Recommended by Rachel Feeny-Williams

Ah there's nothing like an old school favourite prank! I, like Karen's brilliant character, struggled not to laugh out loud as she talks to a none seen guilty party. This monologue is brilliantly written with wonderful amounts of humour and pace. If put in front of an audience I dare say they will enjoy their laughs with gusto!

Karen Saari has a gift of creating hard hitting but beautiful theatre. The darkness that lies in the background of Rain and Caleb and their substance addictions forms a dark foundation for the piece with the characters brilliantly constructed atop it. Its a piece that keeps giving, you feel for the characters and at the same time you want to see how their lives turn out. Then at the end you can't help but sit back in awe! Powerful with just the right amounts of comedy and darkness so that you can't help but take notice!

The world of teenagers is always a complicated one, coupling that with the terrifying world of gun violence and its easy to see why the tension mounts between these two parents. Karen does a great job of keeping the audience guessing regarding the characters connection before mounting tension with a brilliant pace once the truth is discovered. Brilliantly constructed.

Penny's enthusiasm about the written word is just wonderfully adorable in this monologue! Kate has created a truly loveable character with a passion for books and created a wonderful one sided conversation between her and her potential love interest. Not only has Kate brilliantly constructed Penny's character but I could also see the person she would be talking to. It takes a special kind of piece to inspire the reader to what the eye wouldn't see. Very well done!

Despite the sad subject of divorce and how it can affect children and their relationship with their parents at its heart, this is a really beautiful piece. Its easy to embrace the idea of divorced parent characters hating each other but here Paul has created a lovely relationship with them where, despite being exasperated, Melissa is willing to help Kyle build a relationship with his son. Paul has taken something that could be dark and sad and made into something touching with moments of great humour!

Once again Paul has taken a dark and difficult subject and created a great piece of theatre with it. Sometimes domestic abuse relationships are portrayed as though its easy to walk away but in this piece Paul makes a skill of portraying the real fear of living with an abusive partner that you can't escape from. Framed by a lovely (if difficult) relationship between two sisters this piece is full of emotions and tension that will get you really think about the horror the character is enduring.

Paul Donnelly has a gift for taking tragic circumstances and creating wonderfully powerful theatre as a result. The loss of a child is an event that no parent should have to go through and you feel for both parents in this play. Their approaches are brilliantly portrayed and you can feel the pain and anguish within both. Its a tragic event but its a beautifully written piece that brought more than one tear to my eye.

"The Taste of Fire" is one of my favourite styles of writing, writing that touches your thought and really makes you feel for the characters. The subject matter is raw in its tragedy as you and the characters are forced to confront how tragic events affect different people, not that its in any way a bad thing. Its piece of theatre that will make you feel for the characters as you witness this powerful story of how one event can change so many lives. Emotional theatre at its best.

Reading a scenario like this through modern eyes you can't help but laugh at the absurd lengths that mothers of yesteryear will go to so they can ensure their daughters are married before they are 'past it'. Lindsey has taken that idea and wonderfully framed it in this tableau. Both Lilly and her determined mother Violet are expertly constructed and believable for the time they are from. A wonderfully funny and chaotic piece.

A beautiful snapshot with teamwork as its central moral. Lindsey has created two very believable characters and a scenario that athletes can see all the time when one player is always pushing for the spotlight. However, through pacey and well written dialogue Lindsey shows that teamwork is what can save the day. This would make a great piece for a youth group.