A Pretty Pickle
A PRETTY PICKLE
By John Furse
A Farce for 5men & 4women, in 2 acts, using 1 set, taking place over 1 evening in the present
This is a play that has a broad range of character ages so as many of your group as possible can be involved. It is a light hearted whimsical farce for all the family and even Sarah's bath towel scene should not offend either the young or the old in your audience.
Cast – Plot – Set – Production
The Cast is:-
Stanley Still – Verity Still – Detective Chief Superintendent William Dullard –
Detective Sergeant Sarah Larkin – David (Davie) Martin – Karen Henderson – Shane Palmer – Anne Evans – Sergeant Ken Palmer (-back-)The Plot:-
Two police officers from Scotland Yard have been called to a remote country town to try and explain a bizarre series of break-ins without any thefts. However, because of lack of road signs they end up lost at an even more remote country pub, The Farmer's Pickle. So why are the locals all acting so very strangely? Could it be that the local poacher doesn't want to be caught in the act of supplying pheasant to the pub, or could it be that his grandson doesn't want anyone to know he is making cider in the forgotten cellar under the pub? One of the main reasons seems to be that they are all terrified of the Valkerian landlady. All this very furtive behaviour is not missed by the visiting keen young police sergeant, but is completely lost on the old duffer that is her Chief Superintendent. Even the fact that his wife is in the pub to meet another man, on business, is lost on him. However this is the night that things do boil over though. The fermenting cider in the cellar explodes and everyone has to notice that. All this is too much for the poor landlady; blaming her husband for their woes, she starts chasing him around the pub with various implements of torture eventually setting fire to his trousers. As the poacher and his grandson try to avoid the police and the young sergeant misinterprets her boss’s wife’s actions the pub is engulfed in manic farce. (-back-)The Set is:-
The lounge bar of the Farmer's Pickle Inn. The inn is very old and the set should been furnished and decorated to reflect the inn’s age. The main feature of the room is the large fireplace rear left. This is also the centre of the main effect in the play and should be your set builder’s main area of skill. (-back-)
To see set diagrams open the tabs.
Production:-
Treat yourselves to "A Pretty Pickle" in the spring when you have the winter months to plan the production, design the set and prepare the effects. Your production team will need to consider the construction of the set and the achievability of the effect of the exploding cider press. For full impact this needs to be as spectacular as can be possible. The sound effects of the rumbling leading up to the event need to be very strong as well. The set build and decoration should have a casual country look to it. Performance of the action and dialogue should have a bright and breezy feel to it. It is not a play to be taken too seriously. The play has an approximate running time of 1hr 50min. (-back-)STANLEY STILL – Your host and landlord of the Farmer’s Pickle Stanley (normally known as Stan), is a normally jovial landlord of average build in his mid forties. He is always casually dressed. If put under a lot of pressure he can get a bit flustered at times and he doesn’t always catch on immediately. He is married to Verity. (-cast list-)
VERITY STILL – Verity, the landlady of the Farmer’s Pickle, is a petite, attractive woman in her early forties. Her clothes are carefully chosen and elegant, but always casual enough for her public house surroundings. To guests she is polite, courteous and charming, but she does have the habit of calling her husband's name in a stentorian voice that belies her stature. She is married to Stanley. (-cast list-)
DETECTIVE CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT WILLIAM DULLARD – William (Bill) is a bumbling, unobservant, quite inept policeman that has been promoted to the obscure "Unexplained Happenings Division" out of harms way. Now in his mid fifties he is approaching retirement. He wears a heavy coat and a trilby that makes him look like a character from an old private eye film. He is married to Anne, who uses her maiden name of Evans when working. (-cast list-)
DETECTIVE SERGEANT SARAH LARKIN – Sarah is a tall, attractive, young woman in her early twenties. Her clothes come from fashionable designer shops in the city. Intelligent, sharp and observant Sarah will make an excellent detective when her temporary posting to William's division is completed. (-cast list-)
DAVID (DAVIE) MARTIN – David, know to all the locals as Davie, is the local country "character". Craggy faced with a scruffy long beard and white hair he is still lean and agile even though he is now an old man. His clothes are rustic and extremely unkempt giving him a very dishevelled almost tramp like appearance. He has a son-in-law called Ken and a grandson called Shane. (-cast list-)
KAREN HENDERSON – Karen is an attractive, vivacious young girl, perhaps a little scatter-brained sometimes. Her clothing, when not motorcycle leathers which she is wearing when she enters, is always as bright and colourful as her nature. (-cast list-)
SHANE PALMER – Shane is a young man eager to succeed in his chosen profession as an estate agent, but is not averse to getting involved in doubtful schemes to make a bit of extra money. Shane dresses in the light grey suit that is the estate agents uniform and tries to exude an air of suave sophistication. His father is called Ken and his grandfather is Davie Martin.
ANNE EVANS – Anne Evans is actually Anne Dullard and is William's wife. However, for her job as the manager of a chain of estate agents she uses her maiden name. Although she is now in her early fifties she retains her natural elegance and charm. Her very expensive clothes always reflect and enhance that elegance. She is married to Detective Chief Superintendent William Dullard. (-cast list-)
SERGEANT KEN PALMER – Ken, the local bobby, is robust country lad. He is normally a uniformed officer, but in this play he can be played in civvies. Ken is a man in his forties. His son is Shane and his father-in-law is Davie Martin. (-cast list-)
Interested in this Play
Scripts will cost you £7.50 each (including p&p). A licence to perform is charged at £30.00 per performance.
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