|
|
|
|
 |
|
...
new titles ... new challenges ... new rewards
... |
|
|
|
This one act, one set play is a comedy drama
with a running time of 45-50 minutes approximately.
It is an affectionate look at family life
with a disabled teenager.
Mark Dean is a fifty year old who could have
had a brilliant career as an academic but
retired from his post as a university lecturer
to help look after his eighteen-year-old son
Ben who is severely handicapped and confined
to a wheelchair. He can make sounds and some
movements, and he can understand what people
are saying to him.
It's the day of Ben's eighteenth birthday
and Mark's younger brother, Ralph and his
wife and daughter, Jean and Pat are the only
guests. Ralph and Mark are like chalk and
cheese and Mark, being the brighter of the
two, enjoys playing games to wind up his brother's
family. At the root of the wind-ups is the
fact that although Ralph is a successful businessman,
he and his family have not taken a lot of
interest in Ben over the years and have little
sympathy for the sacrifices that Mark has
had to make. The divide between the two families
becomes more obvious as the play develops
and ends with the cruellest wind up of them
all.
Throughout the play we laugh with Ben
and Mark, not at them, as together they hatch
their plans to annoy Ralph. The actor playing
Ben should appreciate and understand this,
needing to develop his characterisation carefully.
Done well this play is superb, performed badly
it could become a mawkish spectacle. |
|
|
| |
| Ben Dean -
an eighteen year old young man, confined to
a wheelchair. Severely handicapped, but can
hear, make sounds and gestures. |
| Mark Dean
- Fifty. Ben's father. Retired university
lecturer. Quick witted with a wicked sense
of humour. Devoted to Ben. |
| Sara Dean
- Fortyish. Devoted to Mark and Ben but often
feels the pressure of her commitment. |
| Ralph Dean
- Mark's younger brother, by four years. A
successful businessman, who has always been
the butt for Mark's humour. |
| Jean Dean
- Forty. an assertive woman who is clearly
the strength behind Ralph. |
| Pat Dean -
Twenty four. Ralph and Jean's daughter. A
confident graduate, working in television
news. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Duration |
: 45 mins |
| Acts |
: 1 |
| Principals |
: 3m, 3f |
| Sets |
: 1 |
|
| |
 |
| Other Comedies ... |
| |
|
|
