Palaces

by Arthur M Jolly

10 Minute Play. What's worse, a dead rat in the toilet or a dead husband in the kitchen? Is there a difference?
In the play, Babs has to make some tough decisions when her old flame Abby turns up on the run from her abusive husband - who she's stabbed in the back of the neck with a kitchen knife.
It's a dark comedy with a heart of murder. (This play was formerly titled "Of Rats and men")
Content warning...

10 Minute Play. What's worse, a dead rat in the toilet or a dead husband in the kitchen? Is there a difference?
In the play, Babs has to make some tough decisions when her old flame Abby turns up on the run from her abusive husband - who she's stabbed in the back of the neck with a kitchen knife.
It's a dark comedy with a heart of murder. (This play was formerly titled "Of Rats and men")
Content warning: discussion of past spousal abuse, mostly implied.

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Palaces

Recommended by

  • Sasha Karuc: Palaces by Arthur M Jolly
    “

    The things we do for the people we love. Perhaps the most striking thing about PALACES is the way Jolly captures the long history between Abby and Babs—their familiar teasing and tension, but also what’s left unspoken. Babs’s hardness and Abby’s fear are immediately present, but underneath that, there’s a tenderness that bonds them together. A short but moving play.

    The things we do for the people we love. Perhaps the most striking thing about PALACES is the way Jolly captures the long history between Abby and Babs—their familiar teasing and tension, but also what’s left unspoken. Babs’s hardness and Abby’s fear are immediately present, but underneath that, there’s a tenderness that bonds them together. A short but moving play.

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: Palaces by Arthur M Jolly
    “

    Nothing like old friends catching up with a dead husband in the kitchen! Suspenseful and well done.

    Nothing like old friends catching up with a dead husband in the kitchen! Suspenseful and well done.

    ”

Character Information

3f
  • ABBY
    Abby has fled her home after killing her abusive husband, and has returned to a woman with whom she has a complicated history.
    40s
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • BABS
    Babs guards her emotions behind a wall of steel and muscle. She's a survivor with one weak spot - Abby.
    40s
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • OLGA
    OLGA (Can be SVEN with pronoun changes) is the proprietor of a run down flophouse. She is irascible, unhelpful - and only sticks with the job because of her memories of what the place used to be.
    50s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+

Production History

  • Professional, Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Co, Houston, TX, 2017
  • Professional, Full Circle Theatre Company, NY, 2014
  • Community Theater, The Randall Theatre, Medford, OR, 2012
  • University, Women in Theatre, 2011
  • Professional, Piano Fight 3.0, 2010
  • Professional, The Tre Stage, Los Angeles, 2010
  • Professional, Theatre Encino, Los Angeles, 2010