightless bird. Peter, a young English boy is a daydreamer. His father is visiting New Zealand as a member of the Lions rugby team. Thanks to his time-travelling friend, Dr Who, this enchanting play transports Peter to the ancient forests of Aotearoa to discover exactly why the kiwi can’t fly. Why the Kiwi Can’t Fly was first performed in 1993 by pupils from Hamilton West School. |
| FREEZE A one-act absurd comedy, 40 minutes in length. Cast 4m + 4f. A dead jogger is discovered outside a shopping mall in Te Awamutu. Inspector Lark and Sergeant Frothing are on the case and it seems everyone is a suspect. An ideal festival play. Freeze has enjoyed several productions in New Zealand from schools and colleges through to Repertory groups which says a lot for its popularity, hilarity and versatility. “Young drama clubs would have a ball with this”, Richard Campion. |
IF I SAID YOU HAVE A
HEAVENLY BODY A one-act adult comedy, 30 minutes in length. Cast 1m + 1f. In an imaginary office in heaven, Angela, interviews John who wants to become an angel but has he got what it takes and is he really good enough and why for heaven’s sake is there so much red tape? Awarded equal second place in 1998 Minolta/Playwrights' Association of New Zealand Playwriting Competition. Easy to stage this would make an ideal festival play. |
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THE COOK TAPES A one-act play, 45-50 minutes duration. Flexible Cast: 1m 1f + dynamic chorus of 4 actors. A past life regression takes us on a journey of exploration from Yorkshire to New Zealand and the first great voyage of Captain James Cook. SET: Single minimalist set using rostra and a small mast and rigging to represent Cook’s ship Endeavour. The Cook Tapes was performed at the National Finals of the NZ Theatre Federation One Act Festival in 2007. An ideal play for one-act festivals. |