The Female of the Species by Anne Downie

Cast: 1 female

"Janet is so resolutely upbeat, so adept at finding the bright side, that any of life's disappointments, become material for her sharp wit. Her jokes are of the if-you-don't-laugh-you'll-cry variety and the play imperceptibly shifts tone, from hilarious observations to a darker exposition. Although Janet berates herself for 'being maudling' Downie's play never lapses into sentimental pathos. Subtly emotive, this is a beautifully observed piece, played with great warmth and assurance by the writer."
The Guardian

"A finely observed sweet bitter slice of women's experience. Slowly it emerges through her bright monologue, that marriage and motherhood have been full of devastating absences, actual and emotional. Downie's skills both as a writer and comedienne are put to good use in this mesmerizing performance, and she plays the audience like a harp."
The Scotsman

"Alcohol depression and divorce are all in the mix, but Anne Downie's monologue makes the leap beyond what could have ended up as grim realism with a stream of gallus one liners that add levity and hope to the proceedings."
The Herald

ISBN: 9780955124693
Price: £6.99

 

Parking Lot in Pittsburgh by Anne Downie

Cast: 21 but with double casting 8, 2 male and 6 female

"A piercing and funny look at how families control. Anne Downie's play rapidly transcends its own tight focus exposing us to wider issues and the abject hypocrisy of which we can all be guilty.
Moving, tender, tragic. Be prepared to laugh, weep and squirm!"
The Stage

"An appealing mixture of comedy and pathos that straddles continents as well as emotions. Intriguing that Anne Downie has taken individual notions of independence and co-dependence and used them as a metaphor for a country forever on the cusp. The extended routine on hormone replacement therapy is priceless!"
The Herald

"The strongest aspect of the writing lies in its treatment of the reality of emigration and the devastating accuracy of the relationships between the five sisters. Engaging human drama."
The Guardian

ISBN: 9780955124655
Price: £6.99

 

Waiting on One by Anne Downie

Cast: 9, 7 female and 2 male

"One of the play's great strengths is that it offers a fairly serious critique of the bingo phenomenon without discounting the powerful reasons why people with little money, and less choice about how to spend their leisure, play the game - the escapism, the cosy atmosphere, the human contact, the combination of mild excitement with an absolute freedom from the stress of decision making. All the characters are in some sense 'Waiting on One' - waiting for the one number, the one stroke of fate, the job, the loving touch, the new grandchild; the bingo game seen as a metaphor for their habit of powerlessness. Intriguing and effective theatre, pulling together the elements of character, dialogue, storyline and human observation that are essential to a reassessment of an important area of working class experience."
The Guardian

"Anne Downie catches precisely the robust wit of downtrodden women - a dignity and spirit that her play celebrates."
The Independent

"Main protagonist, Jinty, has the drive of an Empire builder, the wit of Dorothy Parker and the opportunities of a part time-cleaner."
The Herald

ISBN: 9781906220006
Price: £6.99

 

The White Bird Passes by Anne Downie

Cast: 30+ and musician but can be played by 7, 6 female and 1 male

"The most eye catching aspect of Downie's play is its capacity, recalling O'Casey, to portray the life of a colourful community. The work, which eschews facile sentimentality, gives voice to a wealth of striking characters and is a gripping and moving one."
The Scotsman

"The sheer energy and purity of Kesson's vision, captured in Anne Downie's stage version, is irresistible. The story comes as a reminder that no human being has to be defined by what society calls disadvantage. The White Bird not only passes but soars!"
Scotland on Sunday

"Anne Downie's effective, faithful and ultimately heart-rending adaptation of Jessie Kesson's novel, a classic of Scottish literature ... changes the perception that Scottish Theatre is about urban, usually Glasgow working class life and evokes a world just as vibrant and ruthless, where hardship and tragedy lie unmawkishly beside beauty and undauntable humanity."
The Guardian

ISBN: 9780955124679
Price: £6.99

 

The Witches of Pollock by Anne Downie

Cast: 34+ but 10 actors and 2 musician/actors can play all parts

"Witchcraft is in the news again, but there are no forced contemporary parallels. It is a Gothic tale, the telling of which has that indispensable element of insider sincerity. Ms Downie is neither an ironist nor someone looking on the characters and their doings from above. She is motivated by the same fascination with the enigmatic figure of Janet Douglas that gripped 17th Century Glasgow. Her play is as neat a piece of storytelling theatre as could be wished."
The Scotsman

"Vernacular Scots with all its tousy vivacity enhances Anne Downie's play ... which springs from actual incident at the end of the seventeenth century. She has found a compelling way to weave the known facts with the informed fiction of her imaginings. Five people are burned for witchcraft, yet the young woman possessed of supernatural powers who accuses them is not herself arraigned ... A strange and disturbing story, told with economy, craft, and a tinge of the white magic that pure theatre can conjure.’"
Scotland on Sunday

ISBN: 9780955124686
Price: £6.99