Coming soon to a stage near you...
Several of my plays are available to licence for performance, direct from me and are also promoted on http://www.newplayexchange.org/users/73161/marc-harris - with further plays to be added.
Get in touch if you're looking for an audience reaction similar to this!
Blast from the Past
Take one actor who wants to act, a brother, daughter and neighbour who also want him to, another daughter who doesn’t, and an actor - who can’t. The scene is set for an entertaining, poignant and humorous drama about family relationships, ageing and hope. Can Tim begin to find his inner confidence, and believe that there may be a chance to act for one final time?
This ultimately uplifting, conventionally staged family friendly drama, has a running time of approximately 100 minutes. It is set in the present day and can be easily performed with minimal design and costume requirements. It consists of 2 acts with 8 scenes and an interval, with a cast of 8 characters - 4 male (mid 80s, early 80s, mid 70s and any age) and 4 female (early 60s, early 60s, 25 - 35 and any age, or alternatively 3 male and 4 female - without the 'any age' male character). Although the main character is in his mid 80s, I envisage that the actor portraying him will be aged in his late 60s to late 70s.
The title of the play has a double meaning – the main character emerging from a period of grief for his wife, stepping back into his world of work, and secondly, the happier memories of yesteryear, which he is reflecting upon. Although the main character is experiencing the very early stages of dementia, I have deliberately only touched on his illness, as it is not the main theme of the play. I was inspired to write the play after having enjoyed chatting with Colin George, the late classical actor and founding artistic director of the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield - a charming man whom I regularly served as a customer in my day job, although it is not based on him.
My aim was to write an entertaining play with a minimal amount of conflict, which also reminds us that kindness prevails. It has much gentle humour throughout with some laugh out loud dialogue, plus I very kindly have two 'endorsements', one from comedy legend Barry Cryer and the other from comic actor Jeffrey Holland (see below). The characters feel very real to me, and I believe that their stories resonate with an audience. I enjoyed writing the interplay between the characters, especially in the first, penultimate and final scenes, where the humour is cranked up a notch or two. The play may be more suited to a smaller stage, by benefiting from an intimate setting, to enable the audience to be closer and more involved.
In November 2022 this was one of five plays shortlisted for the Stables Theatre New Play Competition.
Fee: £45.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge (plus a videoed staged rehearsed reading for reference purposes if performing).
‘I found this fascinating from the start, dealing as it does, with the bleak subject of dementia, with an undercurrent of humour throughout. I find some other writers especially interesting, as their work is so different from mine and this represents the perfect formula. Read, absorb and enjoy.’ Barry Cryer
‘I enjoyed it enormously. It has humour and a great deal of poignancy and enormous depth of human feeling. Congratulations on a very fine piece of work.’ Jeffrey Holland
‘Blast from the Past is an excellent, emotional and very funny play. The first point I want to make is that it will definitely resonate with an older audience. Really hits many of the marks when it comes to the elderly such as struggles with forgetfulness, grown children, the question of entering nursing homes, lost loves and friends. Secondly, the humour is brilliant and paced nicely. Finally, there are several strong emotional scenes that deal with these senior issues. The play ends nicely on an upbeat note and I know audiences will love it!’ Robert Caston, New Play Exchange
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The actors who played the two brothers were superb. I was totally immersed in the characters of Tim and Eddie and their stories, expressing themselves in natural dialogue that recalled the typical everyday conversations that are familiar to us. Their easy rapport, good humour, and sharing of nostalgic memories, some of which were quite rueful, created very credible characters. The actor brother Tim, living on his own had a particular touch of poignancy, lightened by his new friendship with the charming young resident of the nearby flat. The dialogue reflecting the contrast between the two sisters, clearly painted their characters and threw a spotlight on well meaning adult children who can undermine their elderly parents. As for the audition scene – what fun!’ Flavia McCarney
Secrets & Pies
Harvey’s immediate family all
want to talk with him, having unwittingly divulged secrets to one another while sitting in
a hospital waiting room. The trouble is, Harvey’s long held secret has also been revealed
but lying in a hospital bed, he can’t speak for himself. How does a family come to terms
with these suddenly unravelled truths? And why can’t everything be as easy as pie?
This comedy drama has a running time of approximately 80 minutes. It is set in the present day and can be performed with minimal scenery/props. It consists of 1 act with 3 scenes (with no interval), with a cast of 8 characters - 3 male (aged mid 30s, late 60s, and 70) and 5 female (aged 20, 40, early 40s, mid 60s, and mid 70s, or alternatively a cast of 7, with the male late 60s and 70 roles being played by the same actor, which could be quite comical, especially as they are said to look similar).
An entertaining drama with plenty of family dynamics and twists, plus a pleasing final plot twist right at the end - which the audience will never see coming! The title gives a playful nod to Mike Leigh's film Secrets & Lies and the play was specifically written with 'uplifting an audience' in mind, and for audiences
returning to the theatre after some time, whom I felt needed to be entertained - it is not
trying to be anything other than that. The play would work well either on its own, or by being presented alongside a second play, to make a full evening's worth of entertainment. It could feasibly be a first half play, followed by an interval and then Cliff on the Edge in the second half - for two really entertaining (and entirely different) plays.
Fee: £45.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
Please note that this play is presently unavailable, due to submissions to playwriting festivals/competitions - sorry!
‘Secrets & Pies is the sensational new kitchen sink drama of our time (or at least for the first minute).’ Marc Harris
‘I found the play immensely entertaining and enjoyable and it would make a great stage play. Each character came through in their own unique way e.g. the ditzy nurse! I found the dialogue between them all very natural and believable, reflecting the many different emotions – affection, worry, resentment, rivalry, annoyance, etc, that were at play because of the underlying secrets. The humour lifted the atmosphere so it was never dispiriting, and I particularly liked how you paced the tension stemming from each person’s concealment, and I had no real inkling as to what would eventually emerge.’ Flavia McCarney
Cliff on the Edge
Cliff, a cantankerous loner
with sceptical thoughts on climate change and green issues meets his match in
Fleur, a council surveyor with strong environmental views who attends an
appointment to survey his rear garden, which backs onto crumbling cliffs and a
130 feet drop. Can Fleur persuade Cliff to change his ways and accept that his
days spent living in this idyllic location are numbered?
This short drama has a running time of approximately 45 minutes. It is set in the present day and can be performed with minimal scenery/props. The script relies on sound effects to enhance the production throughout and build the suspense towards the end. It consists of 1 act with a cast of 3 characters - 2 males (aged mid to late 70s and early to late 60s), and 1 female (age mid to late 30s).
A fun three-hander about environmental issues, with great characters, a good dose of humour and a strong relevant message - with a cliffhanging ending. The play makes use of a raised stage ideally, to convey the action but may also be performed on a
level stage, with some creative thinking.
Fee: £35.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
It is possible for this play and Stage Door Blues to be performed by the same three actors, which
would require (all approximate ages) a 50 year old man - playing mid 50s and early 60s, a 40 year
old women - playing mid 50s and mid 30s, and a 70 year old man - playing mid 60s and late 70s,
which should provide an enjoyable challenge and opportunity to create two contrasting characters
each, which I think an audience will find interesting.
‘Cliff on the Edge is a fantastic play with an important message. The theme covers a critical subject that is on everyone's mind today. But it addresses the subject in a unique and humorous manner that gets the point across. Audiences will absolutely love the surprise visual effects. If you are looking for a short entertaining play with relevance, this is it!’ Robert Caston, New Play Exchange
‘The two contrasting characters are very engaging and interact well in a situation that is personally challenging for them both. I am always intrigued by the stage directions and sound effects that are a necessary element of play writing and you created such clear scenes, I could easily imagine myself on that cliff edge with Cliff and Fleur! You have a gift for natural dialogue and the ebb and flow of the conversation between them is effortless. It is also amusing at various points and very cleverly incorporates present day topics such as climate change, same sex marriage and generational differences.’ Flavia McCarney
Please note that this play is presently unavailable, due to submissions to playwriting festivals/competitions - sorry!
Stage Door Blues
Liz is determined to wait until she has her theatre programme signed but her husband Robert is impatient and persists in undermining her and Russ, an actor, because of her infatuation with him. Can they overcome their differences and bickering, and is Liz able to hold on to her secret?
This short comedy drama has a running time of approximately 17 minutes. It is set in the present day and does not require any props. It consists of 1 act with a cast of 3 characters - 2 male and 1 female (all aged mid 50s - 60s). The play was inspired by standing outside the stage door of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane until midnight on a freezing November evening.
A fun script which will make the audience chuckle, with a plot twist half way through (which some may have realised a little earlier).
In July 2019 this reached the short list of Pintsized Plays, the
international competition for short plays.
Fee: £20.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
Grammatically Speaking
Simon decides to carry out his first burglary, unknowingly breaking into his former school teacher's cottage. Clive tries to convince Simon that everyone deserves a second chance but is everything as it seems?
This short (friendly) ghost drama has a running time of approximately 13 minutes. It is set in the present day and can be performed with minimal scenery/props. The script relies on numerous sound effects to enhance the production and build the
suspense, and consists of 1 act with a cast of 2 characters - both male (aged late 20s and mid 70s), although there's no reason why both could not be played by either sex.
An unusual script, where to some, it may become apparent that one of the characters is a ghost, while to others, possibly not.
In July 2020 this reached the long list of Pintsized Plays, the international competition for short plays.
Fee: £20.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
A Fishy Tail
The dramatic rescue of a girl on the Cornish coastline is linked by the account of an elderly man, who has waited to tell a similar story most of his life. Can they both convince those who doubt them, that the incredible events, connected by many decades apart, did really happen?
This short drama has a running time of approximately 13 minutes. It is set in the present day and does not require any props. It consists of 1 act with a cast of 4 characters - 2 male (aged
early 50s and early 90s) and 2 female (aged early 40s and 9).
A quirky script with an older mysterious character, and a fantasy element - which still feels believable.
Fee: £20.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
‘A very uplifting piece with some intriguing twists and turns. I very much enjoyed the fantasy elements that became evident towards the end of the piece, and the sense of being in on the secret that arises from Estie wishing Fred goodbye and realising she also knows his name without being told. Starting out there is a clear sense of drama, but it transforms through the piece and we are left feeling almost like it was a fairytale.’ Underscore Studios
‘I really enjoyed your play and can see it working as a lovely short film.’ Jessica Elisa Boyd, St Elmo Pictures.
My Home Is My Castle
Mary Williams is in her early 70s; a working class
retired lollipop lady, proud of her home and living on her own in a small one
bedroom flat in a council block. She is the last person living in the block,
due to the council regenerating the estate. Mary is not happy with the
alternative accommodation she has been offered, and has decided to put up a
fight.
This short monologue has a running time of approximately 14 minutes. It is set in the present day and can be performed with minimal scenery/props.
Fee: £20.00 per performance. Digital script: Available to read without charge.
‘It was really authentic in the way it portrayed an elderly woman worrying about the changes taking place around her and the way they were affecting her home. You could sense her fears reflecting the emptying and deterioration of her apartment block. Yet whilst admiring her stubbornness you willed her to face a future that might possibly be brighter than the present she is living in. It was a masterly stroke to confront the reader with the fact that actually her stubbornness is vindicated because she achieves the outcome she really wants!’ Flavia McCarney