An Investigative Drama
Period: Present Day ; A community in a small Northern town

M3, F5 but could be varied as required
Characters: Cassie, the Interviewer; Anna, the Dreamer; Tracy, the Friend; Brodie, The Seer; Sophie, the Contriver; Tempest, the Scientist; Tacita, the Cognisant; Lee, the Technician
The Covid lockdown put an abrupt stop to live theatre. The inspiration for this play was the on-line choirs which emerged during the pandemic, where individuals challenged their isolation by performing from their own homes on videos which were then combined into a final concert. It is hard now to remember how welcome and uplifting these defiant gestures were in the depths of the crisis. This play aimed to do the same for a theatre group – it was written at a time when there was great uncertainty about the future, specially to be performed on Zoom, either live in real time, or scene-by-scene for editing into a complete production. It could still be produced this way, especially for a geographically-dispersed group, but equally could be done on stage, perhaps with illuminated frames behind which actors stood to deliver their lines to indicate the sense of isolation.

The plot: most places have their local tales which then become myths with the details lost in time – perhaps an unsolved disappearance or a murder of long ago, often acquiring a supernatural aspect as the years past. Cassie, a television producer, decides to investigate one such story, and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of conflicting interpretations as different individuals each give their own take on it – the housewife who seeks her 15 minutes of fame by claiming to have experienced the event; her loyal friend who supports her until questions start being asked; the “professional” seer who exorcised the ghost; the local journalist who helps build up and elaborate the story for her own ends; the scientist who offers a rational explanation; and finally a descendant of the family who knows what really happened. The theme running throughout is how the same event can have such diverse interpretations when seen by different people.
For full reading copies or details of performing rights, contact me for details. Please note that permission must always be obtained beforehand for all performances. Leitheatre’s 2021 production of this play is available on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6UzpwR47Og