ALFIE JAMES
Celebrating 30 years of staging plays
Plays
Alfie James has written/adapted over fifty plays to date. Below is a small catalogue of some of the plays written. Alfie is always keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in staging his work.
THE EDGE
2m / One-Act
“Go on, do it. The train is getting closer. Go on. Jump!”
Scared and alone. A man stands on an empty platform waiting. His whole life seems to flash past him in one split second before the train arrives. But one voice still seems to ring in his ears. One voice that still stands in the way between him and the edge.
First performed at The Headgate Theatre in 2004 starring Michael Watson (Jersey Boys) and James Pullum. The play won the Old Court Theatre Award and won critical acclaim. In October 2016, the play was given a special adaptation for an all-female version.
Both versions of the play are available.
THE TANK: FRAY BENTOS STORY
10m & 2m / Full-length play
This story, almost forgotten without trace
Of the Fray Bentos crew which you will surely come to embrace
They showed inspirational courage which should be spoken
And of the human spirit that remained unbroken.
The Tank was first performed in 2017 at The Oxford House Arts Theatre, London as part of the Legacy Theatre and Heritage Project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Gateways to the First World War.
THE HIDEAWAY
7m & 3f / Full-length play
Charlie could be described as being just another teenager. But he’s not. Made an outcast by the community and by his own family. Even his own Dad can’t bare to look at him.
David is a young man who has the mental age of a four-year-old. He’s hiding from something. Something too horrible for him to understand. His only friend is Charlie. Charlie looks after him. Charlie keeps him safe in the hideaway.
First performed at The Mercury Theatre in 2007. It was then continued to run at the local theatres until 2011.
HAPPY FAMILIES
5m & 5f / Full-length play
“An emotional rollercoaster about love, trust, family and when you least expect it …the past.”
Kate is getting married.
Matthew is going to University.
Barbara has done a good job since the death of her husband.
She’s putting up with drunken brother-in-law Geoff.
Why is she afraid of the knock at the door?
Who is Dr Bennett?
Why is he so considerate?
Happy Families was first performed at The Mercury Theatre.
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BAG A MILLION
2m & 1f / Full-length play
“A cool spine-chiller at it’s best! One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re sitting on the edge of your seat gasping.”
There’s a dead body lying in their flat and a bag with a million quid left hiding in the dead man’s wardrobe. Flatmates Tom and Suzie have been secreting dating and Tom see’s this as their chance to run away and live a life of luxury. However, there’s just one problem…
Bag a Million was first performed at the Headgate Theatre in 2004. It was such a success that it returned the following year as part of their summer season.
LITTLE OLD ALF
3m & 1f / Full-length play
“If life is all about fitting in boxes. Then don’t just sit there staying in one. I say, jump and keep in jumping.”
Alf is a grumpy old man and a recluse. Hiding away from the rest of the world because of a secret he deliberately gives anyone who he meets a frosty reception. He hates everyone and he hates everything. But most of all, he hates himself.
Billy is desperate. He trusts no one. He has one goal and one goal only...to disappear and to get away from everything and he will do anything to get there. Then he breaks into Alf’s place.
First performed at The Colchester Arts Theatre to standing ovations. It was then taken on tour in 2017 and received critical acclaim.
WHAT LIES BENEATH
1m & 1f / One-act play
“To the invisible man who just wanted some colour”
Sylvie and Gabe live in an old farmhouse away from the town. Away from everyone. Sylvie never goes out. Gabe only goes out once a week. Both have become trapped inside their own world and daily rituals. Both are dependent upon each other. They both share a bond which no one will understand. Mother ensured that. But then Gabe begins to long for something else. Something outside the window…
HOME FOR A LOST SOLDIER
7m & 4f / Full-length play
“After war come the real battle”
Capturing a small community in the aftermath of the First World War and how they coped when the soldiers returned home. Matthews and Isabelle are due to be married. Although imprisoned in a wheelchair, Lord Rochester terrorizes the locals with his dictatorship and cruel influence and the Mayor wants the truth about what happened to his son. A secret which the whole town is terrified will come out.
First performed as part of a Legacy Theatre Heritage Project supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Gateways to the First World War at the Albany Theatre. It was then transferred due to popular demand to the West-End at The Arts Theatre and then onto the Tristan Bates Theatre.
*A one-act play version is also available.
THANK GOD HE’S GONE!
1m & 2f / One-act play
“A hilarious, yet raw comedy with a slight sting its tail.”
Three siblings sit on a park bench overlooking the sea preparing to say goodbye to their recently deceased father. A picnic gone-wrong in so many ways as these three larger than life characters battle out to be the centre of the attention.
First performed at The Arena Atrium Studio in 2013. To sell-out audiences. It then returned as part of the Atrium’s summer season in 2014.
WOMEN IN WAR
6m & 6f / One-act play
“A wonderful tribute to all the unseen medical heroes and women who served on the front-line during the First World War.”
Seen through the eyes of Lottie, a young Volunteer Nurse who is stationed on the Front-line in France during the First World War. We meet the many unseen nurses and ambulance drivers including Lady Dorothie Feilding, Miss Knocker, Miss Chisholm, and Dr Munro as they battle through an eventful night. Based upon Lady Feildings published memoirs.
The play was first performed in 2019 at the Camden People’s Theatre as part of the Legacy’s third project based on the First World War supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and The Gateways to the First World War.
MY BOY DANNY
1m & 2f / One-Act play
Every night Ange stands by the window looking out with the hope to see her son one last time looking up at her from across the road. Instead every night for the past eleven months there’s been a shadow standing there in his place. Desperate for answers, Ange lets the shadow in. Rory is just a regular awkward teenage boy. Or at least he was until that night when it all went wrong. Desperate to tell his story and to reach out to a woman he’d never met but knew so much about.
First performed as a special audio performance of the play recorded raw over zoom during the Covid:19 Virus lockdown in 2020.
THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF
7 characters (parts can be played by anyone) / One-Act play
Poor old Troll! He’s so fed up with being known as the bad guy in this story. Even the rabbits agree that it is those Three Billy Goats Griff whom are the real villains. After the field which the goats live is reduced to a brown barren waste, they decide to travel across the bridge to another field of fresh grass. But first, they have to get past the grumpy troll.
A short play with lots of funny characterisation and a wonderful moral at the end. Grown up’s can even open up a discussion with children about the environmental lesson in the story.
Interested in putting on one of his plays?
Alfie James is always interested to hear from people whom would like to stage his work. Whether it be a professional or Amateur theatre group or an individual wishing to use one of his monologues as part of an audition or self-tape.
Using his monologues or individual scenes is free to use. He only asks that you let him know. He does charge a small and highly competitive fee (starting from as little as £20) for performance rights per performance for his full and one-act plays.
Alfie is also available to hire as a Writer to:
-Work with theatre companies/groups to devise pieces
-Collaborate with other Artists.
-Support other Artists by prof-reading and giving friendly and supportive advice on work.
On occasion, Alfie runs short creative writing workshops and is available to give talks at Writers groups. He has put together some free advice sheets which can be found in the Outreach section of this website.
If you are interested in working with Alfie then please contact Alfie through the contact section.