'TRUSTING HERR SCHICKELGRUBER' - It is September 1938. The eyes of the world are on Germany. Two men are in the spotlight - Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Hitler is seeking to add to the territories he has already illegally appropriated into the Third Reich. Chamberlain has initiated a dialogue with Hitler to try to find a settlement that will preserve peace in Europe. Drawing on historical sources, the play presents an imagined account of what occurred in private before and after the meetings between the two leaders; in particular Hitler’s intimate, sometimes volatile relationship with his mistress, Eva Braun, and the frank and lively interaction between Chamberlain and his (fictional) shrewd valet, Walter Wright. Full length three act play. ISBN: 1 84094 584 2. Published by New Theatre Publications. For a free reading copy contact: plays4theatre@ntlworld.com or write to NTP, 2 Hereford Close, Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 4HR. Telephone 0845 331 3516.
'This is a quite fascinating study of the relationship between Germany's dictator Adolf Hitler and England's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and their one to one meeting at Berchtesgarden in 1938. In addition to the exciting challenge for the two actors who will play the 49 year old Hitler and the 69 year old Chamberlain, the other roles are a real life SS guard, Klaus Guttmann, who also acts as the Narrator of the play, and Hitler's young mistress, Eva Braun. The only fictional character is Walter Wright, who is Chamberlain's valet and is in his mid-forties. It is a well written play and although it relies on a certain degree of fiction for its entertainment value, it does give an insight into the raison d'etre for what history records as a series of fraught meetings in the late thirties that later appeared to indicate that Chamberlain had shrewdly played his cards carefully to gain time for Britain and her allies to re-arm and prepare for an inevitable conflict ahead. (AS Magazine)
'I found it thoroughly enjoyable, combining, as it does, obvious historical fact with imagined dialogues involving both Eva Braun and the perceptive valet, Wright. Their scenes leaven the Hitler/Chamberlain meetings delightfully.' (Scott Marshall, drama adjudicator, actor, producer, lecturer)
Extract from TRUSTING HERR SCHICKELGRUBER:
Hitler’s hotel room. EVA is seated, leafing through a magazine. HITLER enters R and kisses her on the forehead.
EVA: Ah you look tired, darling.
HITLER: (slumping down in a chair). I’m tired of arguing over Czechoslovakia. I
want the thing settled once and for all. The Sudetenland is coming into the
Reich; Chamberlain knows it, the French know it, the Czechs know it, the
whole of Europe knows it; yet Chamberlain keeps stalling and fussing over
trivial details.
EVA: I’m sure he’s only trying to do the best he can for the Czechs.
HITLER: To hell with the Czechs. I’ve told Chamberlain the matter has to be
resolved without any more delay. If he and his allies want a war over it, then
that is their choice.
EVA: I thought you said war was the last thing on Mr Chamberlain’s mind?
HITLER: I’ve no doubt of that, but if he carries on the way he is he will have a war
on his hands, like it or not.
EVA: I do hope it won’t come to that.
HITLER: Time is running out, and so is my patience.
EVA: I hate seeing you so tense. It’s not good for you.
HITLER: That damned Englishman with his old fashioned manners and his
bureaucratic nit-picking is beginning to irk me. I thought we understood each
other, but I’m beginning to wonder. Why is he being so difficult over matters
of no consequence to Britain?
EVA: I expect he has his reasons.
HITLER: His country has a vested interest in a stronger Reich for God’s sake. Not
only will it be good for British business, it will also enable us to hold back the
spread of the Communist virus so dreaded by the English ruling class.
EVA: Please darling, try to forget Czechslovakia and Mr Chamberlain and the
Communists for a while (She takes his hand.) Try to relax a little.
HITLER: (withdrawing his hand from hers). I spoke to Chamberlain’s valet
yesterday about your encounter with him.
'ALBY AND THE BIG FELLAH' - The action takes place in a hospital room where 15-year-old Alby, suffering from cancer, is being visited by his best friend, Matt. The play explores the differing reactions of the two boys to the impending possibility of Alby's death. Despite the sombre scenario, Alby (sporting a Che Guevara beret to hide his loss of hair through chemotherapy treatment) retains his sense of humour throughout and provides a droll commentary on his illness, the medical profession and his conception of Heaven and its proprietor, who he always refers to as The Big Fellah. The play ends on an upbeat note. Short one-act play, running time about 12 minutes (Cast: 2m.). ISBN: 1 84094 489 7. Published by New Theatre Publications.For a free reading copy contact: plays4theatre@ntlworld.com or write to NTP, 2 Hereford Close, Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 4HR, England. Telephone: 0845 331 3516.
'CITY OF DREAMS' - Fred Newman, a local government accountant, dreamed of leaving his nagging wife and dead-end job and travelling the world. A heart attack and early retirement provides the opportunity to take off and head first for Dallas, his 'City of Dreams'. Here he meets a Mexican chambermaid who is also on the run, but from different demons. For a while it looks like they may become an 'item', but will they both find the happiness they seek? One-act play. (Cast: 1m.1f). ISBN 1-873130-33-3. Free reading sample can be downloaded from the website of The Playwright Publishing Co, 70 Nottingham Road, Burton Joyce, Notts. NG14 5AL, England. Tel: (44) 01159313356. Email: playwrightspublishingco@yahoo.com. Website: http://www.geocities.com/playwrightspublishingco
'The themes of freedom and adventure...are universal.' (Stagecoach)
'A SIGN OF THE TIMES' - Tackles the theme of wartime xenophobia and its effect on a family living in the East End of London during the early days of the First World War when the naturalised German proprietor of a bakery is mistakenly perceived by local people to be an enemy sympathiser. One-act play. (Cast: 3m. lf). ISBN 1 84094 329 7. Published by New Theatre Publications. Fpr a free reading copy contact: plays4theatre@ntlworld.com or write to: NTP, 2 Hereford Close, Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 4HR, England. Telephone: 0845 331 3516.
'This a remarkable first play...compelling.' (Amateur Stage)
'There is a care and love in this play that gives it a quality I much admired.' (Stagecoach)
'[The audience] were all gripped by the play and found it moving and thought-provoking.' (University of the Third Age group)
'BO AND JOE' - A fictional evocation of the ill-starred relationship in the early 1880s between Beatrice Potter and Joseph Chamberlain, the leading radical politician of his day. Beatrice later married Sidney Webb and the pair became renowned socialist writers and thinkers and founders of the London School of Economics. One-act play.(Cast: 3m, lf). ISBN 1 84094 365 3. Published by New Theatre Publications. For a free reading copy contact: plays4theatre@ntlworld.com or write to: NTP, 2 Hereford Close, Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 4HR, England. Telephone: 0845 331 3516.
'It is highly commended as a splendid piece for festivals and for the quality of his dialogue.' (Amateur Stage)
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