THE SELECTED PLAYS
13 award-winning plays represented the ‘cream of amateur theatre’ this season from The Channel Islands, England, Isle of Man, The Netherlands and Scotland.
They had all been awarded over 80 marks by at least one GoDA Adjudicator as they battled to win their place at the National Drama Festival in July 2025.
I’m Home by Denis Burke
One-act play performed by Downstage Left from Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Winner of FEATS (Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies)
After a heavy night of drinking, Lily forgets that she recently moved house and barges into her old apartment. Her unplanned visit (or break in, depending on how you view it) leaves new resident Francesca bewildered, but allows her flat mate Neill a chance to finally get something off his chest.
Play contains swearing and adult themes
Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons by Sam Steiner
One-act play performed by Nantwich Players, Nantwich, EnglandWinner of the BRITISH FINAL, THE ENGLISH FINAL, AETF NORTHERN AREA SEMI, the CHESHIRE DRAMA FESTIVAL and the LEVERHULME FESTIVAL
“Let’s just talk until it goes.” The average person is said to speak over 123,205,750 words in a lifetime. But what if there was a limit? Under a new government law where each person is only allotted 140 words a day, Oliver and Bernadette are up against a big challenge: how do you communicate your deepest thoughts and feelings when there’s a strict cap on how much you can say? Play contains swearing and adult themes
by SAM STEINER
12hr Life by Robert Scott
One-act play performed by Woodhouse Players, East London, England
Winner of the WALTHAM FOREST FESTIVAL OF THEATRE
2 strangers meet at a café in a Railway station. Both are waiting for (different) trains, which will take them to somewhere that they don’t really want to be. They both know this will be a day of their lives that will be wasted – time they will never get back.
After a little initial friction they decide to play hookey from their respective appointments and just jump on the first train that comes and have a day of freedom. Along the way they discover more about themselves and their hopes for the future.
Play contains swearing
An authorised adaptation of Warmind by Howard Brenton, taken from his ‘Plays for the Poor Theatre’ and ‘Hitler Dances’
One-act play performed by Whole Hog Productions, Lincolnshire, England
Runner up in the AETF CENTRAL AREA QUARTER AND SEMI FINAL
Three children play on a bomb site somewhere in England during World War II. As they create games, characters and ‘monsters’, the line between truth and reality begins to blur.
Play contains violence
Kin by Max Dickins
One-act play performed by The Guernsey Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Club (GADOC), Guernsey. The Channel Islands
Winner of the GUERNSEY DRAMA FESTIVAL
Two estranged sisters meet after twenty years. In a remote cottage over a single night they bury the hatchet.
As their dying father lies in the room next door, they’re forced to confront who they were and who they’ve become.
When the only person they have left in common disappears, is their relationship worth saving?
Play contains swearing and adult themes
Goodbye Charles by Gabriel Benjamin Davis
One-act play performed by Banbury Cross Players, Banbury, England
Winner of the LIGHTHORNE FESTIVAL
Goodbye Charles is a farcical mystery following one woman’s journey to find her missing husband, Charles.
Join Jill as she recounts her adventure through a world that includes criminal cheesemongers, seriously misguided fact-checkers, and the mysterious ‘other woman’.
Five actors cover the roles in this high-octane production.
Play contains swearing
Extracts from ‘Modest’ by Ellen Brammer
One-act play performed by Total Arts and Community Theatre (TACT), Tamworth, England
Winner of the AETF CENTRAL AREA SEMI FINAL, the AETF CENTRAL DISTRICT QUARTER FINAL, BFAME FESTIVAL and the HASTILOW FESTIVAL and Runner Up at the ALL ENGLAND FINAL
In 1874 Elizabeth stuns the Royal Academy with her painting, Roll Call.
Five years later, she falls two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the academy.
In between, she must shoulder the hopes and dreams of women across the country, while fighting for her place at a table full of top hats, ties and mutton chop beards.
Play contains swearing
Reckoning by Kathy Mead
One-act play performed by Back to Front Theatre from Woking, England
Winner of the HENLEY FESTIVAL and second place at the MAIDENHEAD FESTIVAL
Set 20 years in the future in a prison visitors room Rachel re-lives memories of family secrets and hidden memories.
Play contains discussion about death
Something In The Basement by Don Nigro
One-act play performed by Fintry Amateur Dramatic Society (FADS) from Fintry, Scotland
Winner of the SCDA EASTERN DIVISION and SCDA Finalist
A married couple move into an old house, where they are troubled by Mary’s reluctance to allow Cecelia to touch her and by her growing insistence that there is something making bizarre noises in the basement. An obsessive struggle ensues, in a strange erotic triangle with the third member that lurks beneath them.
Contains adult themes
Educating Rita (scenes 1,2 and 3) by Willy Russell
One-act play performed by The Conquest Theatre, Bromyard, England
Winner of the HEREFORD DRAMA FESTIVAL
Frank is a tutor of English whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink. Enter Rita a 26 year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. She slowly wins over the reluctant Frank with her innate insight and refusal to accept no for an answer and their relationship as teacher and student blossoms. Ultimately, Frank finds a new sense of self and Rita gains the knowledge she craves.
Play contains swearing and adult themes
Holding The Man
Adapted by Tommy Murphy
Based on the book by Timothy Conigrave
A Full Length play performed by Garden Suberb Theatre, North London, England
Winner of the ISLE OF MAN Full Length play festival
This is an unconventional love story through fast changing times, based on the award- winning autobiography of actor Tim Conigrave.
In a 1970s Melbourne High School, Tim falls hopelessly in love with John, the captain of the football team.
With a cast of six playing 43 unique characters between them, a high energy take on the heartwarming comedy of their early life, the activism and exploration of their university days, and finally the tragedy that unfolds when they both contract HIV in the mid- eighties.
Play contains swearing, adult themes and strobe lighting
‘Holding The Man’ is the only full-length play in the festival and is eligible for certain awards. We’re showcasing it as an excellent example of award-winning, full-length theatre.
Storytelling
By Oliver Emanuel
One-act play performed by Bon Accord Players, Aberdeen, Scotland
Winner of the SCOTTISH FINAL and the SCDA NORTHERN DIVISION
This play is about how the power of stories can overcome the darkest moments in life. Two people tell the story of Robert, who isn’t sure who is in charge of his own narrative and whether he even wants to be in the story of his life anymore …
Play contains swearing
Songkeeper
By Jamie Lakritz
One-act play performed by Brightlight Theatre Company, Frimley, England
Winner of the WOKING DRAMA FESTIVAL
As the stars begin to vanish from the night sky and darkness encroaches, two men embark on a desperate mission to save their island community. Ambert, an idealistic young lamplighter, believes he can reignite the heavens. Provolov, a blind and embittered sailor, reluctantly returns to the sea, haunted by the ghosts of his past. As secrets surface and faith falters, the shadows of their history threaten to extinguish their hope. When the light fades, what will they cling to—and what will it cost?
Contains swearing and strobe lighting
by JAMIE LAKRITZ (currently unpublished)