Recommended by Morey Norkin

While I have your attention, Guide Me rounds out Paul Smith’s London apartment trilogy. His witty, often biting, dialogue is as present here as in the other two. Here we have a love triangle with two of the parties essentially trying to force a resolution on the shared party. There are no good options, and Smith, wisely does not try to deliver a neat and tidy ending. Instead, we’re left with a feeling of despair for these characters. This trilogy will make for a wonderful evening of theatre.

After reading Isaac, one in a trilogy of portrait-inspired plays by Paul Smith, I was excited to jump into the other two. So glad I did! In Happiness, Smith presents three siblings sharing fond childhood memories after other guests have departed a gathering at the same London apartment featured in all three plays. The nature of that gathering becomes clear at the end and may leave you, as it did me, stunned but also going back to truly appreciate the masterful construction of this play!

Witty and poignant, Isaac tells the story of of one man being nudged by both the personification of his subconscious and a longtime female friend to accept his true identity. Paul Smith has created quite a marvelous piece of theater, and I understand there are works related to this one. Looking forward to them!

A lovely play, lyric poem really. Beautifully written and should make for a memorable production in the right hands.

In yet another fractured fairytale (see Cows’N’ Moon), Christopher Plumridge provides a new twist to Little Red Riding Hood. And just when you think you’ve figured it out… we’ll, you’ll see! Loaded with laughs and clever references to other fairytales, this would be a welcome addition to any short play festival.

In a word, hysterical! And come on, who wouldn’t want to play a cow, or a laughing dog, or fiddling cat?! Christopher Plumridge treats us to the thought process that must have gone into the action of the well-known nursery rhyme. And if you like quoting pop music lyrics, as I do, Plumridge manages to sneak in a gem! Quite a treat for performers and audiences alike!

An eerie, compelling, fast-paced ghost story wrapped around a history lesson. What the living characters experience in the cemetery is what Americans still face today… the haunting of the past that so many are unwilling to deal with. I truly hope this play will be presented to audiences that need to see it and learn from it. Good work, Andrew Martineau!

Hilary Bluestein-Lyons has done an amazing job of recreating the atmosphere of the Borscht Belt circuit in the Catskills, a breeding ground for a generation of comics… male comics. Enter Hattie. Ambitious, talented, and determined to upset the status quo. Along for the ride are her kvetching mother, her husband/manager who feels he must prove his manhood outside of the marriage, and a loyal friend who is a victim of other 1950s unpleasantness. Witty, well-paced, with strong characters and great stand-up material! I wish I had read this before I attempted some of my own work!

Stable, healthy relationships come about through listening and supporting rather than bending others to our will. Rachel Feeny-Williams has crafted an endearing story where the two central characters bridge a wide generation gap and provide each other with what they so desperately need: to be heard. If you haven’t read this play yet, please do. I would love to see this play performed.

Maybe the funniest, and certainly the most unexpected line I’ve read in some time! Took me in hook, line, and sinker. That would be the ending of Philip Middleton Williams’ insightful short play. Leading up to this, is a look at what I believe most (all?) playwrights worry about when they hand their work over for production: do they get it? Of course, in Claude’s case, a little self-awareness would have been helpful. I’m going to find myself bursting into laughter whenever that line pops into my head!