Stageplays
In a playwriting career spanning over twenty years Cally has moved from mainstream to advocacy drama via black boxes of all kinds. The plays published here represent her playwriting at all stages of its evolution.
BOND IS BACK
Because everybody loves James Bond, right? Think Abigail’s Party meets James Bond. Hardly a fair fight – but what a party! Kevin, Sam, Gary and Mark have been friends since childhood. And their joint obsession with James Bond is something they’ve never really grown out of. So Kevin’s wife Annette, against her better judgement, decides to throw a James Bond Themed party for Kevin’s 40th. But adult games are more dangerous than those played by children. And this party is hardly the time to play truth or dare. Time has taken its toll, trophy wives and girlfriends come and gone, alliances forged and broken and one very important person is missing… Funny, witty, tongue in cheek but also pithy, moving and poignant this is a must for anyone who cringed at Abigail’s Party or has ever wanted to have a James Bond themed party – it’ll leave you shaken and stirred. And if you love James Bond trivia… you’ll be in heaven. |
CHASING WAVES
Chasing Waves was the last of Cally Phillips black box staged plays before totally committing to advocacy drama. It is an incredible absurdist play which questions the very nature of drama and the audience through the conceit of quantum physics. Two men who may or not be Schrodinger and Wittgenstein question 'what is in the box?' and perhaps more appositely for theatre 'what is the box?' Performed at the Swallow Theatre in 2004 it marked the end of an era for a playwright. If you want to experience Chasing Waves for yourself, there are a number of clips for you to enjoy (CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW) |
Available for
Kindle at Amazon UK Amazon US and An omnibus edition boxed with the original Barrie play The Admirable Crichton is also available in epub open format |
DOWN THE LINE
J.M. Barrie’s play ‘The Admirable Crichton’ was first performed on 2nd November 1902. To mark the 100th anniversary of that event Cally Phillips’ updated version Down the Line was first performed on 2nd November 2002. In a world where Butlers have become bodyguards and lady’s maids are personal assistants, and where celebrity has replaced money as the criteria for ‘aristocracy’ we are asked to consider how much has really changed. Caroline Carter, pop princess, is about to announce her engagement to her footballer boyfriend. Leaving Steve behind for a match, she sets off in advance to prepare for their engagement party on a yacht. She takes her father, sister, PA, bodyguard, best man and a photographer along with her. When their boat is shipwrecked on a desert island, their carefully developed social hierarchy begins to disintegrate as survival becomes a question of knowledge and skill rather than of money and power. As romance begins to blossom, is it true that ‘what’s natural is right?’ Down the Line stays true to the original in its intent but updates the characters and their island experience, throwing them into an alien environment, distant from the ephemera essential to gratifying their sense of importance in our celebrity obsessed culture. This updated comedy of manners and class poses interesting social questions, much as the original play did in 1902. |
MEN IN WHITE SUITS
It’s a love story with a difference. In 2001 rural Scotland was hit by a terrible crisis – Foot and Mouth. Men in White Suits gives rural Scotland at the beginning of the 21st century the kind of dramatic analysis Ena Lamont Stewart’s Men Should Weep gave 20th century urban Scotland. It’s heartbreaking and moving and will make you look at the countryside and the lives of ordinary people living there from a whole new perspective. Men in White Suits was first performed in Lockerbie Town Hall a year on from the Foot and Mouth outbreak being confirmed and later in 2002 was given a reading at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh. Rural and urban responses were quite different. Now for the first time you are able to read the script in its entirety and experience for yourself what it’s like to face the challenges of the tenant farmer at a time of crisis. |
POWERPLAY
Because life is just what we do between hockey games. Powerplay explores the importance of ‘the rules’ of life through three sets of relationships – and of course there’s a referee to keep them in check. It’s fast and furious and it’s everything a hockey fan could wish for if you can’t have the REAL THING. This play has never been performed to date - perhaps because the staging would be more appropriate to an ice rink than a theatre. It was this setting that confirmed to Cally that she needed to move on in her quest to 'take drama out of the theatre' which is what she proceeded to do in her advocacy drama work. |
TRIPTYCH and TRIPTYCH 2
Triptych contains three one act plays which were performed together over one weekend of theatre in 2003. Love is an Urban Myth, When Time Stands Still and The Other Side of the Mountain showcase Cally Phillips playwriting skills at their best. Available for Kindle at Amazon UK Amazon US and open epub format Below are a few clips from Triptych to whet your appetite! First up a scene from Love is an Urban Myth. |
Next a snippet from When Time Stands Still
And finally 'Yi' from The Other Side of the Mountain (please note this is very dark in places)
And if all that's not enough for you...
Triptych 2 (available as a free download here ) showcases three shorter plays, all of them workshopped pieces: The Truth About Hats, It's Not Rocket Science and Life's a Pizza show more of Cally's unique playwriting style as she evolved towards the path of advocacy drama. |