Gillian Plowman

It is 1959. Charles Chaplin is 70 years old, talking across the years to the young Charlie Chaplin - the Little Tramp who was never allowed to speak in the silent movies. Now he has a voice, confronting his older self and revealing the passions and torments that formed his life. Charlie Chaplin was the very first icon of the silver screen and is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. But what of the man behind the moustache? The director holding the camera as well as acting in front of it? The cockney boy beneath the stage make-up? Born into poverty and hardship and in the absence of his father, he spent most of his childhood in and out of orphanages and workhouses. Charlie survived by making himself invulnerable. This exuberance later became part of his screen persona. The Little Tramp always picks himself up and walks jauntily into the distance.

• A wide-ranging collection of plays by women dealing with contemporary subjects such as child abuse, recession, war, poverty and the complexity of modern women's lives. • Many roles for women and girls; suitable for study for performance or as part of courses in Women's Studies or Feminist Theatre Studies. • All the plays have been produced and performed in the UK to acclaim.

Based on the television film Number 27 by Michael Palin First shown on the BBC, 23rd October 1988 Crooked Wood is a black comedy about ruthless property developers cashing in on the property demand around the London Olympic site, who then find themselves faced with an elderly lady refusing to move out from the last remaining house on their prime site. Andrew Veitch, the smooth-talking iron fist of Golden Future, cannot budge the intrepid Miss Barwick whose conviction that Veitch has come to restore her rotting stairs and floorboards and mend the holes in the roof generates the play's soft-centred humour.

Jill has served time for killing her husband who abused her. Making a new start as a window cleaner, she disturbs Daryl, who is in the process of stealing from an expensive apartment. Panicking, Daryl holds Jill captive but she gets him taking about his life of crime and the wife who left him, taking with her his much-adored young daughter. In turn, Jill relates her tragic history and it gradually becomes apparent they have much in common. A final twist throws them together in an unlikely partnership with hope for the future. This is a compassionate and insightful play from the author of "Me and My Friend".

Women are serving community punishment orders and are growing the vegetables for soup kitchens on an allotment. Marcie is convicted of dangerous driving; Norah, a serial shoplifter, hasn't recovered from the death of her daughter thirty years ago; Belle is convicted of blackmailing her boss and Lorna, an actress, is convicted of criminal damage to a theatre. It is the first morning for Daisy, the new probation officer, and she is brimming with new ideas for the women's rehabilitation. However, the tables are cleverly turned when a traumatic event in Daisy's past catches up with her, putting her on a par with the others.

Dorcas looks after her middle-aged brother Vincent who has learning difficulties. She has brought home Gemma, a homeless girl who says she has been raped, but is Gemma telling the truth? Surprisingly, it is Vincent who provides the possible way ahead for Gemma.

Duncan and George feel far from comfortable attending a Weight Busters meeting, surrounded as they are by women. Waiting for the meeting to start, they meet an old flame of George's - who bore him a child many years earlier - and Duncan strikes up an affecting romance with a sign language teacher. Line dancing and snatches of Gilbert and Sullivan enhance the jolly mood of this touching comedy-drama.5 women, 3 men

A letter to Geoffrey, who is blind, informs him that his wife is having an affair with a work colleague. His trip to the leisure centre where Alice works changes both their lives as he confronts the other man. Then Geoffrey's friend Anton meets Amaryllis, his ideal woman, at the centre.

Philip and Rowena are terminally ill. Philip seeks a divorce from his bitter wife, Lilian. Rowena longs for the unity of her family. Together they find friendship, romance, consolation and an amazing capacity for fun. In their hospice, they share an imaginary holiday in Florence. An acceptance of death is coupled with an extraordinary devotion to life.4 women, 3 men

Hugo, a PR consultant on his way to an important meeting, and Martha, a Museum Education Officer with a case full of liberty bodices, are trapped in an overturned railway carriage following a rail crash, waiting tensely to be rescued. A touching relationship begins to develop between them, but they are torn apart by tragedy.1 woman, 1 man

Leah discovers her author husband Gordon is having an affair with Ursula. Meanwhile, Gordon remembers Umjana Land, the childhood dream world he inhabited with his sister Agnes, and determines to write. When Agnes appears, having written a Booker Prize-nominated book about Umjana Land, Gordon is left strangely alone as his daughter Leah, Ursula and Agnes find a common bond.-4 women, 3 men

Touring an art gallery, Beatrice notices a lone man, Jon, crying before a painting created out of remorse for a tragedy in the artist's life. Intrigued, Beatrice offers help, and it transpires that for Jon, whose wife had died of leukemia while he was with another woman, the painting tells his own story. Beatrice, also, has her own haunting secret...4 women, 3 men

A sensitive treatment of the devastating effects of unemployment, both on individuals and their families. David, Derek and Ian attempt to preserve their everyday lives, warding off depression and the feelings of rejection, anger and aggression, their efforts ranging from the touching to moments of manic humour.3 men

Ruby's boarding house is home to an odd mix of characters in this moving and well-observed play about four lonely people: Abe, the middle-aged divorcee, Chas, the Northerner forced to find work in the South, Fleur, put there by her social worker and Holly, struggling to save enough money to move out.3 women, 2 men

A black comedy, the play explores the relationships between two "odd" couples thrown prematurely out of hospital care. Firstly, we see two men conduct fantasy interviews for jobs they will never get, then two women trying to "make plans" as urged to do by the hospital. They all meet when Oz throws a disastrous party with the four desperately attempting the niceties of social intercourse.2 women, 2 men

In this grim world of poverty there is little room for finer feelings. The tippers mistrust one another and each sex blames the other for the mess they are all in. The only escape from unendurable reality is football. Maybe with the birth of Annette's baby, trust and affection will be born amongst them...2 women, 3 men

Stifled by army life, the Colonel's wife falls in love with the Sergeant sent to play the piano at her dinner parties. Towards the end of the play we realize that the Old Man and Old Woman on stage are the Sergeant and the Colonel's wife forty years...-2 women, 4 men