Plays to perform

Plays for One Performer

Discover fringe-theatre shows turned award-winning TV series, memoir-monologues, writer-actor collaborations and so many more excellent examples of solo shows in our collection below.

If you're a theatre-maker interested in creating your own solo show, there's no better place to start than with Making Your Solo Show: The Compact Guide, by Lisa Carroll and Milly Thomas – both experienced solo-show writers, who teach popular workshops on getting to grips with the form.

Discover 10 top tips to make your solo show memorable, an extract from Lisa and Milly's book over on our blog.

Showing 97-108 of 130 items.
First Time

First Time

By Nathaniel Hall

A hilarious and heartbreaking true story that smashes through the stigma and shame of HIV, to present an uplifting and inspirational guide to staying positive in a negative world.

Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park

By Stephen Jeffreys

A short autobiographical monologue, first performed as part of the Come to Where I'm From festival at the Park Theatre, London, in 2016.

Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen

Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen

By Marcelo Dos Santos

A new edition of the dark and biting one-man show starring Samuel Barnett at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023.

Far Gone

Far Gone

By John Rwothomack

A profoundly moving play about a young Ugandan boy's journey from childhood innocence to child soldier, seen through the eyes of those that love him and those that betray him.

Fanboy

Fanboy

By Joe Sellman-Leava

A five-star hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, Fanboy is a love-hate letter to pop culture and nostalgia, about a thirty-something, self-confessed nerd obsessed with Star Wars and Nintendo.

England & Son

England & Son

By Ed Edwards

A one-man play about disaster capitalism, empire, Thatcherite politics, stolen youth, stolen wealth and a working-class boy who just wants his dad to smile at him. First performed by the celebrated political comedian Mark Thomas in Paines Plough's Roundabout during the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Encounter

The Encounter

By Simon McBurney and Complicite

A solo show tracing one man's journey into the Amazon rainforest and to the limits of human consciousness, inspired by the book Amazon Beaming by Petru Popescu.

Eight

Eight

By Ella Hickson

Eight compelling monologues offering a state-of-the-nation group portrait for the stage.

Duologue

Duologue

By Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan's Duologue is a short monologue play for a female actor in which a woman reminisces movingly about her dead husband.

Published in volume Who is Sylvia? and Duologue
    Drip Feed

    Drip Feed

    By Karen Cogan

    An infectious, dark comedy monologue play about the messiness of being young(ish), female and queer.

    Drip

    Drip

    By Tom Wells By (composer) Matthew Robins

    A one-man musical comedy about a fifteen-year-old boy who finds himself in deep water when he joins a synchronised swimming team, even though he can't swim.

    Dreaming and Drowning

    Dreaming and Drowning

    By Kwame Owusu

    An intimate and visceral play that dives into the mind of a young Black queer man wrestling with anxiety. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023.

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