FREE short plays

Ideal for community theatre or schools

Playtime! Put on a show or conduct your own play reading at your local theatre or school or as a fundraiser.

Here are nine royalty-free short comedies and dramas on a range of topical issues for you to perform.

All plays offered here are copyrighted to me, Jane Cafarella, as the writer, and all rights are reserved. All I ask is you are true to the text and the intention of the play, and that you let me know if you are performing them, and send photos. (I’m happy to discuss any production queries.)

All except the two one-minute plays have been performed by community and theatre professionals – so are tried and tested.

Select your plays, choose your cast and venue (your lounge room, local pub, theatre or hall), set an entry fee and invite your audience to vote on the best of play and actors on the night.

1. Errata

After Jesu Kristos, the great philosopher, is misquoted in an interview, things start to spiral out of control. Will this mean tragedy for Jesu and his girlfriend Mary? An absurdist take on the true origins of Christianity and a comment on the nature of journalism.

Genre: Comedy/satire

Set: An academic’s office and a kitchen – tables and chairs

Duration: 10 mins Cast: 4, (3 M, 1 F)

Production history

2013, GEMBROOK, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, Gemco Players, directed by Chantelle Ashby, 2^nd place in People’s Choice Awards, published in Little Gems 2013.

2014, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Script-in-Hand, Sydney, 2014 directed by Rob White

2017, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, adapted for radio and performed by Radio Playhouse, directed by Stephen Carnell.

2019, CASTLEMAINE, AUSTRALIA, Hobo Players Showcase, Senior Citizens’ Hall, directed by Jeffrey Bryant Jones

****

 

2. Members Only

Karen discovers that there is life after death – on one condition.

An absurdist comedy about our modern-day frustration with passwords.

Genre: Comedy/Satire

Set: A waiting room in front of some impressive gates. (Gates may be implied by characters stage-front staring into audience).

Duration: 10 mins Cast: 3 (1F, 2 M or F)

Production history

PREMIERE: 2015, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Top 80 Short + Sweet 2015, directed by Mark Nagle, starring Bodelle de Ronde, Amelia Morris and Joanna Kedziora. (Fourth place).

1. 2023, November: Acting Out Troupe debut performance, Mt Barker, South Australia
2. 2023, December: Bismarck High School, Arkansas, USA
3. 2023, December: Butler University, Indianapolis, USA
4. 2024, January:  Benton High School, Benton, Wisconsin, USA
5. 2024, March:  Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA
6. 2024, May: Farmersville High School, Texas, USA.
7. 2024, October: Huon Valley Theatre, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
8. 2024, November:  Virginia Wesleyan University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
9. 2025, February: The Artful Codgers, Shepherds University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA
10. 2025, May: Auburn High School, Washington USA
11. 2025, July: Worcester Park Dramatic Society, (Elmcroft Community Centre), Greater London, UK
12. 2025, November: Chewelah Centre for the Arts, One-Act Play Festival, rural Washington State, USA

COMING SOON

1. 2025, November: Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
2. 2025, December: North Carolina Central University, North Carolina, USA
3. 2025, December: Ernest Manning High School, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4. 2026 January: Watertown Players Community Theatre 8X10-Minute Play Festival, Wisconsin, USA
5. 2026, May: Modesto Junior High School, Central Valley, California, USA

****

3. She Drinks

A lonely woman sits at a bar recalling the murder of her mother at the hands of her father.

Genre: Dramatic monologue, written in rhyme

This play may be performed as a monologue or as a two-hander, with the woman sitting at a bar with the (silent) bartender pouring drinks.

Set: A bar

Duration: 10 mins Cast: 2 (1F, 1M or F)

Production history

2015, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Rhymes with Silence, a selection of plays about domestic violence, produced by Joy Roberts and Glen Groves for Improvising Change, starring Liz Hovey as Robyn and Bendegus Daniel Devenyi-Botis as the bar tender.

2015, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, for Script in Hand, directed by Chrissy de Silva, starring Liz Hovey as the woman and Bendegus Daniel Devenyi-Botis as the bar tender.

****

4. Oliver with a Twist

Four people go out for dinner. It’s complicated.

A Dickens’-inspired sizzling satire about our modern food culture.

Genre: Comedy/Satire

Set: A restaurant dining room.

Duration: 10 mins Cast: 6 (M or F).

Production history

PREMIERE: 2015, SINGAPORE, Singapore Arts House, directed by Susie Penrice Tyrie and featuring The Twisties (TJ Taylor, Louise Ballantyne, Varshini Victoria, Ruth Mannion, Carolyn Camoens and Owen Belliveu) for the Arts House 10^th Anniversary Open Call.

1. 2015: The British Club, Singapore, scheduled performance of ‘What the Dickens!’ a trio of Dickens-inspired plays, cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances
2. 2019: Goodman Centre, Timeless Tales, a Family Theatre Fest, produced by Dream Catchers and Arc Light Productions, directed by Susie Penrice Tyrie.
3. 2023, June: Alliance Charter Academy, Oregon City, Oregon, USA
4. 2025, May: Theatre 308, Darien High School, Darien, Connecticut, USA
5. 2025, May: La Porte School, Minnesota, USA
6. 2025, May: Deep Run High School, Richmond, Virginia, USA
7. 2025, June: The Well-Read Players, Trans-Atlantic Play Reading Group, London, unrehearsed reading.
8. 2025, June: Senior Centre, Little Bay, NSW, Australia
9. 2025, November: Tooleybuc Central School, NSW, Australia
10. 2025, August: Theatre Players, Sunshine Coast U3A, Noosa Arts Centre, Queensland, Australia

COMING SOON

1. 2025, November: North Fork High School, Hotchkiss, Colorado, USA
2. 2026, May: Modesto Junior College, Central Valley, California.
3. 2026, May: Cloud Nine Theatre Group (British expats), Murcia, Spain,

****

5. Greater Expectations

Pip meets Estella at a fancy restaurant, planning to propose, only to find that Estella has greater expectations.

Genre: Comedy/Drama (LBGTQ themes)

Set: A fancy restaurant

Duration: 15 mins Cast: 5 (1M, 2F, 2 M or F)

Production history

2015, SINGAPORE, Rehearsed for The British Club as What the Dickens, a trio of Dickens’ inspired plays, including Oliver with a Twist, and Hard Times with the Semi-Naked Chef Oliver Jamie, sadly cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

2019, SINGAPORE, Goodman Arts Centre, Timeless Tales Family Theatre Fest, presented by Dreamcatchers and ArcLight Productions, directed by Gavin Low.

 

****

6. Hard Times with the Semi-Naked Chef Oliver Jamie

Celebrity chef Oliver Jamie and his special guest Nigella Awesome demonstrate thrifty recipes from Oliver’s latest book during his weekly cooking show. A Dickens’ inspired satire, featuring audience participation.

Genre: Comedy/Drama (sexual references)

Set: A demonstration kitchen on a television cooking show

Duration: 15 mins Cast 1M, 1F

Production history

2015, SINGAPORE, The British Club, rehearsed for What the Dickens, a trio of Dickens’-inspired plays, sadly cancelled due to unforseen circumstances.

2014, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Script-in-Hand, directed by Kaye Lopez, starring Gabriel McCarthy as Oliver Jamie and Katie Shearer as Nigella Awesome.

****

7. Change Shift

Sonja is preparing for a trip to Nadu, India, for her marriage the next day. But everything rests on a short taxi drive – for better or worse. 

Genre: Comedy/satire

Set: A taxi in Singapore – may be denoted by four chairs, two in front and two behind

Duration: 10 mins Cast 1M, 1F

Production history

Translated into Tamil and performed at the Pathey Nimidam 10-minute play festival at the Aliwal Arts Centre in Singapore in 2016, directed by Susie Penrice Tyrie and starring Drake Lim and Varshini Victoria.

In 2020, it was turned into a short film starring Hasisha Nazir as Sonja and Drake Lim as Mr Goh, also directed by Susie Penrice Tryie.

****

8. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Jo finally confesses why she wants to break up with her book club. 

BE THE FIRST TO PRODUCE THIS PLAY!

Genre: Absurdist

Set: An ordinary lounge room in an ordinary house

Duration: 10 mins Cast 6F

****

9. Grown Ups – A Game for Children

Life’s a game, but who makes the rules and what happens if you break them?

BE THE FIRST TO PRODUCE THIS PLAY!

Genre: Absurdist/Greek chorus-style

Set: Black box, no scenery other than boxes/chairs or the chorus to sit on when not required.

Duration: 10 mins Cast: 8 (minimum – all genders) OR as many as chorus members as you like, as long as they are even numbers.

This play is in rhyme and is designed for actors of any ages or genders in community theatre groups, schools, drama classes or acting workshops. It may be played with a small or large cast.

It should be played like a game, with the characters and chorus throwing, bouncing and catching the balls, as directed in the script, with the words being spoken as a playground chant, emphasising the rhyme and metre.

The words can be accompanied by the characters clapping or drumming  in the same rhythm – using the beat to move the story along.

****

One minute plays for the time poor

10. Just a Minute

A friend learns the importance of punctuality. 

Genre: Comedy/satire

Duration: 1 min Cast 1M, 1F

Production history

Be the first to produce this play – and please send photos and tell me how it went.

****

11. Altar-ed State

A bride discovers the truth about her future husband while walking down the aisle. 

Genre: Comedy/satire

Duration: 1 min Cast 2M, 2F

Production history

Be the first to produce this play – and please send photos and tell me how it went.

****