Recommended by Alice Josephs

Surprising shifting perspectives and reversals structure this piece set in the aftermath of an almost-Stockholm-Syndrome situation. The jailed hostage-taker and the free survivor seemingly start to normalise their relationship only in the prison visiting room. Romance or friendship? A first or an only visit?. As in real time, neither we nor the protagonists can know what the future holds as Sickles grapples with the psychology of former hostage and captor in this sharply written 10 minute play.

A prodigal son visits his parent in this artful two-hander. Martineau does an ingenious roll back in this tale of the painful relationship between mother and cherished offspring. His careful structuring insures a suspenseful unravelling of the story, while still exploring colourful, vivid and humane moments within a dark fiction.

The art of story telling take centre stage in a surprising way in this carefully constructed three-hander legal drama. Both lawyer and suspect have an eventually-revealed unexpected stake in a case where the latter proclaims his innocence despite overwhelming evidence against him. Levine sets up a stereotypical yet still intriguing scenario before a satisfying final twist.

A feel good play about two lost souls separated by a century and an ocean who find each other in their dreams. Dream Girl is an original take on time travelling with two well defined characters - workaholic Brit Matthew grappling with 21st century frustrations and good time girl, flapper Ginny about to enter into a marriage of convenience in 1920s’ New York. Feeny-Williams neatly manages their platonic romance through several smooth scene changes and progressions in a compelling piece of theatre.

‘In the end we all become collectibles’ So says toney Pamela Harriman in her distinctive British-inflected American accent, collecting and being collected by rich and influential men in the course of this cannily structured two-hander play. Based on a true story, Leipart taps into the need for salacious gossip and the manoeuvres of a political and economic survivor. Aided by a smoothly complementary hotel valet sidekick, she gives as good as she gets in a glorious role for an older actress with some stonking one liners, a mixture of salaciousness and political nous, all driven by a Shavian-like gusto.

Thank goodness expectant Mom, Judy, has a loving husband, Mark, with a steady if exasperating job. Making sure both Earth and his own domestic life run to time and to plan. Sarah Cho’s funny, salty little play on a time traveller and his wife keeping their sanity and their marriage intact, even if they can never sit down together to a hot meal, manages to combine the surreal and the mundane with comic aplomb!

Old time star, instantly recognisable by his British drawl, James Mason mulls on his young daughter’s summary of his movie career. A clever riff on life, or rather death, on screen and off, Paul Smith captures a rueful and truthful irony of an actor’s life with this charismatic tour-de-force for an older male performer.

New York City. Veteran Yellow Cab driver Bobby anticipates a windfall to set him up for good. Middle aged ad exec Richard hails a cab to take him to the next job interview hoping this will be the day his fortunes change. An intriguing, characterful odd couple drama and poignant study of aging baby boomers left adrift as they negotiate the highways and byways of the city and their cash strapped lives before a final roller coaster ride.

Kenny, a black man, and Sophia, a white senior, after initial caution from the retiree, strike up a conversation and an instant rapport outside a New York thrift store. A short and sweet piece where the name of the shop and title Goodwill seemingly pervades throughout. A well constructed short with the possibility of alternate plots effortlessly emerging in engaging dialogue where stereotypes are both confirmed and subverted.

Two children confront imaginary nighttime foes in their own backyard. A deceptively simple story reveals both the complexity of history and the unshakeable love between a young brother and sister, each vulnerable and protective in their own way, written with humour, tenderness and a dexterity, both visual and verbal.