Christine Foster

Christine Foster

Christine's full length, Off the Map, was a finalist in the 2022 Woodward/Newman New Play Competition and has won the Susan Glaspell Award, receiving its World Premiere at Centenary Stage in New Jersey in 2023.

Other theatre work has been produced in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Mexico, Korea, the UK and the US (including book and lyrics for five musicals.) She has worked...
Christine's full length, Off the Map, was a finalist in the 2022 Woodward/Newman New Play Competition and has won the Susan Glaspell Award, receiving its World Premiere at Centenary Stage in New Jersey in 2023.

Other theatre work has been produced in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Mexico, Korea, the UK and the US (including book and lyrics for five musicals.) She has worked extensively as a television series story editor and written scripts for CBS, CTV, CBC, History and The Family Channel, one of which won a Silver Medal at the New York International Film and Television Awards. She also co-founded Cliffhanger Productions in Toronto which brought world mythology to family audiences and won a coveted Dora Mavor Moore Award. She was the first artistic director of The Diez Minutos Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where she also directed several mainstage productions. She has taught playwriting in Canada, Mexico and at the Devon Academy for the Performing Arts in the UK and has had two new adaptations of Kipling's works produced in England, including the hit pub plays series Mixed Doubles, with premieres of several new ten minute plays both on stage and on radio (one of which won the 2018 Marion Thauer Brown Award for Best New Audio Drama.) Her full length “Four Thieves Vinegar” (about the Black Death) received four star reviews during its three week run in London in 2017 and enjoyed a sell-out remount at the Brighton Fringe in 2019. while her bio-play about Kenneth Grahame, "Lost in the Willows" toured the UK in 2022. She is currently working on the World Premiere of "Bess - The Other Houdini" about the widow of the famous illusionist.

Plays

  • Come Find Me
    SHORT LISTED for the GARRY MARSHALL THEATRE NEW WORKS FESTIVAL 2022
    Full length. In this psychological thriller, two women rekindle their enigmatic relationship after fifteen years apart. They may be friends, they may be family- and they may be trying to kill each other.
  • Hold My Wings
    Five Minute Comedy for stage or radio - A recently recycled Soul gets a chance to decide whether to stay in Paradise or return to the World - by taking a quiz.
  • Do Not Bend
    One Minute Play. A marriage counselor finds the perfect way to help couples unbend.
  • Off the Map
    Full length. Winner Susan Glaspell Award and
    Finalist in the Woodward/Newman New Play Contest 2022.
    World Premiere at Centenary Stage, Hackettstown, New Jersey in 2023

    Denny and Claire, a middle-aged couple, move to Central America to try out early retirement, only to find that their ideas of the good life are completely opposite. Claire is on the point of bolting for home when a...
    Full length. Winner Susan Glaspell Award and
    Finalist in the Woodward/Newman New Play Contest 2022.
    World Premiere at Centenary Stage, Hackettstown, New Jersey in 2023

    Denny and Claire, a middle-aged couple, move to Central America to try out early retirement, only to find that their ideas of the good life are completely opposite. Claire is on the point of bolting for home when a pair of archaeologists, hiking through the area, makes a shattering discovery on their property. That mound not twenty feet from the front of their cabin isn’t just a mound - it’s an ancient tomb. Claire and Denny are roped into the excavation, but what they unearth just shouldn’t be there - in fact it shouldn’t be anywhere. The conflict over what to do next sets off a chain of surreal events. Is it real or have they all somehow imagined it? And if it isn’t real, what is it?

    Honors: Best Women's Monologues 2022 - Smith and Kraus
  • Four Thieves Vinegar
    90 mins. In the sweltering summer of 1665, the Black Death sweeps through London.
    Matthias, an alchemist, has bankrupted himself trying to find a cure and has been
    thrown into prison for debt. There he is joined by Hannah, a garrulous widow, held
    for raising a riot, and young Jennet, who is sentenced to hang for theft. All three of
    them are busy plotting against each other when the...
    90 mins. In the sweltering summer of 1665, the Black Death sweeps through London.
    Matthias, an alchemist, has bankrupted himself trying to find a cure and has been
    thrown into prison for debt. There he is joined by Hannah, a garrulous widow, held
    for raising a riot, and young Jennet, who is sentenced to hang for theft. All three of
    them are busy plotting against each other when the pestilence arrives Newgate.
    While the other inmates - believing they are doomed - indulge in debauchery and
    drunkenness, Matthias begs his reluctant cellmates to help him make his sure-fire
    remedy. Unfortunately the missing ingredient is gold - something they have no hope
    of obtaining without resorting to the only currencies they do have: sex, wit and lies.
    When the last turnkey dies, they are ironically left to do exactly what they have been
    dreaming of - walk free again. But with a thousand a day dying on the streets above,
    perhaps they would do better to bar the door, stay put, and survive – if they can
    survive each other. PREMIERED IN LONDON TO FOUR STAR REVIEWS.
  • The Death of Me
    Two Act full length. A fifty-something couple is horrified to find themselves suddenly dead - and wandering in limbo. When Eerie Voices give them permission to go back and relive their final hours to discover ‘whodunit’, their supernatural return becomes a race to unravel the truth in one last evening of love, confusion and murder before their time runs out... again. Available in UK version from StageScripts...
    Two Act full length. A fifty-something couple is horrified to find themselves suddenly dead - and wandering in limbo. When Eerie Voices give them permission to go back and relive their final hours to discover ‘whodunit’, their supernatural return becomes a race to unravel the truth in one last evening of love, confusion and murder before their time runs out... again. Available in UK version from StageScripts and North American version from Playwrights Guild of Canada (for 30-ish actors) or from the author (50-ish year old version)
  • Lost in the Willows
    Full length bio play about Kenneth Grahame.
    Professionally produced by Four Tails Theatre Company in the UK 2022.
    "Spell binding with magic in the written word. A subtly unfolding play,
    devastating in storytelling. Innocence sours to despair, acclaim to agony,
    whispers rise to shrieks." Simon Jenner - Brighton Fringe Review

    Loss and loneliness stalked the...
    Full length bio play about Kenneth Grahame.
    Professionally produced by Four Tails Theatre Company in the UK 2022.
    "Spell binding with magic in the written word. A subtly unfolding play,
    devastating in storytelling. Innocence sours to despair, acclaim to agony,
    whispers rise to shrieks." Simon Jenner - Brighton Fringe Review

    Loss and loneliness stalked the celebrated author of "The Wind in The Willows".
    In fact he claimed he had only enjoyed one brief period in his life: his carefree childhood on the banks of the Thames. He becomes a reluctant adult struggling with a soul destroying job, a neurotic wife and a troubled and handicapped child. Based on the bedtime stories he creates for his son, he pens one of the most beloved children's books of all time, never out of print to this day, but it is his very obsession with childhood that finally leads to the greatest tragedy of his life.

    The play’s action flows freely through Grahame’s memories in scenes, soliloquies and extracts from his actual letters. The play explores how his stubborn belief in the innocence of rural tranquility creates a gift of literature for an admiring world, but ultimately destroys his own family.

  • Blind Larks
    Ten Minutes. Four teachers on a wilderness hike follow a stray dog into a cave only to be trapped by a violent rockfall. Locked into a tiny individual cocoons of jagged stone, invisible to each other, and unaware of how much air they have or how much time they have left, they begin to discover that what they 'believe' affects their very chances of survival.
  • Renewables
    Publilshed in Smith and Kraus Best 10 Minute Plays 2022

    In a Future where mental energy and consciousness
    have become the technologies that keep public services and utilities
    up and running, one family discovers that failing to cooperate
    with “the public good” can lead to tragedy.
  • Joy Ride
    Ten Minute. An estranged daughter brings her father's ashes home for a dignified send off, only to find her free spirited mother has loftier plans.
  • Dragonflies
    Ten Minutes. A young tech whiz has come up with a brilliant app which detects the presence of Supernatural Entities - but manages to miss what’s right in front of her own eyes.

    Review at Short and Sweet Auckland: "This tight and effective script contains more twists and turns than seems in-humanly possible in ten minutes. There are patches of existential writing which are quietly superb and...
    Ten Minutes. A young tech whiz has come up with a brilliant app which detects the presence of Supernatural Entities - but manages to miss what’s right in front of her own eyes.

    Review at Short and Sweet Auckland: "This tight and effective script contains more twists and turns than seems in-humanly possible in ten minutes. There are patches of existential writing which are quietly superb and the ending is, in my eyes, exceptional"
  • Many Happier Returns
    Ten Minutes. A mother offers her grown daughter the most unexpected of birthday gifts - with even more unexpected consequences.
  • Come Away
    Ten Minute. A single mother struggles to keep silent as she watches her only child leave
    home with a boyfriend she cannot relate to.
  • Winter Light
    Ten Minute. A mother tries to explain that she has seen a Vision
    while her adult children are preoccupied with testing a new egg recipe
    - or are things not quite what they seem?
  • Mind How You Go
    Ten Minute. Two rival metal detectorists stop on a moonlit stone bridge in the middle of the moors. They think they might just camp under the bridge, unless something else gets there - or them - first.
  • Mind How You Go - Radio
    Ten Minute. Two metal detectorists stop on a moonlit stone bridge in the middle of the Moors. They think they might just camp under the bridge, unless something else gets there - or them - first.

    Winner of the 2018 Marion Thauer Brown New Audio Script Award
  • Romantics Anonymous
    Ten Minutes. Romantics Anonymous is a support group for people who can’t resist the urge to fall madly in lust and need intervention before things go too far. A young woman calls her Buddy to rush over and save her from illicit longings, and gets plenty of support – just not the kind she was expecting.
  • Normal
    Ten Minute. A young woman talks an attacker out of hurting her only to have him track her down in her own home insisting she has damaged his self esteem.
  • Lookout Point
    Ten Minute. Two runners pause in the park to share their worries about their partners, and their philosophies on the world - only at the very end of the play do we realize that they are dogs.
  • Self Preservation
    Ten Minute. A dissatisfied taxidermist longs to start his life over with one of his customers, but both have obligations that hold them as rigidly as the animals they preserve.
  • Turning Tables
    Ten Minute. A separated couple meet to give their relationship another try, and
    immediately start repeating all the patterns that led to their break up in the
    first place…or are they a couple at all?
  • Guardians
    Ten Minute. A retired couple are viewing a WWII torpedo boat being sold as a liveaboard houseboat - but is there more to be discovered below decks than rusty fittings and poor plumbing? And might those who once served onboard somehow affect the present?
  • The Powder Room
    Ten Minute. Two ordinary people find the courage to end an affair which never began.
  • The Companion
    Ten Minute. The spirit of a young woman fighting to stay
    in the world of the living learns that passion can be a deadly force.
  • Rikki Tikki Tavi
    An 30 minute adaptation of the famous Rudyard Kipling story about a young mongoose who saves an English family from two deadly King Cobras who invade their garden and, ultimately, their house. This lively tale of resourcefulness and bravery is suitable to be done anywhere, inside or out, with simple staging and offers a wide range of acting and musical possibilities for all ages.
  • Just So!
    An hour long adaptation of the most beloved of The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling,
    including The Elephant's Child, The Cat Who Walked by Himself, How the Leopard got his
    Spots and the tales of Taffy, the wild child of the Tribe of Tegumai, all written for his daughter,
    Josephine, on whom the irrepressible Taffy is based. The songs
    can be simple tunes, or the original MP3...
    An hour long adaptation of the most beloved of The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling,
    including The Elephant's Child, The Cat Who Walked by Himself, How the Leopard got his
    Spots and the tales of Taffy, the wild child of the Tribe of Tegumai, all written for his daughter,
    Josephine, on whom the irrepressible Taffy is based. The songs
    can be simple tunes, or the original MP3's may be obtained from the author.
    May be done by adults or by children themselves.
  • Bluffer's Moon
    One Act. In the backwoods of Canada in the 1850’s, Marcel tries to trick his feisty sister
    into staying home while he goes off adventuring, but a bumbling Voyageur
    and a bear turn his devilish prank into a madcap Mardi Gras romp.
  • Sheherazade and the 1001 Nights
    One or Two Act versions. Can Sheherazade save both her neck and the kingdom by weaving nightly tales of adventure and magic? Can wisdom come to the bitter, broken-hearted Sultan through the hearing of stories? From the vast and fabulous collection of The Arabian Nights this new version weaves together six of the least known stories, all chosen to enhance the cruel king's recovery, restore his sanity and his capacity for forgiveness.
  • The Fool's Whistle
    One act.
    Denesh, a happy go lucky young Roma (Gypsy), breaks the Law of the Road
    and is punished by being split into two distinct people: his wise and foolish
    selves. Only the magic of music can reunite his two halves and help him
    win his heart’s desire. (Set deep in the woods of Europe around 1800)
  • The Odyssey
    A fast-paced adaptation of Homer's classic adventure for the whole family. (70 mins.)
  • The Elfin Knight
    One Act. Tamlyn, an adventurous young man, is captured by the Elfin Queen and
    forced to serve as her knight for seven years. Katherine, a country
    lass, crosses into the Unearthly Court to rescue a changeling child and
    falls for Tamlyn. Her struggle to free them both forces her to confront the
    treachery of the Faerie kingdom and culminates in a swordfight which pits
    the...
    One Act. Tamlyn, an adventurous young man, is captured by the Elfin Queen and
    forced to serve as her knight for seven years. Katherine, a country
    lass, crosses into the Unearthly Court to rescue a changeling child and
    falls for Tamlyn. Her struggle to free them both forces her to confront the
    treachery of the Faerie kingdom and culminates in a swordfight which pits
    the immortal against the innocent. Set in 1830's Nova Scotia
  • The Firebird
    80 mins. Enter the forests of Medieval Russia on the trail of the Mythic Firebird! Vasilissa a young noblewoman, boldly dresses as a knight to rescue her husband, Stavr, from prison, only to be tricked into setting out on a quest to capture the legendary Firebird. The sorcerer, Kostchi the Immortal, is also hunting the Firebird, allied with Fate and Sorrow, forcing the young couple to risk their own lives to...
    80 mins. Enter the forests of Medieval Russia on the trail of the Mythic Firebird! Vasilissa a young noblewoman, boldly dresses as a knight to rescue her husband, Stavr, from prison, only to be tricked into setting out on a quest to capture the legendary Firebird. The sorcerer, Kostchi the Immortal, is also hunting the Firebird, allied with Fate and Sorrow, forcing the young couple to risk their own lives to save the dazzling Spirit of Fire and Light.