Recommended by Alice Josephs

Female centred with spare but powerful dialogue, this piece has an arc of great clarity outlining the achievements of inventor Margaret ‘Mattie’ Knight, the nadir and eventually the zenith succinctly and effectively presented, conjuring up both the factory floor and the courtroom. Structured as a chorus/choral work, this is a dynamic, imaginative and intensely theatrical rendition of a life and a piece of little known industrial history.

Parodying swashbuckling (or should that be laser unbuckling?) movies such as Entrapment, Shrike and Magpie is an inventive heist comedy spoof with an old school duel between two jewel thieves at its heart. Set in an alternative world with Sherlock Holmes Victoriana combined with high concept technology, this two-hander comedy thriller offers a delectable opportunity for director, actors and possibly designer depending on high or (using the audience’s imagination) low concept staging. Suspenseful and full of panache with thrills, spills and a belly laugh final twist, this is an appealing, heart-pounding, clock-ticking, slick and funny audience pleaser.

Miss American Pie has all the makings of an American classic dismantling past and present myths enveloping America’s view of itself in the 21st century. Yet the diverse apple pie ingredients remain a constant reminder of a richer immigration heritage in a mixed up world. Taking the recipe for one of the most sentimental of American icons, this elegant, heartfelt and thoughtful drama takes us alongside Maggie on her journey of discovery of herself and the world around her as she prepares a pie and cherished illusions are stripped away leaving a truer depiction of a divided nation.

An appetising short with a wonderful
range of characters who are all trying to find their way out of food-driven dilemmas - but not the expected ones. Their interaction and reactions make for a family-friendly play where the characters, each with their quirks and speech patterns, unravel their problems, keeping the twists and turns coming, and the playwright shows a sure hand in keeping the laughs coming. Delicious!

These intertwined monologues of Charles Dickens and wife Kate are devastating in their simplicity. He wove acclaimed stories for entertainment, but here stories are a vindictive ‘legal’ weapon, forcing us to question what happens when the wronged wife is turned into a ‘character’ for legal purposes. And false storytelling, including unfitness as wife and mother, readily accepted, backed up by Dickens’ status as family patriarch and beloved author. As effective in modern as well as period dress, specifics of the Dickens’s separation take on universal resonance in the #MeToo age of fake news and the court of public opinion.

Every character has an integral role in this piece centring on a self satisfied playwright and his wife thrilling one of their Bed & Breakfast hosts with tales of plays and their genesis. Yet in the end, the husband of the host stirs himself and brings a no nonsense and ribald view point, with truth in his tomfoolery and a healthy disrespect contrasting with his awestruck wife. An age old plot in many ways but still authentic with four roles for older actors in a believable situation and with a cliffhanger ending.

At the heart of this play is the relationship between Anna Mae and the FBI agent - for she is in such jeopardy she feels only his surveillance can save her life. Her voice rings out clear and sincere - her refusal to play adversarial politics or feather her own nest creating enemies on every side. The two hander has naturalistic dialogue with true arguments, while we never know if the interrogator who seems to understand her would nevertheless sacrifice her for expediency. A disturbing piece of unflinching clarity with no glib answers.

In a business world dominated by mergers and takeovers, what’s to stop the same mentality invading the private space and rebounding just as in the public arena? With a New York landscape, this is an evocative female centred drama which touches on mighty issues. Lunsford cleverly sets up a scenario and then reverses our expectations and sympathies, although the villain of the piece becomes not so much the human betrayer but a voracious corporate world which may sow seeds of destruction even it cannot forsee or control.

Jeanne Lumière, sibling to the more famous brothers, in a few pages comes over as canny, patient and delightful - the anonymous fragile celluloid figure on the station platform made flesh. Carnes captures the sing-song lyricism of the French language in this paean to early film and the hidden pioneer role of a woman in a male dominated trade. Jeanne gently educates the audience of her role without rancour about the excitement of a new technology sweeping and becoming the pride of a nation. An enchanting and never clichéd tour de force for both writer and actor.

Miss Havisham, she ain’t, but great expectations can still be dashed when a paying gig turns out to be anything but. A feisty sleight-of-hand comedy short with assumptions proved wrong when a seemingly stood-up bride and diner waitress Lexi and Denver, a young man visiting his boyfriend, meet and connect on the stoop of an apartment block. This works either as a standalone comedy or the beginning of a longer play (or movie) with sharp-tongued but heart-in-the-right place Lexi and gentle and thoughtful Denver and a chance for two actors to show their comedy timing chops.