Recommended by Daniel Prillaman

My director brain had a lot of fun reading this. The rest of my brain, too, mind you, but my director brain had the most. Donley’s puzzle is one that might even frighten some, but it’s delightfully accessible beneath its Fury Road but comedy-esque surface. And down there? Whimsical and unforgiving musing on terrorism, nationality, marriage, commitment, and Disney. This would be incredibly fun to see or be in. You know, in addition to directing.

I actually read this just before a therapy appointment...

Thankfully it turned out a little differently. Donley's short play is a ride through motherhood and hereditary misgivings, "in-laws" and very physical debate. The moral here is probably that therapy, no matter how unique or unorthodox or deadly, helps. It helps very much. And tea. Highly entertaining.

In my teen years, I was afflicted with significant Monty Python-exposure. As a result, there are few things I am fonder of than serious silliness. This is some highly serious silliness. So much wordplay, so much buffoonery, so much failure to address the marsupial problem. Thank God for Nico and his tea boy prowess. Plumridge’s play is a delightful romp that (pun intended) practically bounces off the page. Any team will have an absolute hoot with this group of somewhat senile Signors.

I’ve yet to use the words “Satanist coming-of-age story” in describing anything. I’m so glad I can here.

These characters are hilarious, heart-wrenching, and beautifully relatable (both in personality and unpacked religious trauma). Amid the fun is an excellent, nuanced insight into the way many branches of Christianity literally? metaphorically? demonize other human beings. We can debate the nature of evil forever, but that shit has an effect. It hurts people. It traumatizes them. And it shouldn’t be the reason found families are formed, but hey, maybe Satanism is the friends we made along the way. Tremendous.

New Year’s is a time of reflection, seasonal depression, and snogging that runs the gamut from significant to meaningless. These two forlorn souls contemplate much in the final minutes, but are they awkward people or just filling awkward silences? Or both? Delightfully melancholy with its own heartbeat. A really fun scene for two actors, this.

I have said it before and I will say it again, Samantha Marchant makes the most fun staging playgrounds. Forget living rooms, forget mansions, this farce is a literally vertical slice of life from the most trying night of Heather Balustrade's (oh yeah, get ready for some names) career. Everything you want in a farce is here in spades: mistaken identity, clothing swaps, butts. It is all colossally funny. The whole team will have a hoot with this one, which means audiences certainly will too. Personally, I'm ready to invest. I need a Commandeering Mink T-shirt. Or a hat.

If you'll pardon the pun, there's so much to dig into with this staggering play. From the vast musings of what makes a mother and parent capable of filicide (or what drives them to it), or what we owe to our own flesh and blood (especially if we envy them), O'Grady's play sets laser focus on a family unit struggling with the same questions until they become deeply personal. Too personal. A modern Greek tragedy is in play, and yet, full of life. Absolutely haunting.

Poor Sarah. This is a very fun and bloody send up of our favorite torture porn franchise. The mix of comedy and horror is perfect, and the roles would be so enjoyable for two actors to dive into. Jigsaw would be proud, especially because of that final twist.

However you encounter this script (be it the OG paper or the stellar audio productions by RubySky Productions and Gather By The Ghost Light), it is guaranteed to leave a mark on you. This is delicious, terrifying horror. Is it all in Samantha’s head? Does that matter? Clear answers are devilishly and deftly left to our own minds to supply, and none of them are good. You’ll certainly be thinking of this play next time it’s cold outside and you’re home alone. Just magnificent.

There's a lot packed into this short play, literally and subtextually. Wherever on the spectrum of platonic to romantic this relationship lies, is it safe to say it's doomed? If you can't stay still long enough to get your cast made, the larger things don't have much hope of following. There's echoes of Pinter aplenty here. Impactful scene.