Category Archives: Crime

Who dunnit plays, detective, murder mysteries etc.

Nothing to Die for – A Comedy! A Will He Do it?

Comedy! A 'Will he do it?'

NOTHING TO DIE FOR – A COMEDY!  A WILL HE DO IT?

Tom, a writer, is facing the frustrations of writer’s block and career disappointments. His frustrations have intensified his OCD, and both, have strained Carla’s, Tom’s wife, patience. Carla, intolerant of Tom’s prolonged self-pity, has taken Brad, Tom’s old friend, as a lover. Brad, a quasi-professional actor, has been more than willing to play the part. When Tom’s writer’s block appears to give way with a burst of inspiration, Brad finds himself invited to dinner, so Tom can share his latest inspiration in this comedy A will he do it? 

The lovers plan to steal some time for themselves, with the unwitting help Nancy Chapman, a new neighbor, who’s suffering a minor mental breakdown after her divorce. When Tom’s idea so closely mirrors the reality of Carla and Brad’s affair, the lovers begin a long night of oscillating back and forth between believing they been caught, and are in danger, and assuring themselves Tom’s idea is just coincidence. Brad and Carla’s histrionics swing to increasing extremes as they wrestle with wine, roll-playing, Nancy’s oblivious drunken behavior, and their growing uncertainties of what Tom’s is and isn’t capable of. The only thing they are certain of is that Tom would never get blood on the carpet.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

SMAHOO Change Clinic, AB, Canada – 2022

 

Author: Michael Miller

Type: Two-act play

Genre: A Comedy! A ‘Will he do it?’ whodunit

Cast: 2M, 2F

Ages of the actors: Adult

Suitable for: PG 12

Length: 120 minutes – 2 hours

Set: In an immaculate modest house there is a dining area adjacent to the front room. The dining is RS and the front room is LS. The front room extends past the upstage wall of the dining area. Implied beyond the dining area’s upstage wall is the front porch. The front door opens from this unseen porch into the front room. In the left stage wall is the hallway opening. In the same wall, upstage of the hallway entry, is a narrow window. In the dining area is a small table and four chairs. A kitchen hatch sits against the upstage wall of this area.

In the right stage wall is a door. In the front room there is a small couch or love seat, with two comfortable chairs on either end of a small coffee table; other furnishings, a small end table, with a drawer, and lamp.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – building tension to the end of the play

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Copyright © May 2019 Michael Miller and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Others like it:

The Play’s the thing – one act play about staging the perfect murder
Prelude to Murder. British Whodunit. Convicted of a crime that didn’t happen…
Crossword – a one act play about murder and not really knowing that nice boy who helps you out with your groceries

Comedy! A ‘Will he do it?’

Jake Revolver, Freelance Secret Agent – Radio Noir play

radio noir play

radio noir play

JAKE REVOLVER, FREELANCE SECRET AGENT- RADIO NOIR PLAY

In this radio noir play, private detective Jake Revolver fights against conspiracy, double cross and self-reference to uncover the killer of his own narrator. Meant to be performed as the premiere episode of a nineteen-forties live radio broadcast, complete with foley artistry and on-stage stand-up microphones, Jake Revolver, Freelance Secret Agent is a parody packed with puns, play on words, oodles of self-referential absurdity (and Beatles references?) In the tradition of Firesign Theater, Jake Revolver, Freelance Secret Agent combines slapstick, screwball humor, commercial spoofs and a murder mystery for a stylish and ridiculous tour de force comedy.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Milwaukee Entertainment Group, Milwaukee, WI – June, 2015
Wolf Pack Theatre Company, DC Metro – July, 2015
The Village Playhouse, West Allis, WI – August, 2016
Upstart Crows, Madison, WI – July/August, 2016
Artesia Community Theatre, Artesia, NM – August, 2016
Lancaster Community Players, Lancaster, WI – October, 2016
Waitara high school, Taranaki, New Zealand – 2019
Coachford Players, Cork, Ireland – 2020
Generations Dance Academy, GA, USA – 2020
Darlington High School Theatre, WI, USA – 2021
Le Mars Community Theatre, IA, USA – 2021
Yorkville High School, IL, USA – 2021
Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre (BDACT),WI, USA – 2022
Young Actors Company, Richmond Shakespeare Society, Twickenham, United Kingdom – 2022
Central Jersey College Prep Charter School, NJ, USA – 2023
Buffalo High School, WY, USA – 2023
Ockley Dramatic Society, Surrey, United Kingdom – 2023

Jake Revolver, Freelance Secret Agent was a finalist in the Rover Dramawerks Comedy Play Contest and received its world premiere production in Milwaukee, WI produced by Milwaukee Entertainment Group, June, 2015. This hilarious noir parody has delighted audiences in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C.  

“Beyond the superficial silliness there’s a deeply playful exploration of dichotomy and duality. The show tumbles through a narrative that plays with the fourth wall in a weird existential funhouse, dizzyingly drenched in a semi-automatic barrage of humor.”     -Russ Bickerstaff, Shepherd Express Shepherd Express Review of Jake Revolver, Freelance Secret Agent

Author: Matthew Konkel

Type: Full length one act play

Genre: Radio noir play

Length: 90 minutes

Cast: 5M, 3F. There are actually 12 characters, but some should/could be played by the same actors.

Ages of the actors: Teens up

Suitable for: All ages

Set: Radio play with cast on stage with microphones and people doing sound effects

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – radio plays are an interesting and fun genre for the cast and audience. The whole thing could be done without seeing it, or the cast could perform the play in front of the audience with the people making the sound effects visible which is also very enjoyable.

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © February 2019 Matthew Konkel and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? other radio plays and film noir plays for you to enjoy:

Honesty – British drama – a radio play
Cancelled – a 1940’s farce set in a radio station whilst the cast are broadcasting
Crooked hand – funny film noir script

Crooked Hand: Game of Cups – comical whodunit

CROOKED HAND: GAME OF CUPS – COMICAL WHODUNIT

The year is 1939. After a solid year building a name for himself as a detective, Phil Lebowski comes across a piece of evidence that will lead him to “the one that got away.” Hot on the trail, Phil gets wrapped up in a job with his ex-friend on security detail of a priceless jewel. Suddenly, they are caught in a madcap situation full of gangsters, thieves, and murder! Can Phil find the killer, retrieve a giant ruby, and wrangle all the crazy suspects before he “sleeps with the fishes” in this comical whodunit.

Crooked Hand: Game of Cups is the sequel to Crooked Hand,  also by American playwright Jeff Carlson.

Author: Jeff Carlson and Zach Triplett

Type: Two-act play

Genre: Comical whodunit, crime, film noir

Cast: 6M, 3F, 1N

Ages of the actors: Adult. No ages specified

Suitable for: All ages to watch and teens up to perform

Length: 100 minutes

Set: Detective’s office, conference hall, a radio show live from a prison which can be invisible or seen at the director’s discretion

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – cutting back and forth between the radio show and actual events happening live on stage

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © January 2019 Jeff Carlson and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other whodunits you may enjoy:

All in the past – murder mystery set in 1930’s Shanghai
Merriweather’s Murderous weekend – a murder weekend goes deadly wrong
Parlor City Noir – gritty film noir whodunit

Leonardo – a Murder Mystery play set around Leonardo da Vinci

murder mystery play

LEONARDO – MURDER MYSTERY PLAY SET IN THE TIME OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

The time: The late 1400’s. The place: Renaissance Italy. Leonardo da Vinci, already a notable artist and inventor is called upon by one of his clients, Mona Lisa to solve the mystery of the mysterious illness and subsequent death of a her sister who is nun in the covent of San Domenico.  Rumours of her being with an illegitimate child abound, but also the presence of an unusual book, containing content that may not have been sanctioned by the church is found in her belongings.

Leonardo must solve the mystery of first of all how she died, and secondly, who killed her. Using a combination of wits, alchemy and good old fashioned detective work he unearths the mystery surrounding her death and perhaps that of Christ himself.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Landstown High School Theatre, VA, USA – 2019

Read other plays by Pilar Pringiers Spinnox – Anastasia Romanova – an alternative history play

Author: Pilar Pringiers Spinnox

Type: Two-act play

Genre: Murder mystery script

Cast: 8M,8F, 1N  (uo to sc 8 incl mother superior)

Ages of the actors: Adult

Suitable for: PG 12 (odd reference to sex)

Length: Seventy five minutes

Set: Various: Leonardo’s studio, a market, a bar and various rooms in an Abbey, a church, a cloister and a library

Level of difficulty: 7/10 A complex piece, perfect for Drama departments. On the surface, a simple detective plot with overtones of CSI, Bones and Sherlock but contains a lot of subtext. In addition, the play uses dancers to express the emotion of the scenes and sometimes a choir is used for the same purpose. The director’s challenge is to synchronise the players with the dancers and the music. Permission of the playwright may be sought to omit the dancing and live music if need be.

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Copyright © January 2019 Pilar Pringiers Spinnox and Off the Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other whodunits that will fascinate you:

Crooked hand – funny film noir script
Merriweather’s Murderous Weekend – when a murder party goes wrong…
The Lady of the Lake murder – an Arthurian whodunit

Crooked Hand – funny film noir whodunit script

film noir whodunit

CROOKED HAND – FILM NOIR WHODUNIT COMEDY SCRIPT

It’s 1938. Hot shot Detective John Samuels just wants a break after a busy week of catching criminals. When his down-on-his-luck friend Phil stops by to ask for a loan, John hatches a scheme to have Phil stand in for him at his next “easy” job. The so called job is as mediator for a merger between two feuding casino owners, but when one of the owners winds up “pushing up daisies” it is up to the absent minded Phil to crack the case in this funny film noir whodunit script.

This hilarious mystery-comedy is set at the Peppermint Pad Casino, in an unnamed city. “A Crooked Hand” was produced in October of 2009 by the Gaslight Theater Players in Georgetown, Ohio USA. It is a full length period comedy that pokes fun at Detective Stories.

Read other plays by Jeff Carlson and co write Zach Triplett – Explain the Handcuffs – a time travel adventure

Author: Jeff Carlson

Type: Three act play

Genre: Comedy, crime, film noir whodunit script

Cast: 7M, 3F

Ages of the actors: Adult characters

Suitable for: Teens up to play and watch

Length: 90 minutes

Set: The time is 1938. This hilarious mystery-comedy is set at the Peppermint Pad Casino, in an unnamed city, though the first section takes place around the office of a private detective in the same city.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – incorporating comedy and a period feel in a full length play

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Copyright © September 2018 Jeff Carlson and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other funny whodunits and film noir crime scripts:

He’s behind you! A comedy, whodunit and pantomime rolled into one
Murder and other fun things – comedy whodunit
The Duck of the Baskervilles – punful Sherlock Holmes spoof

Prelude to Murder – British Whodunit Script

British whodunit script

PRELUDE TO MURDER – BRITISH WHODUNIT SCRIPT

Well-deserved holiday? Check. Beautiful apartment in the Canary Islands? Check. Some much needed R&R? Double check for both R’s. Good friends, James and Ollie are supposed to be enjoying their time on holiday. It is also the perfect opportunity to catch up with some friends who’ve also taken to the Canaries (though Ollie is somewhat ambivalent to them). That is until tragedy strikes. Ollie has been murdered and for a hot second it seems that James might be a key suspect in this British whodunit script.

Less than a few hours after James is questioned by investigating officers, when none other than Ollie himself walks into their shared apartment. It seems someone has been murdered but the police have no idea who. In this two act comedy-drama not all is as it seems as the mystery unfolds to reveal ghosts from the past, obscurities of the present and the guilty feet that will try their luck, dancing into the future.

It isn’t how you’re murdered but how you’re not.

Author: Stan Thompson

Genre: British whodunit script, crime

Type: Two-act play script

Cast: Mains 2M, 1F. Total cast: 7M, 4F (but one of the F must play two F characters)

Ages of the actors: Adult. Main characters are in their mid twenties

Suitable for: Adults

Length: Ninety minutes

Set: The apartment terrace is furnished with two sun loungers, a large table with a parasol, four high-back chairs with cushions, and a small plastic side table. Two large cactus plants, in tubs, stand either side of the patio doors leading into the apartment.
The exterior walls of the apartment are painted brilliant white. The terrace tiles are cream terracotta. There are four exterior walls lights – two each side of the double patio doors, which are shaded by an internal vertical blind.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – characterization

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Copyright © July 2018 Stan Thompson and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this script? Read more like it:

Crossword – award winning British play about murder
Merriweather’s Murderous weekend – a British whodunit comedy
Marvin’s Fetish – gay tension filled drama with murder for two actors

The duck of the baskervilles – punful whodunit Sherlock Holmes play

whodunit sherlock holmes play

THE DUCK OF THE BASKERVILLES – PUNFUL WHODUNIT SHERLOCK HOLMES PLAY

Sir Oswald Baskerville has died in Mysterious Circumstances (a small village near his home). The doctor called in to pronounce him dead discovers a giant duck’s footprint on Sir Oswald’s chest and suspects fowl play. The heir to Sir Oswald’s estate may be in danger. The police are baffled. Shylock Casa, the famous insulting detective, and Watsonia, his assistant, are called in and they quickly solve the mystery and unmask the murderer in this whodunit Sherlock Holmes play. A Quacking good case!!

If you, like me share a love of terrible puns, this is the play for you.

Watch a Zoom Production of The Duck of the Baskervilles during the 2020 Pandemic by the Children’s Theatre of Annapolis

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, MD, USA – 2020

 

Read other plays by playwright Tom Considine – The Three unwise men – a nativity spoof with a difference!

Author: Tom Considine

Type: One act crime play or spoof

Genre: Whodunit Sherlock Holmes play, comedy

Cast: 4M, 3F, 1N

Ages of the actors: Adult

Suitable for: The whole family to watch and teens upward to perform.

Length: 15 minutes

Set: A lounge with a sofa and chairs and a small coffee table in front of the sofa at stage centre. A writing desk and chair against the wall on stage left centre. A door, stage right centre.  Many pictures, mainly family portraits. 

Level of difficulty: 6/10 – delivery of the lines and characterization

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Copyright © February 2018 Tom Considine and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other crime spoofs and short comedy crime scripts:

Ralph – a film noir cum Monty Python whodunit
Who you me someone bloody did it!!
Murder in the asylum – a theatre of the absurd script

No Ordinary Man – serial killer play or screenplay

serial killer play or screenplay

NO ORDINARY MAN – SERIAL KILLER PLAY OR SCREENPLAY

The seconds drag, the minutes are lengthened, the hours stretch into day 1, day 2, day 3… as Billard tries to crack a suspect’s psyche in this serial killer play or screenplay. He goes by the name “Martin,” the suspect that’s up for the murder of multiple women. As the evidence mounts and points conspicuously to Martin, Billard works with and against the clock to get a confession out of the seemingly disturbed prisoner.

‘Disturbed, psychotic, misunderstood or fearless.’ These are words – words that Martin uses to describe himself, and words Billard uses to describe Martin… Once Martin is ‘shockingly’ linked to the systematic, mental and physical abuse of his own daughter, it is just a matter of time before Billard corners him with a plea bargain that will give the victims’ families the peace of mind (if any is possible) that they deserve. To catch a killer is to hold the banner of justice squarely on ones shoulders and Billard may yet succeed in that respect. In the process he may become a victim of Martin too. You win/you die.

Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, once said, “even psychopaths have emotions.’ A, ‘’Then again, maybe not,’’ was added to Ramirez statement.

Author: Jimmy Cunningham

Type: Full length crime drama that could be produced either as a play or as a screenplay

Genre: Crime drama, serial killer play or screenplay

Length: Two hours

Cast: 3M

Ages of the actors: All adult

Suitable for: Adult audience due to topics discussed.

Set: An interview room in a modern police station.
Anywhere in the world.

Level of difficulty: 8/10 – most of the play takes place between two characters – needs two skilled actors to bring the play to a climax and hold the audience.

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © December 2017 Jimmy Cunningham and Off the Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other serial killer plays, plays about murder and crime dramas

The Promise – three act drama script about a wife locked in a room. But is she sick or is she dead?
The Case of Ivan Kane – serial killer short script
Crossword – British award winning play about a murder

Crossword – Award Winning play about murder

play about murder

CROSSWORD – AWARD WINNING PLAY ABOUT MURDER

A play about murder with a surprising  twist at the end.   Do you know the person, or the parts of yourself you wish you didn’t?

He’s the boy who delivers Maureen’s groceries. That is all. Ben is his name. He’s rather young (23 to be exact), sweet yet slightly annoying and quite nosy. For all his lack of charm, he’s quite harmless to old Maureen and he’s very helpful with her crossword puzzle, amongst other things. He helps with the puzzle and she makes him a cup of tea. She initially tended to rebuff his desire to keep her company a while but she nonetheless appreciates the gesture as she lives alone. She’s lived that way for many, many years now.

Ben found out she lived alone on the last day she saw him. He used that information to his best interests when he asked her to share her living space with him as he was looking for new accommodation. He told her the move was necessary but the truth about his past would soon come to light. Maureen resisted as Ben persisted. He grew hungrier for her approval and she grew wary of his intentions. The rest was, as Ben stated when he tackled the first word of Maureen’s crossword, that day, ‘’Murder.’’

‘Crossword’won 2 best new play awards in 2016. Read other plays by Sean – Is this seat taken – a multi award winning one act play.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Texas Lutheran University, TX, USA – 2022

 

Author: Sean Baker

Type: One act play

Genre: Drama, thriller

Cast: Main Characters: 1 – F, 1 – M

Ages of the actors: F – older, M – young

Suitable for: PG 10 violence.

Length: 25-30 minutes

Set: The kitchen of a typical house. A table and two chairs R. On the table is newspaper, pen, teapot, mug. A door L is the back door. USC is a window with kitchen unit beneath. A second door R leads to the hallway and the rest of the house. A stool DSL. Clock on the wall.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – building tension to a shocking climax.

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © September 2017 Sean Baker and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other thrillers for you to enjoy:

Lonely birds and Shadow Figures – Psycho Thriller Script
Scream – one act suspense thriller about the end of the world
Thank you for shopping Hoochum’s Bargain Basement- funny thriller

The Case of Ivan Kane, serial killer script

serial killer script

THE CASE OF IVAN KANE – SERIAL KILLER SCRIPT

When Ivan Kane hands himself into the local police for multiple murders that have just been committed by simply calling 911 and identifying himself as the murderer, the Detective is at first puzzled then intrigued.  Ivan tells his story and a sequence of horrific events unfold, starting with a seemingly innocent drink in a local bar and ending with a surprising twist that Ivan seems to have plotted all along in this serial killer script.

A thoroughly enjoyable script for all those fascinated by the mind of the serial killer from best selling author Naadir Joseph.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Davis County High School, IA, USA – 2018
Dark Stories Tours, New South Wales, Australia – 2018

Read other scripts by Naadir – The Book of Souls – a teen play about some teens who find the book of souls and try to bring people back from the dead.

Author: Naadir Joseph

Genre: Crime, serial killer script

Type: One act play

Cast: 5M, 1F (M Bartender could be played by either sex)

Ages of the actors: Adult

Suitable for: Older teens and adults due to violence

Length: Fifteen to Twenty minutes

Set: A prison cell which becomes a bar as he thinks back. Easy to achieve with some tables and stools.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – building a climax with the twist at the end

Read a Sample of the Script

Cost is $ 9.00 for this digital play script. Just click Shakespeare!

Contact Off The Wall Plays with any queries about The Case of Ivan Kane

Copyright © September 2017 Naadir Joseph and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other crime scripts for your enjoyment:

You do love me, don’t you? Psycho thriller about a boyfriend who isn’t all that he seems
All in the Past – murder mystery set in Shanghai in the 1930’s
Questions – play for 3 actresses about a murder that has just been committed. By one of them.
The play’s the thing – script about an almost perfect murder

He’s Behind You – a whodunit, a comedy and a panto rolled into one

funny whodunit

HE’S BEHIND YOU! A FUNNY WHODUNIT AND A PANTO ROLLED INTO ONE

You think it’s easy, do you? Putting on a show? For Beau Boots it would, initially, seem stress-free; he’s a professional for one, he’s directing Cinderella for goodness sake, it’s a pantomime version (the most ‘noble’ type of theatre performance) so surely, the theatre gods must be on his side and the rehearsals and the show itself will be taking place in a church hall – so God himself is most certainly on his side too in this funny whodunit.

Beau refuses to let the mistakes of the previous year’s production (we do not speak of them) taint this one…but in He’s Behind You, the ghosts of Christmas past (more real than you would think) threaten Beau’s work once more. A foul crime is committed in this four act dramedy during the show’s debut and Beau Boots production of Cinderella is jeopardized and all eyes are on the pool of potential perpetrators from the production, as guesses turn to prayer, quite literally, in fact.

It is said that the name Cinderella means little ashes. In this context: the little ashes of a sadly ‘pantomomical’ disaster.

He’s behind you has been staged by the Montgomery Youth Theatre in 2015.

FURTHER PRODUCTION HISTORY

St. Patrick’s picnic group, United Kingdom – 2019

 

Author: Penny Jones

Genre: Funny whodunit

Type:  Full length one act play with four scenes. It can easily be split into a two act play at the director’s discretion.

Length: 90-110 minutes

Cast: Main characters: 6M, 3F

Ages of the actors: Young adult to elderly

Suitable for: All ages, aimed at adults.

Set: The play is set in a scruffy church hall where some tables are untidily pushed together with several chairs around, a counter with tea urn and cups, and lots of signs prohibiting everything.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – characterization – many of the characters are quite colorful.

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Cost is $6.50 for this previously staged production

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Copyright © Penny Jones and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other comedy whodunits for you to enjoy:

Clown Car – a comedy whodunit. With clowns.
Killers with benefits – funny crime script
Merriweather’s murderous weekend – a British whodunit that shouldn’t have been

The Outlaws – comedy about THE IN LAWS

comedy about the in laws

THE OUTLAWS – COMEDY ABOUT THE

IN LAWS

When good in laws go bad, it gets ugly!

Meet Jill and Michael; an average young couple who plan to get married soon – next month to be precise…but not if Jill’s father Dick and her grandfather Henry can stop it. You see they are not too
fond of Michael. They are not too sure what it is they don’t like about him, perhaps his soon-to-be profession (you see dear Michael’s studying theology) or maybe it’s his bishop for a father, Tom,
and/or his equally bishop-y wife, Connie. In two acts, Henry and Dick are dead set on taking this marriage down and soon enough, Tom ends up joining forces with them. With their wives Beth,
Emily and Connie caught in the middle, every single parental figure in this comedy about the in laws is taught a lesson they should very well know by now: young love, it cannot be stopped.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Fond du Lac Community Theatre, WI, USA – 2021

 

Read about playwright Jean Blasiar.
Other comedies – The Heirs – British comedy script by Jean.

Author: Jean Blasiar

Type: Two-act play

Genre:  Comedy about the in laws, comedy about religious in laws

Cast: Main Characters: 4 – M, 4 – F

Ages of the actors: Adult, 2 young, 4 middle aged, 2 older

Length: One hour

Suitable for: All ages

Set: A living room/den, kitchen and a patio. 

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – character based and situational comedy

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © May 2017 Jean Blasiar and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other one hour comedies we think you’d really enjoy:

The Mayhem Motel – two act American farce
Nights – comedy musical Arabian Nights
I should tell you – comedy in two acts

Merriweather’s Murderous Weekend – a British whodunit that shouldn’t have been

British whodunit

MERRIWEATHER’S MURDEROUS WEEKEND – A BRITISH WHODUNIT THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN

Joan, Maggie, Jane and Annie, who have been solving murder mysteries, for the love of leisure, for twenty years.

Of course the murders are not true crimes – that is before this weekend away at Dafful Hall, at least. Barry Merriweather (host and organiser at Dafful Hall) gets the ladies’ homicidal adventure off to a rocky start but as the escapade unfolds, the ladies and Barry
start to suspect that there is more to the mystery than the mystery of the murder itself – and Barry may not even be to blame for what’s going awry!

Bodies go missing, a very convincing ‘policeman’ strolls into the picture, two thieves prey on the fake crime setup and
a cougar finds a toy-boy in this three-act comedy that puts the ‘bad’ in ‘a badly organised weekend’!

Merriweather’s Murderous Weekend has been produced successfully by The Pavilion Players.

FURTHER PRODUCTION HISTORY

The Friends’ School, Tasmania, Australia – 2019
M A D S amateur group, Buckinghamshire, UK – 2020

 

Author: Gary Davis

Type: Short three act play

Genre: British whodunit

Cast: 5M, 7F

Ages of the actors: Adult, ages twenty to seventy

Length: 80-90 minutes

Suitable for: All ages to both perform (teen up) and watch.

Set: Dafful hall, the National Trust’s most prized possession. The building houses some fine antiques. The play takes place in the private lounge which has been set aside for the mystery weekend.  there are three doors to this room and it is furnished with two sofas,two chairs a coffee table and a sideboard. It can also be embellished with other furniture to suit the size of the stage. Paintings should be hung on the walls. THE PLAY IS SET IN THE PRESENT DAY.  

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – getting the British character’s accents and mannerisms right if you’re not British.

Read a Sample of the Script

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Copyright © Gary Davis and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other fabulous whodunits for you to enjoy:

Guilty Party – whodunit medical farce
Two Many Witnesses – courtroom drama crime script
Mascot Masquerade – a whodunit in a bear costume

The play’s the thing – one act crime script about the perfect murder

one act crime script about a murder

THE PLAY’S THE THING – ONE ACT CRIME SCRIPT ABOUT THE PERFECT MURDER

It was the perfect murder. And the perfect accident. Or so Greta thought. Deeply infatuated by her good looking actor boyfriend, her husband Charles appears to be nothing more than an impediment to their happiness. She plans the perfect way to get rid of Charles, and make it look like it was all an accident. When Larry, her lover, gives Charles (who is a well known actor) a script to read, she decides to ask Charles to ‘act out’ the script with them, and supplies him with a loaded gun for the suicide scene… But she’ll have to learn the hard way that there’s no such thing as the perfect murder in this one act crime script.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Holy Rosary Convent, EDENVALE, SOUTH AFRICA – 2022

Read other plays by Peter – The Coming of Jed Crest – an ordinary girl finds out her dad may be a rock star from back in the day.

Author: Peter Pitt

Genre: Crime, drama

Type: One act crime script

Length: Thirty minutes

Cast: 3M, 2F

Ages of the actors: One M in his fifties, two in their thirties and two in their twenties

Suitable for: All ages to watch. Adults to act in.

Set: A luxury apartment in London, furnished with 1930’s styled furniture. There is a large couch, two armchairs, a writing desk, cocktail cabinet, a television set and a telephone

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – accents and period piece.

Read a Sample of the Script

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Contact Off The Wall Plays with any queries about The Play’s the Thing

Copyright © April 2017 Peter Pitt and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other crime scripts for you to enjoy:

The Mysterious Death of Christine Wilde – one act crime drama
All in the past – period murder mystery play
War stories – good cop, bad cop drama

The Lady of the Lake Murder – a murder mystery script

murder mystery script

THE LADY OF THE LAKE MURDER – A MURDER MYSTERY SCRIPT

It is the annual meeting of the Shadow Council, a group of powerful immortals headed by Merlin. Among the chartered members of the Council are Morgan le Fay, Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot and Niniane, the infamous Lady of the Lake. Also in attendance are three young Wardens assigned to protect an immortal charge. Unfortunately, The Lady of the Lake had been murdered in this Arthurian murder mystery script.

It was (almost) a perfect murder. The tracks were (mostly) covered up. The Lady of the Lake, Nianine had not been seen a while(ish) and the council of Immortals; his serene magicness Merlin, her royal, dark highness Queen Guinevere, her royal lover Sir Lancelot and a beautiful Morgan Le Fay; would (most likely) be certainly happy to hear of Nianine’s death. The happiness amongst the Immortals would (probably) be ten-fold as they are forbidden from killing one another and so none could be charged with the crime. So who did it then? The Inquisitor is about to find out and he’s happy to have us in on the inquisition as the investigation unfolds and a certain Warden may become a ward of the fates.

As the time for the meeting draws near and the immortals begin to gather it comes to light that each of the immortals has a grudge against Niniane, including her own Warden. When it is learned Niniane has been murdered, beheaded with Excalibur, an artifact entrusted to her Warden accusations begin to fly and it becomes the responsibility of the Councils Chief Inquisitor, a stereotypical police investigator, to learn the truth and bring the murderer to justice. The penalty for this crime is death.

The Lady of the Lake Murder is a mystery steeped in Arthurian Lore drawn from the works of Mallory and the Vulgate Cycle.

Read about playwright David Schmidt. Other scripts – The Dark Chronicles of the Golden Raven Society: A horror script by David

Author: David Schmidt

Genre: Murder mystery script, whodunit

Type: Two act play

Cast: 4M, 4F but the inquisitor can also be played by a F instead of a M.

Ages of the actors: Adult – young adults to older

Suitable for: All ages

Length: 45 – 60 minutes

Set: The secret chamber of the Shadow Council. UP LEFT CENTER is a large stone fireplace. Heavy wooden doors on each side of the fireplace lead into and out of the chamber. CENTER is a small, round table draped with a purple and black table cloth that goes to the ground. In the center of the table is a clawed plinth with a crystal ball on top of it. Behind the table, set in a semi-circle, are four throne-like chairs. The center two chairs are larger than the two that flank them. A fire appears to be glowing in the fireplace.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – a lovely mix of a typical hard-boiled whodunit detective story and mythical characters

Read a Sample of the Script

pay now shakespeare

Cost is $6.50 for this digital play script. Just Click Shakespeare!

Contact Off the Wall Plays with any queries about The Lady of the Lake Murder

Copyright © March 2017 David Schmidt and Off the Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other whodunits for you to enjoy:

Parlor City Noir – a Film Noir classic whodunit script
Mascot Masquerade – a whodunit play set at a masked ball
Murder and other fun things