A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Side Effects

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 2m

Eric Chappell

Side Effects
by Eric Chappell

Frank Cook, having been taken ill with a rare complaint, has been booked into a private nursing home by his wife June for a week's respite. Whilst there, he encounters the Reverend Paul Latimer who is recovering from a heart transplant and whose odd …

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 2m

Details

Summary
Frank Cook, having been taken ill with a rare complaint, has been booked into a private nursing home by his wife June for a week's respite. Whilst there, he encounters the Reverend Paul Latimer who is recovering from a heart transplant and whose odd behaviour is beginning to alarm his wife, Sarah. The young, attractive Tracey might provide the answer. She is convinced that the vicar's new heart belonged to her recently deceased lover Melvin, a fairground “wall of deathäó rider. Could it be that Paul has taken on Melvin's personality traits as well as his heart? That would explain the swearing, the smoking, the drinking and the clandestine canoodling with Tracey in the rose garden. Then again, perhaps he's just suffering from the side effects of his medication? Frank, ever the cantankerous sceptic, is delighted by the vicar's fall from grace, while June does her best to rein in his detective work. Side Effects is a hilarious comedy for two men and three women from the Bafta-winning creator of Rising Damp.

Frank Cook, 50s. A recent invalid and resentful of his condition. Anti-clerical.
June Cook, his wife. A few years younger than Frank. She is long-suffering, frustrated, but with a wry sense of humour.
Rev. Paul Latimer, 40s. The recipient of a heart transplant. Superficially confident but at breaking point. Inclined to be priggish and judgmental.
Sarah Latimer, his wife, 40s. Relentlessly middle class. A cut glass voice and rather precious but not a fool.
Tracey, 20s. Attractive, solemn and mysterious.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting The visitors' room of a convalescent home

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

Author

Eric Chappell

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