Jimmie Chinn

In this deeply moving and astutely observed play, we hear two monologues from two members of a family in a small, closely-knit, North of England town.1woman, 1 man

It is Richard's seventieth birthday. To his Isle of Wight home come his children - Sam, unhappily married, and bringing her autistic son, Miles; Charlie, a discontented alcoholic with numerous chips on his shoulder; and Ben, whose generosity and sense of fun draw attention away from a mystery at the heart of his life. With Ben arrives Brice, an expected addition to the party and, in some quarters, an unwelcome one: for Brice was the first husband of Richard's wife, Jan, and is the real father to her children. The scene is set for a day and a night of revelations, arguments and moments of tenderness as the family seeks to resolve its difficulties and to put the past behind all of its members.4 women, 4 men, 1 boy

Sylvia's Wedding is yet another clear-sighted and even-handed drama written by the splendid Jimmie Chinn with all his customary wit, humanity and keenness of observation. Gordon proposes to Sylvia, after ten years of courting, and throws his family, and Sylvia's, into turmoil. Joyce and Vic, Sylvia's parents, are hardly the sort of people Gordon's pompous father, Stanley, wants his family connected with, and Vic feels much the same in return. Sylvia's best friend, Yvonne, isn't much help either - as she's all too ready to deflate Sylvia's joy with her cynical, world-weary comments. Against the odds, the two warring families co-operate in the wedding preparations and all looks set for success - but fate intervenes. The spirited comedy of the early scenes gives way to bitter irony....as again family values and relationships are given a stern examination in a stylish Chinn piece.

Albert Nuttal, aged 11, is special - some would say backward. He is a poet and visionary who, as he grows into manhood, inspires unexpected depths of emotion in other people. This play, designed to be enacted entirely by adults comes from the author of "Straight and Narrow".

Armstrong Armstrong, struggling to become a writer, is convinced that he is ugly and scarred - her only forms of escape are the cinema and her absent fathers' collection of records. This surreal, dream-like, black comedy-drama is written by the author of "Straight and Narrow".

The staff of the Gwendolen Kyte School for Girls are an odd assortment of social misfits and eccentric types. Returning for a new term the teachers face a catalogue of catastrophe, and tension reaches breaking point when a government inspector arrives with anonymous letters defaming the school as outmoded, old-fashioned and unsafe, and the staff as unqualified.10 women, 1 man

Madam, once a distinguished actress, lives in seclusion in a cottage in West London, looked after by her housekeeper and ex-dresser, Doris. Their peaceful routine includes regular visits from the doctor and the insipid Sylvia, who takes acting lessons from Madam. Life for these ladies has become a well-regulated, quiet experience. One day, however, a surprise visitor arrives - Ursula, Madam's estranged daughter, who is nursing a bitter secret.4 women, 1 man

In this heart-warming and emotional portrait of a small cotton mill town in Lancashire, Edie Hill is essentially protrayed as a tragic heroine: she works hard all her life, raises an illegitimate son, and loses her family one by one as they fall victim to the cotton dust from years spent labouring at the mill. At the same time, however, Edie is a truly funny character, and the tragic points in her saga are interspersed with moments of great warmth and humour.9 women, 12 men

The central characters are Bob and Jeff. The cosy domesticity of these lovers is threatened by Jeff's crisis. Jeff is considering leaving Bob.... but for a woman, so that he can become a father. Meanwhile, Bob contends with meddling family members who are ignorant of his living situation. His mother, a domineering comic creation, complicates matters by pressing Bob to get married. She refuses to recognize that there is anything about her son which might upset her conventional sensibilities. Can Bob's family - Lois and Bill, Nona and Arthur and matriarch, Vera - help to rescue the situation? And will Bob be able to tell the seemingly ignorant Vera that the 'straight and narrow' is not the life for her favourite little boy...?-3 women, 4 men

But Yesterday is a haunting, enigmatic one act play from the sensitive pen of successful playwright, Jimmie Chinn. Set in a vicarage garden, the time is the fifties and before. Prior to leaving on a journey from which he will not return, Robert comes back to the garden of his childhood and relives moments from the past, which become mingled with the present.3 women, 2 men

Staff Nurse Kitty, popular, good-natured and ever willing to help, is giving evidence at a medical tribunal investigating a patient's death. Suddenly she finds herself carried along by events that she hardly comprehends and is condemned before she can even defend herself. Support which she felt that she could count on diminishes in the cause of self-interest, and helpful deeds performed at the time are misinterpreted. Based on a true-life incident, we see the pattern of her life in flashbacks, using imaginative lighting, heightened dialogue and delightful theatrical effects.3 women, 1 man

Sitting in a seedy seaside boarding house room, Older Edie reminisces over the past. Out of her memory step a younger Edie and Harry on their wedding day in February 1942. Together, the young couple discover life's big truths in the span of one night; the day after, Harry will leave for the front, never to return. The uncertainties of their relationship mirror the wider unpredictability and turmoil of the 40s - producing a finely-balanced portrait of that period.2 women, 2 men

Interior Designs is a masterly observation of human relationships and conflicting viewpoints by Jimmie Chinn. Him, a brash, arrogant odd job man, is offering his "services" to three women: Holly, a successful TV-am newsreader; Irene, a solitary school teacher; and Amy, a frustrated housewife. Although of very different backgrounds, the three women share a common fate of loneliness and frustration.3 women, 1 man

Long Autumn, appropriately named, is a retirement home for theatricals in the autumn of their lives, where euphemism reigns supreme, together with a firm belief that elderly equals senile. Into their midst is flung Maisie May, a former music-hall star, too much of a burden for her strait-laced son and daughter-in-law, who do not find Maisie amusing. Initially the ever-cheerful, irrepressible Maisie copes with the rigours of Long Autumn in her own inimitable style, but she becomes increasingly depressed. Then one day a breezy impresario, Chris, arrives with big plans for Maisie...4 women, 3 men

Intriguing glimpses into a cupboard full of family skeletons, together with some serious, and not so serious, detective work, combine in this unusual suspense play, to keep everyone guessing until the very last page! Returning home from prison, after serving fifteen years for allegedly murdering his mother, Matthew finds his three sisters, his wife and his father waiting for him. Still protesting his innocence, Matthew's arrival prompts the question of who did kill Mother - scornful Celia, dotty Emma, cold Lavinia, flighty Gilda or even gentle Father? Accusations and hypotheses abound, but it takes an apparent suicide, and a good deal of amateur sleuthing, before the truth is revealed and the lady can be taken away...4 women, 3 men

A Respectable Funeral is one of the first one act plays from the sensitive and humorous pen of Jimmie Chinn. It was presented and performed as a double bill - with one of Mr Chinn's other plays, From Here To The Library - under the title of Back To Back in Oldham. Both plays can be performed separately or as an entertaining double bill.3 women, 1 man

Beryl Tidy, whose life is dominated by her elderly, irascible and demanding father, works at the library and finds that it is her only escape. She has a new boss at the library, Mr Gostilow, who has just moved to the North from London. When Beryl storms out of work after an uncharacteristic fit of temper and fails to return, Gostilow visits her to find out why. Despite the idiosyncratic and often hilarious comments from Beryl's father, Gostilow succeeds in showing her that she needs and is needed by the world outside. This is a touching and gently humorous portrait of a woman's life.1 woman, 2 men