License a Splendid Play
Now everyone can be a bit Splendid!
If you’re looking for fresh material to stage, why not consider licensing a Splendid script? We pride ourselves on interpreting classic material for contemporary young audiences, so our scripts are ideal for contemporary young – and not so young – performers.
You can license the scripts for Splendid’s past touring productions, or a selection of our original scripts for larger casts. Each script is adaptable for variable cast sizes, and we have road-tested plays for groups as small as the classic Splendid multi-roling chorus of three, to scripts that work with a whole class, to full-scale community productions with live orchestra and choir!
Prices
Standard licenses are available from £30+VAT per performance (or £35+VAT per performance if you’d like to use our pre-recorded backing tracks for the songs), and licenses include digital script editions. (Does not include ‘Midsummer Mechanicals’ and ‘Rough Magic’ which are priced differently. See below for more details.)
Please note: licence fees are dependent on the nature of your production, size of venue and length of run – use the license enquiry form to tell us more and we’ll get back to you with a quote.
See below for more information on the titles available to license, and you can get a taste of each one with a script sample and character list.
Splendid's 'Midsummer Mechanicals' and 'Rough Magic' scripts
The scripts for Splendid’s Olivier-award nominated collaborations with Shakespeare’s Globe, Midsummer Mechanicals and Rough Magic are now available to license for performance. See below for script excerpts and character lists.
Please note that license fees are priced differently for these productions. Please use the enquiry form or email ben@splendidproductions.co.uk for more details.
Splendid's production scripts
Create your own adaptation of a Splendid adaptation! The scripts of Splendid’s past touring productions are available to license.
Each play has a duration of around 60 minutes and can be performed by small casts playing multiple roles, or expanded for larger casts including non-speaking chorus roles.
Songs are an integral part of each Splendid production – we offer the option of downloadable backing tracks for our original songs, but you’re also welcome to compose your own!
| Title | Cast Size | Songs | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Government Inspector | 3-18+ | 3-18 | Character List Script Sample |
| UBU | 2 | 2 | Character List Script Sample |
| Dr Faustus | 3-13+ | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| The Oresteia | 3-13+ | 2 | Character List Script Sample |
| Metamorphosis | 3-13 | 2 | Character List Script Sample |
| Macbeth | 3-16 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| The Odyssey | 3-18 | 4 | Character List Script Sample |
| Woyzeck | 3-18 | 2 | Character List Script Sample |
| Antigone | 3-9 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| Everyman | 3-15 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| Medea | 3-13 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| The Trial | 3-18 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
Splendid scripts for larger casts
As writers and producers, we have had the opportunity to work on numerous projects creating work designed for larger groups, and for performers of all ages and experience.
Below is a selection of original scripts available to license – scroll down for more information about each show.
| Title | Cast Size | Songs | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer Mechanicals (90-100mins) | 4 + stage manager | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| Rough Magic (90-100mins) | 4-9 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| Jason and the Argonauts (45-60mins) | 10-30 | 3 | Character List Script Sample |
| There's a Leak! (45-60mins) | 7-20+ | 0 | Character List Script Sample |
| Poundtown (60-80mins) | 10-30+ | 1 | Character List Script Sample |
| Suffrajitsu (20-30mins) | 8 (plus extras) |
1 | Character List Script Sample |
| MeAndYoutopia (20-30mins) (devised with Yr5 performers) |
12+ | 1 | Character List Script Sample |
| The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood (pantomime) (90mins) |
10-30+ | 5 | Character List Script Sample |
| Red Riding Hood Versus the Wolf (pantomime) (90mins) |
10-30+ | 5 | Character List Script Sample |
Jason & The Argonauts
Written by Splendid Productions’ Mal Smith and Kerry Frampton, Jason and the Argonauts was created as a new ensemble piece for students at Wellington College, which they took to the Edinburgh Festival in 2007.
We worked with a wonderfully talented team of thirteen 16–18 year old students to create a piece of Splendid storytelling. Jason is a no-scenery, no-prop, chorus-driven piece of singing and silliness that charts the rise and history of the most famous group of strapping young men who travelled the Aegean Sea, Jason and his Argonauts!
The play is our most popular script for license, and is a great option as a large-ensemble blast of theatrical joy.
There's a Leak!
By Ben Hales
While out walking with her sarcastic cat, Igor, twelve-year old Elsa notices a tiny hole in the middle of the street that is sucking in air. Surely, she thinks, someone is going to fix the leak? But despite a cavalcade of interested passers-by including loved-up council employees, robotic politicians, bickering scientists and sensation-seeking journalists, the leak just gets worse and worse…
‘There’s a Leak’ is an original play by Splendid’s regular adaptor Ben Hales written for young performers.
It is a darkly absurd comedy for a cast of 7 (multi-roling) to 20 or more, designed to be performed with minimal set or lighting, with a small number of important sound cues. The play lasts 45-60mins approx.
The play was first performed by the Kidbrooke Theatre Company at Corelli College in March 2012.
This script is part of the collection ‘There’s a leak! (and other stories)‘ – available now at Splendid Shop.
Poundtown
There are towns in Britain that people come from, but never ever go to. Like the little finger nestled in the country’s deepest pocket, they’re the smallest and furthest away from the beating heart and bursting brain of the nation. Sleepy, poor places where everyone knows everyone, no one has anything, and nothing ever happens…
This is the story of a town like this. A gruesome story of poverty, opportunity and revenge. A rich, rich man returns to his long-abandoned hometown with promises of lasting change and opportunity for everyone. But his offer comes at a price: a moment of horror for a lifetime of wealth. How long before the temptation becomes too great…?
Poundtown is Ben Hales’s town-gone-mad play in the tradition of Dürrenmatt’s ‘The Visit’, Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’ or Ionesco’s ‘Rhinoceros’ – a funny, finger-biting satire for young performers.
This script is part of the collection ‘There’s a leak! (and other stories)‘ – available now at Splendid Shop.
Suffrajitsu
By Ben Hales from an idea by Lucy Cuthberston
Written in 2018 to celebrate 100 years of votes for (some) women in the UK, Suffrajitsu tells the story of the Suffragette movement that was so instrumental in gaining this basic democratic right – in particular the work of Edith Garrud, who was very instrumental in teaching the Suffrajettes how to punch policemen in the face. Because as the Suffrajettes were painfully aware, the fight for votes sometimes involved actual fighting.
The play is written for a mixed-gender choral cast that tells this exciting true story (including elements taken directly from historical sources) while exploring how human society came to be so unequal, and what it takes to change ‘the way things are’.
This script is part of the collection ‘There’s a leak! (and other stories)‘ – available now at Splendid Shop.
MeAndYoutopia
By Ben Hales & Lucy Cuthbertson, created and devised with a cast of Yr5 students (9-10 years old)
There are two types of people in this world: MEs who put themselves first and YOUs who put themselves last. We watch as these two very different groups find themselves on the same small island, both seeking an elusive destination, Utopia. What exactly are they travelling towards? What will they find when they get there? And can these incompatible MEs and YOUs find a way to become a new kind of tribe: US?
This play is recommended for younger performers, with parts adaptable for a range of abilities and confidence.
This script is part of the collection ‘There’s a leak! (and other stories)‘ – available now at Splendid Shop.
Splendid Pantomime Scripts
In 2017, Splendid’s Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales were commissioned by Stantonbury Theatre in Milton Keynes to create a new pantomime that combined a small professional acting cast with a large ensemble of students from Stantonbury International School. The result was The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood, a rousing family-friendly adventure set in the fictional village of Stanton-on-the- Berry (a wonderful place to live), which brings the nefarious Sheriff of Nottingham into conflict with legendary outlaw Robin Hood.
The Christmas 2017 production was a huge success, and it was followed in 2018 with another original show, Red Riding Hood Versus the Wolf, in which the residents of Stanton-on-the-Briar must contend with a generational fear of Big Bad Wolves.
We are now making both scripts and music tracks available to license for amateur and professional performance. Packed with lovable dames, boo-able villains and unexpected endings, and designed to work with a large ensemble, Splendid’s pantos are the perfect choice for anyone looking for a fresh twist on a classic genre.
The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood
The wicked Sheriff of Nottingham has seized power all the way from Sherwood Forest to the tiny hamlet of Stanton-on-the Berry! He hates fun, he’s allergic to laughter, he’s going to roast the town’s prize pig… and he’s fallen in love with Maid Marian. In a desperate bid to save her village and avoid a marriage worse than death, Marian (and her faithful nurse) head into Sherwood Forest to seek the help of the mysterious Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws. Their epic arrow-whanging adventures are legendary throughout the land – if anyone can defeat the evil Sheriff it’s him!
Singing, dancing, sword fights! A formidable heroine, a powerful hero and a swashbuckling quest for justice! What could possibly go wrong?
Red Riding Hood Versus the Wolf
It’s the annual Red Riding Hood parade in the leafy town of Stanton-on-the-Briar, and young Scarlett has the great honour of taking over from her mum as the brand new Red Riding Hood. However, as the townspeople begin the festivities, celebrating the day they drove the awful Grandma-guzzling wolves into the deep dark forest, a charming stranger arrives in town. Is Scarlett the only one who thinks there’s something not quite right about him? Haven’t the rest of the town noticed what big teeth he has?
Red Riding Hood Versus the Wolf a singing, dancing, gripping, ripping new pantomime adventure for all the family – even Grandma.
