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Betrayal

Play · 1978

The years between 1968 and 1977 occur in reverse order; scenes within years 1977 and 1973 move forward. 1977 Scene One: Pub. 1977. Spring. Emma and Jerry meet for the first time in two years. For seven years they had an affair and a secret flat, and Jerry says no one else knew. Now Emma is having an affair with Casey, an author whose agent is Jerry and whose publisher is Robert, Emma's husband. Emma says she found out last night that Robert has betrayed her with other women for years, and admits she revealed her affair with Jerry. Scene Two: Jerry's House. Later the same day. Jerry meets Robert to talk about the affair. Robert reveals that in fact he learned about it four years ago. Since then their friendship has continued, albeit without playing squash. 1975 Scene Three: Flat. 1975. Winter. It is the end of Jerry and Emma's affair. They rarely meet, and Emma's hopes that the flat would be a different kind of home are unfulfilled. They agree to give it up. 1974 Scene Four: Robert and Emma's House. Living room. 1974. Autumn. Jerry visits Robert and Emma at home. He reveals that Casey has left his wife and is living nearby. Jerry and Robert plan to play squash, but Jerry reveals that first he is visiting New York with Casey. 1973 Scene Five: Hotel Room. 1973. Summer. Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello tomorrow. Emma is reading a book by Spinks, another author whose agent is Jerry. Robert says he refused to publish it because there is not much more to say about betrayal. Robert has discovered that Emma has received a private letter from Jerry. Emma admits they are having an affair. Scene Six: Flat. 1973. Summer. Emma has returned from the holiday with Robert in Venice. She has bought a tablecloth for the flat. Jerry reveals that despite the affair he continues to lunch with Robert. Scene Seven: Restaurant. 1973. Summer. Robert gets drunk over lunch with Jerry. He says he hates modern novels, and that he went to Torcello on his own and read Yeats. 1971 Scene Eight: Flat. 1971. Summer. Emma wants to know whether Jerry's wife suspects his affair, and announces that while Jerry was in America she became pregnant with Robert's child. 1968 Scene Nine: Robert and Emma's House. Bedroom. 1968. Winter. During a party Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and declares his love for her. He tells Robert he is his oldest friend as well as his best man.

Beyond Therapy

Play · 1981

This farcical comedy focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites who are seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their psychiatrists, each of whom suggests their patient place a personal ad in the newspaper. Bruce is a highly emotional bisexual who tends to cry easily, a trait Prudence sees as a weakness. Their first meeting proves to be disastrous and the two report back to their respective therapists—libidinous Stuart, who once seduced Prudence, and eccentric Charlotte, who stumbles over the simplest of words, who references the play Equus as a good source of advice, and who interacts with her patients with the help of a stuffed Snoopy doll. Clearly the two therapists are more troubled than their patients. Charlotte suggests a revised ad, which once again attracts Prudence, but this time Prudence and Bruce manage to get past their initial loathing and discover they actually like each other. Complications ensue when Bruce's jealous live-in lover Bob decides to assert himself and do everything possible to maintain his status quo.

Beyond the Horizon

Play · 1920

Act I Robert Mayo is sitting on the fence line of his family's farm, contemplating the horizon. He has dreamed of leaving the farm and travelling so he wouldn't live in one place. The next morning, Robert will sail with his maternal uncle, Captain Dick Scott, on the Sunda to visit the foreign places he has only dreamed and read about. Robert's elder brother, Andrew, wants to stay on the farm and keep working on it. Andrew is engaged to Ruth Atkins, a woman Robert has been in love with. On the eve of Robert's departure, he confesses his feelings to Ruth and she reveals that she also loves him and had only agreed to marry Andrew out of the mistaken belief Robert doesn't love her back. Robert decides to stay on the farm and marry Ruth. Upset over losing Ruth to Robert, Andrew hastily chooses to join his uncle. The family patriarch, James Mayo, persuades Andrew to stay. But Andrew still leaves with Captain Scott yet harbors no ill will to Robert. Act II Two years after his oldest son left to travel the world, Mr. Mayo dies. When another year passes, life on the Mayo family's farm has deteriorated due to Robert lacking the farming skills his brother has. Robert's mother, Kate Mayo, says Robert cannot help the deterioration, but his mother-in-law, Mrs. Atkins, retorts that all his hard work has yielded nothing. In the three years, Ruth discovers that all that charmed her about her husband no longer holds the same allure and their daughter, Mary, is as irritable and sickly as he was in his own youth. Ruth insists to Robert that she should have seen his "true self" and killed herself before they had married. This revelation embitters Robert and he continues to let the farm deteriorate. The Mayo family hopes for Andrew's homecoming. Having finished his three-year apprenticeship on the Sunda, Andrew wants to help, but has lost his money on ill-advised land speculation and must travel to Argentina to recoup his losses. He promises to return and restore the farm to its former glory. Ruth pleads with Andrew to stay, but he leaves on the first available ship to South America. Act III Five years pass by, and both Mrs. Mayo and Mary have died. The farm has been ruined and Robert himself is seriously ill from tuberculosis. Andrew returns poor again due to illegitimate trading and he brings a doctor to Robert, but the disease has become terminal. Now a broken man, Robert drags himself to the fence line one last time so he can observe the horizon and imagine the travels he would never experience.

Big Bad Mouse

Play · 1964

The action takes place in the sleepy factory office of the fictitious Chunkibix Ltd. The office is run by the domineering and pompous Mr Price-Hargreaves, whose assistant, the shy and downtrodden Mr Bloome, is under his thumb and generally treated badly. This continues until a flasher and stalker chases a young woman across Wandsworth Common (changed to a prominent local park when the show toured); Bloome is accused of being the flasher by the victim and a police detective. Surprisingly (and distinctly dubiously by any standards of modern morality), the female workers in the office, to whom Bloome had previously been all but invisible, suddenly find him sexually interesting, and almost a hero figure. Their flirtatious attentions have the effect of bolstering Bloome's ego; he quickly grows in confidence and stature, finally answering back to Price-Hargreaves, and even suggesting revolutionary improvements that greatly increase sales, thus drawing the attention of Chunkibix company owner, Lady Chesapeake. So satisfying is Bloome's transformation and newly found confidence that when the young victim discovers she had made a mistake in identifying him incorrectly as her assailant, Bloome becomes increasingly desperate to keep her quiet.

Billeted

Play · 1917

Act I (Morning room of the Manor House. Afternoon in August 1915.) Rev. Liptrott and his sister visit the Manor House. Miss Liptrott chides Rose for missing a Bible Study meeting. Penelope Moon keeps the Liptrotts company while waiting for Betty to appear. She lets slip that Betty is only a grass widow. Miss Liptrott seizes on this as a way of prying Col. Preedy loose from the Manor House. She tells him that Betty's husband is still alive, so his presence at the Manor House is inappropriate. The Colonel was unaware of this, as also was Mr. McFarlane. He had hopes of recouping Betty's overdrafts from her husband's life insurance. Betty wants Col. Preedy to stay, for Penelope's sake. She sends a telegram to herself, announcing the death of Peter Taradine in Africa. But as she accepts the condolences of Col. Preedy, his adjutant, Capt. Rymill appears: it is her husband Peter, who enlisted in Egypt under a false name. Betty faints. (Curtain) Act II (Same as Act I. The next morning at nine o'clock.) Peter and Penelope greet Col. Preedy and Betty at breakfast. Betty ducks out when Rose announces Rev. Liptrott, who has come to offer a memorial service. Preedy, who is wearing a mourning band, suggests Peter don one as well. Betty and Peter, alone at last, exchange recriminations. Peter asks why she waited until now to declare him dead. Betty mistakes Peter's admiration for Penelope, and later cautions Pen about him, without revealing his true identity. When Peter tries to telephone the Orderly Room, he finds the line is dead, cut off for non-payment. Penelope and he go off to the Post Office. Mrs. Brace remonstrates with Betty about the suppliers complaints of overdue payments. Preedy finds Betty crying afterwards, for her loss as he thinks. Penelope hears the Colonel consoling Betty, and snubs his suggestion of a walk. Penelope says that Peter went into the Post Office and was there a long time. Peter scolds Penelope for rejecting the Colonel's overtures. Peter explains to Betty why he enlisted under a false name. As he starts to go, he puts on a mourning armband, which Betty tears off. "Idiot", she says, as the telephone suddenly rings. (Curtain) Act III (Same as Act I. Three days later, after dinner.) Betty learns that Peter told Penelope days ago he is married, but not to whom. Penelope tells Betty that she has trouble thinking of men as friends; to her, Peter is just that, a friend. Col. Preedy has received a telegram from the War Office. He and Capt. Rymill will be deploying overseas in two days. Rev. Liptrott calls, bringing a volume of Meditations for Betty. He and Peter engage in a discussion of love, women and marriage, with the Reverend asserting that a dose of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus will make Betty more amenable to a religious life. Peter is startled when the Reverend declares extravagance is Betty's main virtue: she spends freely in giving love. When Peter demurs, he suggests "experience is the thief of wisdom". Peter lies to Col. Preedy, saying Betty expects him to propose to Penelope. Peter then sends Penelope outside to join the Colonel. Betty suggests a divorce, but Peter dismisses the idea. He explains there is no evidence for divoce, and he prefers reconciliation. They embrace, startling Penelope, who goes off with her new fiancé, the Colonel. As they kiss, Betty tells Peter that she has been so lonely... (Curtain)

Biloxi Blues

Play · 1984

Biloxi Blues is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It portrays the conflict of Sergeant Merwin J. Toomey and Arnold Epstein, one of many privates enlisted in the military stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, seen through the eyes of Eugene Jerome, one of the other soldiers. This play is the second chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy, following Brighton Beach Memoirs and preceding Broadway Bound. The play won the Tony Award for Best Play, and Barry Miller won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Arnold Epstein.

Black Coffee

Play · 1930

Scientist Sir Claud Amory discovers that his formula for a new explosive has been stolen and gathers his household while awaiting Hercule Poirot. Amory is found dead after the lights go out, and Poirot investigates the poisoned coffee, a duplicate safe key, and a blackmail scheme linked to an international spy’s daughter. The suspects’ efforts to protect one another and conceal the formula complicate the case until Poirot exposes the thief and murderer.

Black Exhibition

Play · 2019

The work is set on Fire Island and features a range of LGBTQ+ themes including poppers, group sex, and sexual rejection. A parallel theme is writer's block. It features a range of characters inspired by queer figures, including Gary Fisher, Michael Johnson, Kathy Acker, Yukio Mishima, and Samuel Delany. Harris played Fisher, reading from his published works, with the four other figures as muses or advisors to the character. Cultural references in the work make reference to social media culture on Twitter in the early 2010s, as well as the "Twitter gay" trope. The piece uses physical comedy and humour alongside serious dialogue, free verse, choral speaking, dance, and tableaux vivants.

Black Souls

Play · 1932

Setting: Magnolia College, a Black college in the Deep South, not long after World War I (c. 1919/1920) Andrew Morgan, the president of Magnolia College, is bitter over the racial oppression in the United States, but is hopeful that by educating highly skilled black workers he can improve the lives and future opportunities available to his African-American students through peaceful means. In contrast, Andrew's brother-in-law, David Lewis, is an angry young black poet and teacher of literature at Magnolia College who is convinced that only a violent uprising could persuade American society to change. David has recently returned from France where he served during World War I and where the progressive freedoms of French society allowed him to openly have a relationship with a white woman, Luella Verne, who was a fellow American serving in France as a nurse. Luella is the daughter of Senator Verne, and she visits Magnolia College with her father when he comes at the invitation of President Morgan who hopes to win Senator Verne's support. Senator Verne is unaware of Luella's past relationship with David, and is upset when she initiates contact with David. Simultaneously, Senator Verne makes advances of his own on Andrew Morgan's wife and David's sister Phyllis who is also African-American, demonstrating the senator's hypocrisy when it comes to interracial relationships. Luella convinces David to go with her to a cabin in some woods nearby and they are spotted by some white students. Rumor spreads among the white community that David has made unwanted sexual advances on Luella, even though it is Luella and not David who is the initiator of their rekindled relationship. As the rumors spread, they become more exaggerated and David is falsely accused of raping Luella. A white mob forms with the intent of murdering David on the day of Magnolia College's graduation ceremony. While the ceremony is taking place and President Morgan is giving a speech about racial equality, David is isolated and cornered by a white mob who lynches him.

Blackbird

Play · 2005

At his workplace, 55-year-old Ray Brooks is shocked to be visited by a young woman, 27-year-old Una Spencer. Fifteen years earlier, Ray had sexually assaulted Una for three months when Una was twelve and Ray was forty; subsequently, Ray had been jailed for three years for statutory rape. Ultimately, they ran off together, and, while Ray was taking time to compose himself after realising what he had just done, he left her alone in a motel room. She got worried and left to find him, which led to both of them frantically searching for one another and raising suspicions within the small coastal town where they were staying. Eventually, a couple out walking their dog took Una in and called the police after learning why she was there. Ray was then arrested and imprisoned. Upon his release, he managed to establish a reasonably successful new life under another name, but Una recognised him in a photograph and tracked him down. Ray takes Una to the office break room, where the two engage in a long and difficult confrontation involving Una's continuing struggles to understand and come to terms with the abuse and her intensely conflicting emotions, which pivot between anger, curiosity, confusion, and even a persistent attachment to Ray, whom Una loved and she believed that he loved her. The fearful Ray, who is himself trying to forget the past and the potential feelings he had for Una, parries her demanding questions and descriptions of her feelings and experiences, all the while uncertain of her intentions.

Blackmail

Play · 1928

Blackmail is a 1928 thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett. The plot is about an artist's model in Chelsea who kills an artist when he attempts to assault her. It ran for 38 performances at the Globe Theatre in London's West End. Directed by Raymond Massey, it was the playwright's first West End production. It was chosen by the impresario Albert H. Woods as a vehicle for the American star Tallulah Bankhead. It was shortest British run Bankhead had been in. It was initially considered a disappointment and Woods never staged the play on Broadway. However, over the following decade it became a popular work on tour in Britain and Ireland.

Blind Alley

Play · 1926

Blind Alley is a 1926 play by the British author Dorothy Brandon. It is a drama about an unhappily married woman who begins to develop feelings for an actor. It premiered at the Pleasure Gardens Theatre in Folkestone, as had her previous hit play The Outsider, before transferring to the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End. However, it was considerably less successful than her earlier works and ran for only thirteen performances. The cast included Elissa Landi, Sam Livesey and Annie Esmond.

Blind Bargain

Play · 1804

The Blind Bargain is an 1804 comedy play by the British writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 24 October 1804. The original cast included John Fawcett as Sir Andrew Analyse, Charles Farley as Jack Analyse, William Thomas Lewis as Tourly, Charles Kemble as Villars, William Blanchard as Doctor Pliable, John Emery as Giles Woodbine, Maria Gibbs as Mrs Villars and Mary Ann Davenport as Miss Gurnet. Its Irish premiere was at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 1 December 1804.

Blondie White

Play · 1937

Blondie White is a 1937 mystery play by British writer Jeffrey Dell and Bernard Merivale. A murder mystery, it was inspired by an earlier play by Hungarian writer Ladislas Fodor. A famous crime novelist helps Scotland Yard to solve the murder of a nightclub performer, Blondie White. After premiering at the Manchester Opera House, it transferred to Globe Theatre in London's West End. The cast included Basil Sydney, Basil Radford, Joan Marion, and Elliott Mason. It was directed by Harold French.

Blue Comet

Play · 1926

Blue Comet is a comedy play by the British writer Eden Phillpotts. The plot revolves around the differing reactions of the characters when the earth is threatened by an incoming comet. It premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in September 1926. The following year it enjoyed a run of thirty seven performances at the Royal Court Theatre in London's West End between 23 February and 26 March 1927. The original London cast included Paul Cavanagh, Eliot Makeham, Clarence Blakiston, Edward Chapman, Minnie Rayner, Cecily Byrne and Dorothy Black. It was not well received in The Drama, saying it had little subtlety or art and "the author is so bent on manufacturing obvious and crude witticisms, whether relevant to the theme or not, that nothing resembling a serious idea is ever allowed to come to birth."

Boadicea, Queen of Britain

Play · 1697

Boadicea, Queen of Britain is a 1697 tragedy by the English writer Charles Hopkins. Based on the story of Boudica the British ruler who revolted against Roman Rule, it was first staged by Thomas Betterton's company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included Elizabeth Barry as Boadicea, Anne Bracegirdle as Camilla, Elizabeth Bowman as Venutia, Thomas Betterton as Cassibelan, Edward Kynaston as Paulinus, John Hodgson as Decius, John Freeman as Fabian and Samuel Sandford as Caska.

Bobbi Boland

Play · 2001

Set in 1967 in Crestview, Florida and centers around Bobbi. She runs the charm school and is a theater star. It is a quaint, small town, and is trying to keep at bay the Rock n' Roll which is becoming more and more present. It's where a measure of a man is how much he provides for his family, where sexuality is overlooked, charm schools are still present and the theater is important part of everyone's social life. Twenty years earlier, Bobbi was Miss Florida, and from that she gained valid beliefs of the way ladies and gentlemen should act towards each other. Sam is her gay haberdasher neighbor and theatre director. Bobbi is married to her high school sweetheart, Roger, who was once a great football player. He currently works at an office and hates it, and would much rather be doing carpentry. He has become a Joe Shmoe, wearing the suit and tie, and doing the job to satisfy his wife's idea of a husband, complete with him climbing the corporate ladder and keeping an elegant and prosperous house. The play opens with Bobbi and Roger prepping the house because the owner of his company, George McGowan, to entertain the possibility of a promotion for him. Bobbi then has one of her charm school students, Susan, be hostess and Bobbi nags Roger before the bell rings. When it does, they are shocked to see George has not brought his wife, but Kim, a new, leggy young blonde from New York. The drama heightens because Roger does love his wife, even though he knows he is being pushed around. Bobbi sees Kim as a threat to her marriage, and Kim forms a bond with Susan. By the resolution of the play, Bobbi is alone.

Bon Ton

Play · 1775

Bon Ton; or, High Life Above Stairs is a comedy act in two acts by David Garrick, first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 18 March 1775. According to Garrick's introductory notice to the play, it had been written many years before. The play stars James William Dodd as Lord Minikin, Thomas King as Sir John Trotley, William Brereton as Colonel Tivy, Phillip Lamash as Jessamy, William Parsons as Davy, William Burton as Mignon, Elizabeth Pope as Lady Minikin, Frances Abington as Miss Lucretia Tittup, and S.J. Platt as Gymp.

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