Recommended by Greg Mandryk

Tracks by Aly Kantor paints a grim picture of the future where the behemoth of capitalism has all but starved out compassion for compassion's sake in order to make way for compassion for profit. Kantor's vision would be scary enough, even if it weren't chillingly plausible. And the ending... brrr!!

Rather than a mere slice-of-life drama, Paul Donnelly serves up a full pie with After Another. I'm not familiar with La Ronde, but if Donnelly hasn't invented this relay race approach where one character from the previous vignette passes the baton to the newly introduced character of the current one, he should at least be congratulated on using it so effectively. Each of the ten characters feel like living, breathing human beings going through different chapters of their lives. Filled with compassion and humanity, this is well worth the read and would be a pleasure to see produced!

There are a lot of fish in the ocean, true. But there are no oceans in outer space, which makes getting dumped even more of a slap in the face for poor Barry. I particularly enjoyed the darkly comic ending.

I don't know how this short virtual play will hit anyone who doesn't have eight years worth of catholic school PTSD skulking about in their subconscious, but I know it gave me a chill.

If you're going to be abducted by aliens, you could do worse than being abducted by Xiernon. This is a delightful, little sci-fi comedy that just wants to put a smile on your face, and I'm all here for it.

If you're disappointed by the lack of kaiju in theatre, People Eater by Kero C. Dylan is the short play you've been looking for! While a monster rages outside destroying the city, three survivors huddle together in a basement in an attempt to wait out the destruction while struggling to maintain their sanity. Oh, but they don't struggle very well! They don't struggle very well at all! Dylan does a fantastic job of conveying the characters' mental breakdowns with shocking visuals and some gory, hallucinogenic sequences that I'd love to see some special effects makeup wizard try to pull off.

If insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over again while expecting different results, the antagonist in this short play is certifiably and hilariously insane. In the hands of two skilled comic actors (one having vocal chords of titanium), this amuse-bouche by Christopher Plumridge would be an absolute treat!

Tom Erb delivers an intriguing monologue with a Lovecraftian flourish with Encounter at Midnight. The prose is skillfully wrought and well worth the few minutes it takes to read.

This is a wonderful example of staged science fiction done right! There are a few futuristic flourishes, but The Upgrade works extremely well as an allegory for modern life. What is the price to succeed (or even survive) in society? How much of yourself needs to be reshaped into something alien merely to appease some nebulous scorecard that determines your lot in life? Amber R. Dickinson's short play will (as good sci-fi should) get you thinking. Excellent stuff!

The good news is that, even if you're not an NPX regular, you'll still be able to enjoy Jacquie Floyd Sent Me, although you may be puzzled by the titular shout out. Twists and turns and all sorts of revelations abound in this delightful little caper. If your background includes a few community theatre productions of Agatha Christie thrillers (personally, I played Sargeant Trotter in what may be the worst production of Mousetrap ever staged), this may strike a nostalgic chord or two.