The Best Will In The World
By John Furse
An eerie comedy for 2 men & 6women, in 2 Acts, using 1 set, taking place in the present.
This is a play for a group who likes to involve its backstage crew in the production and running of the play. It has some interesting special effects that the set designer and stage crew can have fun devising and using to help the actors.Cast – Plot – Set – Production
The Cast:
Lord Richard Woodbridge – Baines – Mabel Woodbridge – Gertrude Woodbridge – Beatrice Higgins –
Louise Carpenter – Detective Sergeant Sarah Larkin – Vanessa WoodbridgeThe Plot:
Mabel and Gertrude Woodbridge return to the crumbling mansion where their stepfather, Lord Woodbridge, has spent his life and declining years attended by his acerbic, geriatric Butler, Baines. However his-lordship is not there to greet them and they are led to fear for his health. They then start to consider the future without him. Driven by the thought that she may not inherit her stepfather’s estate Mabel, with the reluctant help of her sister Gertrude, devises a plan to bump him off before he can spoil ‘the best will in the world’ (the will that leaves her everything). However what neither they, nor Baines, know is that he died whilst the three of them were away and now only his ghost is left in the house. And it is the ghost of Lord W that is apparently is murdered in three different ways. Mabel and Gertrude’s eccentric aunt Beatrice Higgins arrives to tell them of his demise and the contents of the will, but a fraught journey from London driven the reason for her visit from her befuddles mind. Her arrival and the arrival of Louise Carpenter, Lord W’s granddaughter from his first marriage, plus Louise’s policewoman friend Detective Sergeant Sarah Larkin only add to the sisters’ panic. An eventful evening and night unfolds as the ghost of Lord W takes his revenge as only a ghost can. The sisters are scared away from the house. Lord W is left to return to his enduring love, his first wife Vanessa.
(-back-)The Set:
The scene is a small anteroom of Woodbridge Hall, the ancestral home of the Woodbridge family for generations. Once a sumptuously furnished and decorated room, it is now rather faded by age and neglect. In contrast to the room’s decor an immaculate, life-sized portrait of a young woman dressed in the style of seventy years ago dominates the rear wall. (-back-)
To see set diagrams open the tabs.
Production
The Best Will In The World is a play for groups that have an imaginative, skilled and experienced backstage crew. The play has a lot of ghostly effects that to be effective need to well executed. As the play has only two male cast members all the other male group members are available to help with the set building and effects. The female characters span three generations giving acting opportunities to the range of actresses in your group. Although there is the range of ages it does give the more mature actresses the rare opportunities to take leading roles. Your audience should enjoy the intrigue of the plot and there is nothing too scary for the younger element of your audience. (-back-)Lord Richard Woodbridge
Lord W, for the majority of the play, is a man well in his nineties, but should be played by an actor in his twenties. He has to transform into a young man at the very end of the play. He is a decrepit old aristocrat who has fallen on hard times He lives in a dilapidated house and his appearance matches it. Age has taken its toll and he is unwell and not able to move easily. He has some movement but is usually confined to a wheelchair. He is now looked after by his butler Baines. He has a daughter, Cynthia, who he has not seen for years. Also, he has two stepdaughters Gertrude and Mabel; a granddaughter Louise Carpenter and a sister-in-law Beatrice Higgins. In this play he is actually a ghost.
(-cast list-)Baines
Baines is a man well into his nineties. He is Lord Woodbridge’s butler and has been for most of both their adult lives. He is an acerbic and insolent old man with a sarcastic sense of humour. He is a dishevelled individual and is very tottery on his feet. He can just about shuffle around to attend to employer. Although Lord W, now, always calls him Baines his real name is Peter Jackson. (-cast list-)Mabel Woodbridge
Mabel is a woman in her late fifties, maybe early sixties, and is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. She is only driven by her desire to be even richer that she already is. She is a tall gaunt, imposing and domineering woman who demands people pander to her desire for wealth. She has a sister Gertrude Woodbridge and an aunt Beatrice Higgins. She is Lord W’s stepdaughter. (-cast list-)Gertrude Woodbridge
A dithery old maid in her mid to late fifties; a few years younger than her sister Mabel Woodbridge. She is much put upon by her sister. She is easily influenced by anybody, but is probably good natured at heart. Her aunt is Beatrice Higgins and she is Lord W’s stepdaughter. (-cast list-)Beatrice Higgins
A woman in her eighties Beatrice is the quintessential English eccentric. She is extremely forgetful, but she has not forgotten her liking for male company. A large and imposing woman she floats through life blissfully unaware of her faults. Her forgetfulness is exacerbated by her liking for an alcoholic tipple, often. She is Lord W’s sister-in-law and one time lady-friend. She has two nieces Gertrude and Mabel Woodbridge. In times past she has also been known to visit Baines in his quarters. (-cast list-)Louise Carpenter
A petite, but very self-assured, blonde in her early to mid twenties. She was born wealthy and has a job that keeps her in the exclusively fashionable manner to which she has always been accustomed. Always businesslike and efficient to the point where she can be a bit bossy. Her parents are Michael and Cynthia Carpenter and she is the natural granddaughter of Lord W. Her best friend is Sarah Larkin. (-cast list-)Detective Sergeant Sarah Larkin
A tall, attractive brunette in her early to mid twenties. Her clothes come from fashionable boutiques in the city though they are casual and practical. Intelligent, sharp and observant Sarah will make an excellent detective and she will attain higher rank. She also has a wicked sense of humour. Her best friend is Louise Carpenter. (-cast list-)Vanessa Woodbridge
Vanessa is a ghost and was Lord W’s first wife. In the play she is a woman in her mid twenties; an attractive, and fashionable young woman, but she is dressed in the fashion of seventy years ago. She has returned to help Lord W with his haunting. And of course, she is Louise Carpenter’s grandmother. (-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.
ISBN number 978-0-9576719-0-4
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