When did you last perform a sparkling, glamorous show that lit up the stage with theatrical magic? We are pleased to offer three stylish new plays from playwright Jo Denver. Each features real-life icons – strong, classy women who have bravely defied the restrictions of convention. These scripts are perceptive, at times biting – and always entertaining. Theatricality, witty dialogue and casts of great character mean they are audience pleasers for any community group’s season. Each is available as a sample script here.
That Woman
The new play about the make-up wars between industry giants Rubinstein and Arden is a wonderfully stylish night out. And not just for the girls. The comedy makes the history lesson a fun one. It boasts fabulous, fully drawn characters and a fascinating story of what it takes to make a single life a success. I wouldn’t have missed this one. And nor should you.” (opening night at The Lind Theatre Qld, by reviewer, Xanthe Coward)
The Making of the Great Lover
In 1919, a pig farmer’s wife from a little English village released her novel, ‘The Sheik’. Edith Winstanley Hull’s novel shocked the world with its frank exploration of female sexuality. Made into a movie, the actor playing the title role, Rudolph Valentino, scorched across the screen and into the hearts of millions of females. Both novel and movie shot to the top of the best-seller list. This script entwines two stories – those of the middle class writer and the gauche young Italian actor. It offers two strong leads and wonderful secondary roles, including Edith’s precocious daughter who smuggles ‘the book’ into school to the delight of her impressionable friends; Edith’s conventional and confused husband, and Al, the film agent, who thought he’d seen everything.Throw into the mix a nosy postman, an unconventional housekeeper and a frustrated schoolteacher who gets her hands on ‘the book’. Before “The Sheik” – sex was a word whispered only in the dark.
More Than a Little Black Dress
Sex, style, and secrets. Coco Channel sizzles, manipulates and charms her way through this stylised play. Coco was a ruthless opportunist – with a known penchant for wealthy lovers and dangerous company. She was revered and lionised, not only by the French but worldwide. From humble beginnings she became one of the richest and most influential designers of her time. The script explores the many sides of Chanel’s nature and calls to account her extreme views. An intriguing story about the woman who fascinated and shocked. A woman who really did do it her way.Larger than life, the script portrays two important stages in her life. The Free French Collaboration Tribunal examines her many dubious war-time relationships and actions. Ensuring that the action flows impeccably from Coco’s glamorous life style to the Tribunal, the writer uses the theatrical device of employing two actresses. One charts her life through several years, the other one remains in 1946 for her interrogation. It is an intriguing concept for the audience, which has an effective impact as the scenes alternate.Coco, as a heroine, is not particularly likeable – but her character commands respect, even a grudging admiration, for the ability to make life work for her under extraordinary circumstances. Her many lovers are represented in Act One by her one true love, the English playboy whose position in his rigid upper class society would never see her married to him, and in Act Two the charming German intelligence officer – whose relationship with her could cost her life.
