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  • Duets for the stage

    Duets for the stage

    The Magic of Two-Actor Plays: Touring Theatre Made Easy

    In the world of theatre, sometimes less truly is more. Two-actor plays, also known as two-handers, are a brilliant way to bring professional storytelling, joy, and culture to audiences far and wide. With only one male and one female actor, these intimate performances offer powerful narratives while keeping production costs, cast size, and logistics manageable — making them ideal for touring theatre companies, festivals, and drama groups.

    Why Two-Actor Plays Work So Well on Tour

    Touring a show often comes with challenges: transporting sets, managing large casts, and keeping costs under control, like accommodation. Two-handers solve many of these problems. With only two actors, you can travel light, fit props and costumes into a single car, and set up in a wide range of venues — from local community halls to small theatres. This flexibility makes it easier than ever to bring the magic of live theatre to new audiences.

    Rich Stories, Intimate Experiences

    Despite the small cast, two-actor plays can offer big emotional impact. They allow for deep character development, intense relationships, and complex narratives that resonate with audiences. From comedy to drama, these plays showcase the actors’ skills while creating an intimate, memorable experience for everyone in the room.

    Spreading Joy and Culture

    Touring two-actor plays is about more than convenience — it’s about spreading culture and joy. Smaller casts mean smaller logistical footprints, which makes it easier to reach regional towns, schools, and underserved communities. Audiences get to experience theatre they might otherwise never see, fostering a love of the performing arts and connecting people through shared stories.

    Perfect for Festivals, Schools, and Touring Companies

    Whether you’re a drama group, theatre festival, or touring company, two-actor plays are a versatile and rewarding option. They are cost-effective, easy to tour, and endlessly creative — offering a chance to experiment with styles, humor, and dramatic tension while delivering unforgettable theatrical experiences.

  • Dramedy: The Richest Ride in Theatre

    Dramedy: The Richest Ride in Theatre

    When it comes to theatrical genres that grip an audience from the first line to the final blackout, dramedy (aka black comedy) stands out as one of the most rewarding forms of storytelling. Blending laughter with pathos, this genre invites audiences on an emotional rollercoaster — one moment roaring with laughter, the next holding their breath in pin-drop silence.

    Why Audiences Love Dramedy

    Dramedy thrives on contrast. It tackles serious, sometimes taboo subjects, but presents them with sharp wit and unexpected humour. This combination creates a unique theatrical experience — audiences laugh, but the laughter is often tinged with self-reflection, making the impact all the more lasting. It blurs the lines between comedy and drama, weaving together heartfelt emotion and humour to mirror the unpredictability of real life. This genre engages the mind and the heart, ensuring the story lingers long after the final curtain.

    A Treasure Trove for Actors

    For actors, dramedy offers an unparalleled opportunity to flex their skills. The quick shifts in tone demand precision, emotional depth, and impeccable timing. Characters are often layered and complex, giving performers the chance to explore vulnerability, resilience, and absurdity — sometimes all within a single scene. The result is a performance journey that challenges and enriches the actor, leaving them more versatile and confident in their craft.

    A Playground for Directors

    For directors, this genre is a creative playground. Balancing tone is a delicate art, and shaping a production that moves seamlessly between humour and heartbreak requires both vision and nuance. The reward? A show that not only captivates audiences but also fosters rich collaboration among cast and crew.

    The Lasting Appeal

    Whether it’s biting satire or heartfelt charm, dramedy provides depth, entertainment, and emotional resonance in equal measure. They are more than just performances — they’re experiences, and they remain some of the most powerful tools for storytelling on stage.

    If you’re a theatre company, school, or independent group looking to deliver a show that will challenge your cast and thrill your audiences, consider adding a dramedy to your season. The journey will be unforgettable.

    If you’d like any suggestions of which dramedy to perform, reach out to Rachel at editor@maverickmusicals.com

  • A Trio of Loveable Plays

    A Trio of Loveable Plays

    Get a little love in your heart with these romantic, sweet and loveable one-act plays by renowned, multi-award winning Brisbane playwright, Hugh O’Brien.

    Perfect for a themed one-act play festival, this trio of terrific theatre will have your audiences all a-flutter!

    Love and Other Flushes

    Cast: 2 Female, 2 Male roles

    Duration: 30 minutes

    Type: One-act play

    Genre: Comedy, award-winner

    Love to Declare

    Cast: 2 Female, 2 Male roles

    Duration: 35 minutes

    Type: One-act play

    Genre: Comedy, theatre festival

    Love or Nearest Offers

    Cast: 2 Female, 2 Male roles

    Duration: 35 minutes

    Type: One-act play

    Genre: Comedy, popular

  • Theatre for Mental Health

    Theatre for Mental Health

    Theatre is a powerful tool for improving mental health—and not just for actors, but for directors, crew, and audience members too. Here’s why:

    ? 1. Emotional Expression & Release

    Theatre provides a safe space to explore and express emotions—joy, anger, fear, sadness—through characters and stories. This kind of emotional “exercise” can help people process their own feelings and experiences more clearly.

    ? 2. Builds Social Connection

    Whether you’re rehearsing a scene, running lines, or cheering from the audience, theatre creates a sense of community. These shared experiences can reduce feelings of isolation and help build meaningful relationships—key components of good mental health.

    ? 3. Boosts Confidence & Self-Esteem

    Taking creative risks, performing in front of others, and seeing your contributions come to life on stage can significantly boost self-worth and confidence—especially in young people or those struggling with anxiety.

    ? 4. Improves Focus & Reduces Stress

    Being immersed in a story—whether you’re acting or watching—can act like mindfulness. It pulls you into the present moment, helping to quiet racing thoughts and reduce stress. Rehearsals and performances also add structure and purpose, which can be calming.

    ? 5. Encourages Empathy & Understanding

    By stepping into someone else’s shoes—literally—actors develop empathy. Seeing the world from a different perspective (even an imaginary one) helps foster compassion, emotional intelligence, and a better understanding of ourselves and others.

    Whether you’re centre stage or behind the scenes, theatre gives you the freedom to feel, connect, and grow—all of which are essential to mental well-being.

  • Rumble in the Jungle!

    Rumble in the Jungle!

    Get ready to dive into the excitement of jungle-themed musicals and theatre restaurants! These shows will whisk your audience away to a vibrant, green paradise filled with fierce beasts and hilarious characters!

    The Jungle Book
    Cast: Large mixed, from age 10 & up
    Duration: 105 minutes
    Type: Musical
    Genre: Comedy, classic

    Jungle Fever
    Cast: 4 Female, 6 Male roles. From 15 year & up.
    Duration: 120 minutes
    Type: Theatre Restaurant
    Genre: Comedy, end-of-year-show

    Jungle Fantasy
    Cast: Large mixed, from age 10 & up
    Duration: 120 minutes
    Type: Youth musical
    Genre: Comedy, family entertainment

  • Rainee Skinner and the power of words

    Rainee Skinner and the power of words

    I have always been fascinated by the power of words. I fell in love with theatre after my first time on stage, aged five. With the magic of the English language as my muse, I have worked as an actor, a teacher of communication, language, and literacy and as an MC and speech writer. 

    My plays are my rendering of this oft heart-breaking, difficult, and beautiful world into whimsical and manageable stories. These plays are mostly real incidents or an extrapolation of a moment in time. I have also written many cabarets in collaboration with two talented friends. After years in Brisbane and Sydney I now live on the Sunshine Coast. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by supportive family and friends. I find my theatre families always bring great joy into my life. 

  • Marianne Buchanan: an all-round creative

    Marianne Buchanan: an all-round creative

    Marianne Buchanan is a drama and high school art teacher, and is involved in community theatre in Toowoomba as a director, performer and playwright.

    Marianne’s theatrical training was gleaned on the road when she spent 2000 – 2002 touring full-time with the itinerant theatre company, Covenant Players. Over this time, travelling throughout Queensland and New Zealand, she was immersed in the Stanislavski and method acting techniques and trained in directing, set design, props and running productions.

    After touring, Marianne studied drama and writing for stage and screen through Griffith University and completed studies in teaching and learning while working as a singing and drama teacher with Showbiz Talent School.

    She has been involved in productions in Brisbane, Darwin, Cairns and Maitland. Before working as an arts teacher in Toowoomba, she founded and ran the drama and puppet business, Starlet Creative Industries. Within this creative arts business she created and performed drama and puppet programs for under-privileged schools in Brisbane. Along with her involvement in the dramatic arts, Marianne is an avid artist and has exhibited works in a variety of galleries. Her artistic strengths lean towards realism and portraiture.

    To check out Marianne’s play, Dotty Scotty, click here.

  • Harry Kolotas feels like he is “The Other”

    Harry Kolotas feels like he is “The Other”

    Harry Kolotas was born in London to Greek Cypriot parents, spent much of his childhood in Glasgow where his father owned at various times an ice cream van, a café and a fish and chip shop. It was the happiest point of Harry’s life due to the unfettered access to a smorgasbord of confectionery. From this paradise of chocolates, boiled sweeties and salty, deep-fried snacks he was, like Macduff, untimely ripped at age fourteen when his family migrated to Sydney, Australia.

    His loyalties are not so much divided as spread-eagled over several cultures. A sense of belonging anywhere has eluded him. He doesn’t have a fear of The Other; wherever he happens to be he feels like he is The Other.

    Harry has been writing since the 1980s when he was a regular columnist for RAM, the national music magazine. In the 1990s he moved on to a monthly humorous column, ‘A Father’s Diary’ for Sydney’s Child magazine. By the turn of this century he was a washed-up literary hack ghost-writing greetings cards and dead people’s eulogies, whilst drinking heavily to forget (mostly milkshakes).

    In 2014 his writing career was rehabilitated thanks to a six-part series of his humorous monologues commissioned by radio station HHH through a Community Broadcasting Assoc. grant. From there on, the sky has been the limit with several of his monologues selected for performance at Little Fiction events staged by publishers Spineless Wonders and later aired on various community radio stations and podcasted. Five of his one-act plays have won awards or been short-listed in Australia and the UK. He won the 2019 Noosa One-Act Playwriting Competition with his play “Look What The Cat Dragged In,” and was awarded the $5000 Eleanor Nimmo first prize. His play, “Pissoirs Of Provincial France” was shortlisted in the 2022 Noosa One-Act Playwriting Competition.

    To check out Harry’s plays, click here.

  • Michael Olsen – waving to strangers

    Michael Olsen – waving to strangers

    In 1993 I wrote, produced and directed my first play, Cannibals of the Heart.  Since then, my work has been performed across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, Africa and the US.  (As well as Norfolk Island!)  Two Women & A Chair, probably my best-known play, has been performed at the Edinburgh and Prague Fringe Festivals.

    Most of my plays have won awards on the Victorian one-act festival circuit, as well as festivals in the UK and New Zealand.  They’re tried and true and easy to produce.  They offer actors and directors plenty to challenge them—and plenty of rewards when they get it right!

    My plays range from comedies, to dramas, to black comedies and fantasies.  From intimate two-handers to youth group productions.  They cover both sexes.  They range from young to old and those in-between.  The sad, the lost, the ordinary and the heroic: they’re all here.  My work has stood the test of time and will, I hope, continue to delight and enthrall audiences.

    With over 30 years’ experience I’ve developed my own set of rules for writing a one-act play:

    1.         Make it continuous action.  No multiple scenes.  No lights-up, lights-down.  You have 30 minutes of stage time.  That’s all you have.  Make it work.

    2.         Don’t make it prop or costume intensive.  Do producers really want all that clutter?

    3.         Your ending needs a twist, more often than not.  Leave your audience with something to talk about in the foyer afterwards.

    4.         Have only a small number of characters.  Your piece will be easier to cast—and much easier to transport to festivals if that’s what you’re into (see also point#2)

    5.         Jettison any or all of the above rules if the story dictates, and you’re still able to put it on stage.

    All I’m really doing when I sit down to write is waving to strangers—you, the audience—and hoping in some small way you are all waving back . . .

    You can find Michael’s plays here

    Be sure to follow Michael’s Facebook page to stay up to date with what he’s up to in the theatre world!

  • Aaron Evans: The Itch for Theatre

    Aaron Evans: The Itch for Theatre

    Aaron Evans is a creative from Ipswich, Queensland. He is an award-winning writer, actor, producer, director, and teacher. Aaron became a passionate theatre kid at fifteen when his soon-to-be drama teacher offered him a chance in the theatre restaurant the school was producing. The rest was history. Since then, Aaron has acted in over thirty different shows, directed ten plays, and produced six shows with his own theatre company, Downstage Theatre Company.

    Aaron is an active member of his second home, Ipswich Little Theatre, where he wears many hats. One of those hats is as a teacher in the teenage drama class. He loves to encourage and motivate the next generation of creatives, which is summed up in his favourite quote by Jack Lemmon. “If you have any level of success, it’s your obligation to take the elevator down for the next generation.”  While Aaron’s itch for theatre began with acting, he dabbled in writing. Starting with small comedic sketches, Aaron found joy in bringing his imagination to an audience. Aaron wrote his first play in 2013 and gradually fell head over heels for scriptwriting. He likes taking ‘write what you know’ and putting it in unique environments and genres to give audiences a refreshing look at the world. 

    You can find Aaron’s plays here.

  • Natalie Burns – the young talent who has joined Maverick

    Natalie Burns – the young talent who has joined Maverick

    Natalie is an emerging writer based in Victoria. She is a Drama/ Media teacher by trade and a writer and director at heart. Natalie has been a secondary school teacher for over ten years, producing and directing multiple school productions and interstate Drama Tours.

    Natalie was first inspired to start writing when seeking plays for her students that actually reflected society. “There seemed to be a gap in the market of material suitable for teenagers that actually mirrored their experiences, stories, issues and concerns. I wanted my students to be able to delve into plays that challenged them and that didn’t sugar coat or underplay the truth of the situation.” Since then, Natalie has written many one act and feature length plays for schools and adult companies alike.  She loves writing drama, but admits, she has a soft spot for comedy.

    Natalie is the Company Director of Flashlight Theatre Company (established in 2016) for whom she regularly writes, acts and directs.

    In 2021 Natalie was fortunate enough to win the 2021 Noosa Arts Playwriting Competition for her spectacular Australian Drama Embers, which you find here.

    To search Natalie’s plays, click here.

  • Simon Denver has the ultimate beginner’s luck story

    Simon Denver has the ultimate beginner’s luck story

    The first musical Simon Denver ever penned in the 1970’s, Man of Steel, with his friend Ian Dorricott, turned out to be the most performed school musical in Australia and New Zealand, and STILL IS. If that’s not enough success for one person, literally every theatre festival he’s entered has awarded his works multiple prizes. He’s got the golden pen, that’s for sure. Yet he is humble, gentle and generous with sharing his knowledge and his wisdom.

    That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Simon’s incredible life. Growing up in an eccentric, creative family and in various countries (England, Malta and Australia to name just a few) and working all over the place as an actor, musician and Emcee for successful Theatre Restaurants that he wrote (like Robin the Hood) , Simon remains one of Australia’s most valued playwriters and is still generating plays as diverse in genre as they in content.

    With a passion for all things humorous, he’s created some absolute rip-snorter, side-splitting comedies over the years, like his highly popular That Scottish Play. Then, just to be balanced, Simon’s also a real history buff and has written some truly intense dramas based of historical events. One of the most acclaimed of these is The Rock in the Water; the Greek tragedy of Antigone and King Creon.

    To top it all off, Simon is an acclaimed Director who has a natural penchant for casting actors who are not only naturally suited to their roles, but who create an undeniable chemistry with the rest of their cast. It’s on many an actors’ bucket-list to work with him.

    In short, Simon knows how to create theatrical magic from the pen to the stage. And the Arts Queensland Culture Champion award Simon earnt in 2013 is testament to that.

    Search Simon Denver’s plays, musicals and theatre restaurants

  • The Woman and the Car – bringing history to the stage

    The Woman and the Car – bringing history to the stage

    Mark Langham’s new historical fiction shines a light on race car driver and adventurer extraordinaire Dorothy Levitt – a powerful woman born before her time.

    It’s been pointed out to me that my work tends towards the historic.  This isn’t particularly conscious, I promise, but I guess I am drawn to the plight of the individual in an historic event.  I’ve written about Soviet Russia (Twice), WW1 German spies, the teenage years of the Queen, etc, etc, so the tale of one Elizabeth Dorothy Levi was never going to escape me.  Oh no…

    Around the turn of the last century, in an age when women in the UK couldn’t vote, have their own bank accounts (without hubby’s permission) and were universally known as the weaker sex, Dottie was a racing driver, a boaterist – real term, look it up! – and flew the odd plane.  She taught the Royal family to drive, possibly, owned her own apartment and generally lived life strictly under the terms of one E.D. Levi and to hell with anyone else.  She become Dorothy Levitt to avoid anti-Semitism and fell out with her parents because they wanted to marry her off against her will.  She formed a business – and some claim a personal – relationship with an Australian-born cycling champion, Selwyn Edge, and it was Edge who supplied her with a regular fleet of cars and boats in which our Dottie toted around Europe, scooping up prizes and records by the score.  Not for nothing was she called “the fastest woman in the world.”

    At the height of her fame, just after writing the book whose title I have stolen for my piece, around the age of thirty, she disappeared from public view, aside from the occasional piece of journalism.  She was found dead, in her own apartment, shortly before her fortieth birthday.  Her death certificate, intriguingly, gives the cause of death as “measles and morphine.”

    I mean, come on!  It’s almost as if she was living her life solely so that people would write plays about her after she was gone!  However, my piece has very little to do with factual history.  I have taken Dottie, Selwyn and the third historical figure, Isobel Savoury, and turned it into what I hope is entertaining while still focusing on the struggles Dottie, and womanhood in general, had to overcome.  The Woman and the Car is funny but not without its sadness and I’m very happy that our Dottie has a final tale to tell.

    This brilliantly crafted play has a small cats of two female and one male and is available now. You can check out The Woman and the Car here and don’t forget to download your free sample too!

    The Woman and the Car

  • Mark Langham’s Circus is for “unretiring” actors

    Mark Langham’s Circus is for “unretiring” actors

    Six upset senior friends reacting in a negative way

    Maverick writer Mark Langham shares the reason why he created the brand new one act comedy, Circus.

    Old performers, they say, never retire.  The phone just stops ringing…

    I’d just finished writing a play that was most definitely not a comedy and I wanted to just write something for fun.  But, of course, fun is quite hard work!  However, I was drawn to the idea of performers in retirement.  What do they do?  Practically, this play it would also allow for more senior members of our tribe to get a look in!

    The story goes likes this – Geoffrey is the newest recruit to the Lion Tamers, Magician’s Assistants and Human Cannonball Lighters Retirement Village – the LTMAHCLRV, for short.  As one half of “Geoffrey and Eustace, Lion Tamers Extraordinaire”, he has earned his rest.  No sign of Eustace anywhere though…

    He joins Hortensia and Estella; both assistants to magicians, both with a tale to tell – try stopping ‘em – and with an abiding hatred of each other.  And Lionel.  No one quite knows what to make of Lionel.  And his little friend.  Thrown together with nothing more than a lifetime of showbiz to bind them, they soon find that they have more in common than, perhaps, they imagined.  And Lionel.  What’s his role here?  He’s cleaned up after elephants, tried, in vain, to keep clowns off the sauce but this may be his moment to shine – finally.

    Circus is a dark comedy:  full of showbiz nuggets and a gift for mature actors and lepidopterologists everywhere and, of course, it took me far, far longer to write than I imagined but it was worth it.

    Perfect for a One Act Play Festival with an easy set, a small cast of two females and two males, Circus will not have your audience in stitches of laughter, but it’s one of those great plays that is such a pleasure for actors to work on as an ensemble.

    Get your hands on Circus today with a complimentary sample of the script – head to the Circus webpage here.

  • Welcoming Kevin Nemeth and One Starry Night!

    Welcoming Kevin Nemeth and One Starry Night!

    Kevin Nemeth is an award-winning scriptwriter with over 30 years’ experience in the industry. He has been awarded five Australian Writers’ Guild Awards and has received another nine nominations. He graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Diploma in Dramatic Arts and has received an Australia Council Literature Board Fellowship.

    His play “One Starry Night” was awarded Best Play at the 2020 Edyth Brooke-Cooper Short Play Festival.   It was at this festival that Maverick Director Rachel saw One Starry Night and knew immediately what a hit it would be for any theatre group to perform.

    It’s ideal for a small cast who wish to tour the play around to multiple festivals or regions and it’s two characters offer a rich range of emotions and topics for actors to deeply explore. Set at the end of World War II in Australia, One Starry Night is an almost-love-story that leaves the audience wanting more!

    Kevin has also written for TV series including: Bananas in Pyjamas, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Crocadoo 2, Ginger Meggs, Chuck Finn, Crash Zone, Newlyweds, Acropolis Now, Flying Doctors, The Comedy Company, Col’n Carpenter and Larger Than Life, and many, many more.

    Kevin has had ten radio plays produced and broadcast in four countries. His audio-visual shows, Spinning Out and Tycho to the Moon, written for the Melbourne Planetarium, have been on-sold to other Australian and international Planetariums in the United States, New Zealand and South Africa. His “Bottle Top Bill” picture books; Moon Mayhem, The Junkosaur, The Great Wild Woolly, and Naughty Ned have been published by Pan Macmillan Australia.

    Maverick Musicals and Plays welcomes Kevin, a multi-talented writer indeed, in to our curated collection of theatrical works.

    To delve in to the story of One Starry Night for yourself, click here.

  • So Much More Than a Little Black Dress

    So Much More Than a Little Black Dress

    A lovely review from Brian Twomey of Blackheath Theatre Company about their recent season of Jo Denver’s More Than a Little Black Dress.
    Congratulations to everyone in the cast and crew for such a successful show!
    ?Fashion, fusion and friction – all combine in Jo Denver’s powerful examination of the life of Coco Chanel?
    It was a stylish start to the Blackheath Theatre Company’s sell-out production of Australian author Jo Denver’s powerful play, More than a Little Black Dress. The play shines an illuminating light on the complex and controversial life of fashion icon Coco Chanel.
    Opening night patrons were encouraged to capture the mood of the French je ne sais quoi vibe. This they did splendidly, transforming the pre-performance foyer into a kaleidoscope of joie de vivre.
    They were rewarded with a compelling insight into the transitory, triumphant, and ultimately tangled times of the girl who shook off her humble orphanage beginnings to transform and ascend to the peak of the world of haute couture.
    Theatre lovers across the Blue Mountains community responded with equal enthusiasm over the next five performances. They appreciated the challenge of the theatrical staging, whereby strategic lighting separated the storytelling of the salon success of Coco’s reputation juxtaposed against the lesser-known darker side of Coco’s interrogation by the post-World War II Free French Tribunal.
    The Tribunal’s intent was to unearth the true extent of Coco’s collaboration with high-ranking Nazi officers during their occupation of Paris.
    Fiery, combative acting in the interrogation scenes played out against the gentler and seductive salon scenes of Coco’s subtle pursuit of high-powered lovers who were underwriting her rise to stardom.
    Audience reaction ranged from “please extend the season” to “spell-binding production”; from “a fine ensemble cast carried a powerful play through to a successful conclusion” to “imaginative portrayal of a marvellous storyline.”
    Some brief quotes from author Jo Denver:
    “Congratulations on a tight, intelligent, professional show. I doubt if you could have found two more suitable or talented Chanels, they were magnificent; polished performers who attacked their roles with relish and added a reality in capturing the many sides of his mercurial woman….The cast were completely believable, with each character enthusiastically self-righteous in keeping up the pressure and pace. These difficult scenes were beautifully handled.”
  • Your Biggest Challenge

    Your Biggest Challenge

    The Making of Inconceivable by Hugh O’Brien

    Choosing which play to stage is the biggest challenge community theatre faces. Well, apart from finding enough men to fill roles, maintaining a performance space, signing up sponsors, selling tickets, keeping the peace between people with different levels of commitment and passion…okay, community theatre faces lots of challenges!

    So why add to the angst by mounting a very challenging play?  Because the bigger the challenge, the bigger the satisfaction in pulling it off.

    INCONCEIVABLE is certainly a challenging play.  Its subject matter makes any decent human being feel very uncomfortable.  The radical solution its main character proposes to prevent child abuse is confronting and disquieting.

    The play was conceived over a 30-year period. The first seed was planted in 1988 from a chance remark made by a psychiatrist acquaintance of mine.  Frustrated at dealing with teenagers who had been poorly parented, she lamented that the best solution was to put a contraceptive in the water supply so no one could have children!

    Ten years later, when working as a media advisor for the government minister responsible for public housing, I was confronted by a journalist demanding answers as to why a young couple with two children had not been accommodated in a housing commission home.

    This young couple were living in a caravan and the de facto boyfriend had inflicted terrible injuries on a two-year-old boy.  Only the intervention of a good Samaritan in the next caravan exposed the terrible abuse.

    In 2008, I put the two ideas together and created a shaky first draft.  Many drafts and another nine-years later, I finally had a play ready to enter in a competition.

    INCONCEIVABLE duly won the 2018 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Hour Plays National Playwriting Competition where the script was further improved by workshopping and input from professional dramaturg Ian Lawson and talented director Lynn Hodgson.

    Slated for production by Ipswich Little Theatre just before covid hit, the play was reduced from 60-minutes to its current length of 50-minutes and received more excellent input from award-winning director Jim Orr.

    INCONCEIVABLE has had a long conception with many hands contributing to its script.  Now all it needs is your brave hands to bring it to life.

    Inconceivable

  • In the Limelight FIRST EDITION

    In the Limelight FIRST EDITION

    Getting a closer look in to the brilliant minds behind the works of Maverick Musicals and Plays

    In the Limelight – meet Simon Denver, who has the ultimate beginner’s luck story.

    The first musical he ever penned in the 1970’s, Man of Steel, with his friend Ian Dorricott, turned out to be the most performed school musical in Australia and New Zealand, and STILL IS. If that’s not enough success for one person, literally every theatre festival he’s entered has awarded his works multiple prizes. He’s got the golden pen, that’s for sure.

    That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Simon’s incredible life. Growing up in an eccentric, creative family and in various countries (England, Malta and Australia to name just a few) and working all over the place as an actor, musician and MC for successful Theatre Restaurants that he wrote, Simon remains one of Australia’s most valued playwriters is still generating plays as diverse in genre as they in content.

    With a passion for all things funny, he’s created some absolute rip-snorter, side-splitting comedies over the years. Then, just to be balanced, Simon’s also a real history buff and has written some truly intense dramas based of historical events.

    To top it all off, Simon is an acclaimed Director who has a natural penchant for casting actors who are not only naturally suited to their roles, but who create an unconscious yet undeniable chemistry with the rest of their cast. It’s on many an actors’ bucket-list to work with him.

    In short, Simon knows how to create theatrical magic from the pen to the stage. And the Arts Queensland Culture Champion award Simon earnt in 2013 is testament to that.

    Head to maverickmusicals.com today to check out Simon’s catalogue of work. And remember, you can download 6 complimentary samples every day so get downloading!

    Thanks to @travismacfarlane for this photo of Simon Denver

  • Pram with a past – the making of The Pram by Hugh O’Brien

    Pram with a past – the making of The Pram by Hugh O’Brien

    We asked Hugh O’Brien, multi-award winning play writer to give us a little insight in to his brand new one act play, The Pram.

    “My new one-act mystery play The Pram has six characters – five females and one male. But there are really seven characters because a large pram appears in every scene and dominates the stage from start to finish.

    It was a real thrill that the actual pram used in the first production of the play by the lovely Hills Players at Mitchelton in Brisbane has such special significance to me. The big cane pram has been in my wife’s family for almost 90 years. I restored it to original glory when my son was born in the late 1970s but being impossible to collapse to put in the car, the pram soon ended up forgotten and hidden under other junk under the house. Unearthing it after so many years actually gave me the idea for the play. What if someone suddenly discovered an old pram and began investigating its history?

    What also helped me devise the plot was that a few years ago, I used a DNA test to determine the identity of my great-grandfather. In 1903, my mother’s father was literally given away as a four-year-old boy because his single-mother could not care for him. My grandfather never met his father and had only a vague idea of who he might be. Tracking down the identity of this ancestor through DNA testing was a real-life detective game which helped inform the plot of The Pram.

    In the play, which is a work of fiction, the date mentioned for the death of a character is actually the date of death of my great-grandfather. We discovered he died of the Spanish flu in Longreach Hospital on July 1st 1919. I’m sure he never imagined that the date of his death would be memorialised in a one-act play over a century later!

    I hope whoever produces this play has as much fun with it as we did and that the pram you use has a rich history.”

    Thank you so much Hugh, it’s wonderful to hear how much meaning The Pram has for you and whoever performs it will value knowing your back-story.
    Have a great weekend everyone and remember, our 25% off scripts continues until 28th February and includes this brand new play, The Pram!

  • Brand new plays from Hugh O’Brien

    Brand new plays from Hugh O’Brien

    Australia’s popular & award-winning play writer Hugh O’Brien has two brand new one act plays!
    Hello theatre friends,
    We’re thrilled to be sharing these new plays with you.
    Hugh O’Brien’s work is so dynamic and impressive and these brand new plays, The Pram and Inconceivable showcase Hugh’s talent perfectly.

    The Pram
    Can a determined woman and a DNA test solve the 100-year-old mystery of a missing baby? The Pram is a modern mystery interwoven with events from the past such as Gallipoli, the great Spanish flu epidemic of 1919 and the Vietnam War.

    Inconceivable
    When the birth rate mysteriously plummets in a low socio-economic area, a curious journalist suspects the engineer at the local water treatment plant is somehow involved. Inspired by an actual case of horrific child abuse, this play is not for the faint hearted.

    Don’t forget our 25% off all scripts sale is continuing until 28th February and includes these two new plays. So get yourself a bargain today!
    Warm regards,
    Rachel Fentiman
    Director

  • A Writer’s Tale From Isolation

    A Writer’s Tale From Isolation

    A Writer’s Tale From Isolation

    By Simon Denver

    I presume that a couple of months ago my fellow creative writers embraced the idea of some form of isolation/ lock-down as a godsend. I also presume that most of my fellow creative writers realised that this was it; this was the time to create their opus, their masterpiece, their finest work.

    (Of course, this does not apply to the composers for musicals. They already live a solitary life, shunned by most of society. They probably don’t even realise there are lock-downs happening and are wondering about this new fashion trend of wearing face masks).

    I also presume that most of my fellow creative writers have since procrastinated for the past few months and although their masterpiece hasn’t even been started, they have caught up on all correspondence and paperwork dating back to the early 2000’s. They have cleaned everything in their writer’s garrets that could possibly be cleaned. Some of them might even have mastered the use of a vacuum cleaner. All those little “Get round to it one day” jobs have been done.

    So, what now?

    With every possible task completed we have no other excuses. It is time to create our masterpieces. But can we? Please spare a thought for many writers world-wide who will struggle with the new dominant paradigms.

    For it is indeed a brave new world for us writers. Some will discover that they can write without an Arts Grant. Unfortunately, some won’t.

    Some will discover that they can write without a deadline. Some won’t.

    And some will discover they can write without any input from arts workers. Not many, but some.

    These could prove to be painful lessons. There will be casualties. There are rumours (perhaps started by moi) of a second-hand Arts Grant trade on Gumtree. Social media is full of horrific tales of bogus deadlines being circulated. Most sinister of all are the reports of a new telephone scam. People cold-calling and posing as arts workers who, for a “small fee”, will guide you with your creative process (luckily most writers don’t actually have any money so now the telephone scam people have their eyes set on theatre curtain technicians. Good luck there…).

    But to those of us who survive this culling, we will eventually write. And I do believe that we will produce an outpouring of brilliant scripts. This pandemic is by far the most important, far reaching incident of modern times. It has fundamentally changed how we live and govern ourselves. We are witnessing history. Major history. Stop cleaning and answering emails from 2013 – start writing!

    So, my prediction: In 12 months’ time there will be a spike in births … and a spike in Masterpieces.

    To browse Simon’s catalogue of works, head to https://vfr1knldxys.c.updraftclone.com/shop/?filter_written-by=simon-denver