Plays by RAYMOND HOPKINS
LOVE BEGINS AT FIFTYPublished 1998 M3 F6 £6-95 H185205 229 5Matrimonial mix-up in the funniest farce we have ever published. Featured in the 'Play Produced' feature in Amateur Stage. Over 150 performances to date. Anita and Clive Debanks have been married for 28 years and have led an uneventful life. But all that is about to change. Although in a loveless marriage, Clive has never been unfaithful. However, as preparations for his fiftieth birthday are underway, Clive feels that life is passing him by and has a yearning for a final fling. To this end, he chooses three prospective partners from the 'lonely Hearts' column in the local paper. By a strange twist of fate, the same paper is offering a Caribbean cruise, as the first prize, in a competition to find the perfect married couple. Anita enters the competition but keeps it a secret form Clive. A photographer arrives to take the pictures of the happy couple the night Anita is away, but Clive is busy entertaining one of his new dates. From that point onwards, things get a little complicated, to say the least. The action is fast and furious in this hilarious farce, one of the funniest we have ever published. Some Press opinions"This is one of the most frenetically funny farces I have reviewed for some time, up to the standards of the best Ray Cooney … side-splitting laughter … a fast and furious farce which provides hilarious opportunities." LOVE BEGINS AT FIFTY has been a great success. As well as a record - breaking season as a summer show at Torquay, it has been performed by amateur companies throughout the country. In 2001 we published IT MUST BE LOVEThis new farce was booked for another summer show in Torquay.6m 4w £ 6-95 185205 257 0 The plot twists and turns in a frantic manner right up to the surprise ending. Jason Taylor; a quiet unassuming person, is one week away from marrying Lucinda, his childhood sweetheart. The overzealous bride's mother, Stella Parsons, has turned the wedding into a personal crusade. No expense has been spared and a year's preparations have all come together to make it the event of the decade. Lucinda, who has always been dominated by her mother, has gone along with the lavish arrangements. As the wedding looms ever closer, everything is on track. That is, until Julie, a girl from the local florists, calls at the Taylors' to make some final arrangements. By a twist of fate, Jason is at home alone. Their inevitable first meeting sparks off that magical chemistry which makes two people fall hopelessly in love. From that point on, the plot twists and turns in a frantic manner, making the wedding a far more memorable occasion than even Stella could have imagined. THE LOVE NESTM2 F7 £6-95A third farcical comedy by the author of the LOVE BEGINS AT FIFTY. Set in a seaside guest house where misfortune follows misfortune - but 'all's well that ends well'. Or is it?H185205 258 9 David and Janet Thompson were deeply in love when they married thirty-two years ago. Their future seemed destined for marital bliss. That was until Janet's mother, Marjorie, moved in with them. From that day onwards, things started to go downhill. Their relationship has now reached an all-time low. Ina last attempt to save the marriage, the couple have decided to return to the guest house where they spent their honeymoon. The idea being that they will rekindle the lost feeling of warmth and affection they used to share and live happily ever after. If only life was that simple. The second honeymoon is doomed from the beginning. The guest house is going through a bad patch. Marjorie decided to come along and upset everyone. David is pursued by an over-zealous waitress, a frustrated newly-wed and an admirer from the past turn the whole week into a farce. Will true love win through in the end? Only Tyson, the mouse, has the answer. LOVE AND MONEYM4 F4 one set £6-95 ISBN 185205 2686A farcical comedy from the master of the art who's previous plays have been a runaway success, being performed hundreds of times to full houses of delighted audiences. What happens when the family have a robbery and try to claim the insurance payment? Not a subject for a farcical comedy? Don't you believe it! The twist and turns, the intrigues, the misunderstandings and the falling-outs are as funny as ever: And all this takes place in one simple setLOVE AND PERFECT HARMONYM4 F5 one set £7-50 H1852053062( 9781852053062)This is the fifth play by Raymond Hopkins whose first play LOVE BEGINS AT FIFTY has been performed many times both in this country and, more recently, in Australia. On at least two occasions, it has been chosen for the summer season at seaside towns and has played to large audiences. His plays that followed IT MUST BE LOVE, THE LOVE NEST and LOVE AND MONEY have been great successes. This play, unlike the others, is a comedy rather than a farce and includes four original songs which can be sung or mimed. The full music score is included in this script. The action takes place in a back room of the local Corn Exchange in the south of England where the local choral society hold their rehearsals. Their intrigues, quarrels and successes all add up to a most amusing, entertaining evening. Hardly any scenery or furniture is required which makes for ease in staging. NEW June 2008 MAKE TIME FOR LOVECAST:- M2 F7 one set £7-50 ISBN 978185205 3208A comedy in two acts. The sixth play by this highly popular playwright whose plays have topped our charts in the UK and Australia. It all started with Love Begins at Fifty - now performed hundreds of times to delighted audiences. A recent production, performed for ten nights , was sold out every night of the run. His plays that followed - The Love Nest, Love and Money, It Must be Love and Love and Perfect Harmony have all been very popular with amateur drama groups. MAKE WAY FOR LOVE, with its domestic setting and a string of matrimonial misunderstandings, promises to be yet another success. The author is donating his share of the proceeds from these plays to Multiple Sclerosis Research Home Page ORDERING INFORMATION |