The Old Radio Show – Down on the Farm

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Synopsis:

“This play is to be performed in the style of an old radio play. Set in the late 1940s, early 1950s, the story is about a family gathering together for a birthday party. But the sisters clash and nothing goes to plan: Grandmother arrives drunk, one sister discovers she’s pregnant, one sister discovers love and the farmhand shoots himself in the foot. A big part of the comedy is the visual spectacle of the sound effects people handling the props. No electronics are required as all sound effects are manually made; for example, coconut shell halves knocked together to create the sound of horses hooves and an old tire pushed around a tray of gravel to create the sound of a car pulling up on a gravel road.” (From the Playwights Atlantic Resource Centre)

Characters:

1. BOB (THE FARMER) – About 40/50 years old
2. MARY (THE FARMER’S WIFE) – About 35/45 years old
3. ANN (YOUNG DAUGHTER OF BOB AND MARY) – About 11 years old.
4. GRAN (GRANDMOTHER) – 90 years old
5. JACK (THE FARM HAND) – About 30/40 years old
6. GAIL (VISITING SISTER OF MARY) – About 25/35 years old
7. PAT (VISITING SISTER OF MARY) – About 30/40 years old
8. PAUL (PAT’S HUSBAND) – About 35/45 years old
9. CONRAD (THE VET) – About 50/60 years old

2 to 3 sound effects cast members

First Produced:

Not yet produced.

Resources:

For script inquiries, please contact: suehiggs@eastlink.ca

To view other works by this playwright, click here.

Notes:

Note from the playwright: Doubling would be OK. Also, even though the cast aren’t being watched by the audience, because it’s a radio play, the cast do not have to be the age or gender of the characters they are playing.