Recommended by Dominica Plummer

A well crafted, timely play that reminds us how high the stakes can be when a family member is working on the front lines during a pandemic. Jackie Martin has created a short drama that seems like talk about every day domestic details, but which is actually a conversation about the things we fear most. David is reluctant to continue, but his husband Kevin (an ICU doctor) knows the truth — that there may not be a second chance. Warmly recommended.

I always enjoy a play about Matthew Weaver, and this is no exception. Lots of clever dialogue about what constitutes a good drama, but holding the piece together is this warm and affectionate debate between two good friends. That said, there's still suspense! Will Matthew and Tristen come to blows over what theatre should be? Read this play and find out!

Set in Antarctica in 2046, Pangea takes up the story of Teddy and Anzor twenty years later. Anzor (Andy) is now a famous astronaut who has been to Mars, and Teddy is a brilliant marine biologist. An unexpected meeting in a remote base in Antarctica brings these two long lost penpals back together. But with Planet Earth in a literal meltdown, and refugee penguins searching for a new home (along with the humans), are Teddy and Anzor ready for a grown up love, or will they just pass like ships in the night? Can't wait to read Play 3!

The Baddest Kid on Emerson may just cover ten minutes of playing time, but it covers whole lifetimes of the characters in it. Expect the unexpected when Vince and Violet meet a neighborhood legend. Especially when their hero fails to measure up. Steve Martin has created a searing drama that puts two hero worshipping kids on a deadly path towards disillusionment and destruction. Recommended.

Audiences will love John Busser's hilarious homage to Christmas, film noir, downtrodden elves and exploited secretaries. Will hard bitten PI Brick Fistula solve the mystery of who dropped the mantel on a Christmas helper? Who cares when the ensuing shenanigans appear to point to loads of laughter involving a cheating Santa and a very naughty elf. Warmly recommended with lots of eggnog.

What makes this play so memorable is that Mark Harvey Levine has set the entire drama in a bed that's also a cab. It's a delightful idea enacted as a metaphor for a life driven erratically and at speed to an uncertain destination. Full of hasty meetings, sharp swerves and forks in the road, Cabfare For The Common Man will leave actors and audiences breathless but wanting more! Heartily recommended.

Emily McClain's suburban short goes hilariously off the rails when Molly invites the new neighbors over for a disastrous dinner party. In the course of ten minutes, Elbows destroys centerpieces, pork loins and marriages as Molly, Ross, Vince and Iris learn the hard way that suburbia is not safe. Perfect for short play festivals!

This is a fun Christmas play that will test the holiday spirit! It's a cross cultural examination of Christmas fathers imagined as a crime spree that involves Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Santa Claus. Lively dialogue, unexpected twists, and a surprise ending that will have audiences having some serious second thoughts about men in red suits!

"Words like tides." What a beautiful way to talk about something so frightening for a writer as the inability to find the right words as quickly as she used to be able to do. Steve Martin's poetic, heartfelt monologue about Wanda's failing memory is not only a terrific piece for an actress to perform—it is a work of art that will appeal to audiences whether they have experience of Wanda's predicament, or not.

It is really rare that one finds a play that is so vividly imagined as Scott Sickles' Marianas Trench. It is an adult play, yet the central characters, Teddy and Anzor, are 11 year old boys. They are rich, complex portraits of two queer kids coming of age in a dystopian America that feels terrifyingly real in our troubled times. Add to this dazzling theatricality, extended metaphors of deep sea diving that take your breath away, and an ending that made this Brit forget her stiff upper lip and just cry. Brilliant!