This page lists short plays over one minute and under ten minutes in length.
ALL THE THINGS (drama)
2M; 5 minutes
England, 1998. Nigel is on his deathbed in London. His friend, Gregory, is at his side. Nigel's wife Julia is on her way. This is the last five minutes of a thirty-year love triangle.
BYGONES (suspense drama)
1M/1F; 2-4 minutes
Candace just wanted a drink before she boards her flight. She didn't expect to see Dieter, especially because she has a restraining order against him which he doesn't seem to care about.
CONFLAGRATION THEN NOTHING (drama)
1M/1; 2 minutes
A man witnesses a fiery plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico, not sure if it was his daughter's flight.
DESTINY (comedy)
2A; 2 minutes
A couple. A map. A quarter. And chance!
DORMANCY (drama)
2M; 2-3 minutes
Elementary school classmates reunite after 40 years. It was going so well...
AN EXCAVATION OF LACE (comedy-drama)
4F (2 of whom are girls); 5 minutes
Lysanne has become obsessed by a large piece of lace she found embedded in the mud on the path by her vacation rental in Russia. Magdalena, whose family used to rent the place themselves, is there to help solve the mystery.
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION: a Very Short Play About Children and Guns (drama/horror/political/experimental)
1 adult/3 children; 2-5 minutes
I was very angry when I wrote this.
Inspired after reading Greg Burdick's beautiful One in the Chamber, I needed to write my own take on gun legislation and school shootings.
Here it is.
THE LORD’S WORK (drama)
1F/1M; 5 minutes
When Francis came out to his friend Gemma, he did not anticipate how she would try to help. Inspired by a true story.
CONTENT WARNING: sexual assault.
MADE BY THUMB (meta-theatrical nonsense)
2F/2M; 4-5 minutes
A mini-play I wrote with my thumb on my phone in Word during the 2017 31 Plays in 31 Days after watching The Naked Jungle with Eleanor Parker and Charlton Heston, in which his South American cocoa plantation is threatened by and encroaching army of ants.
MOMENTS OF CRISIS: ONLINE LOVE CONNECTION (horror-comedy)
3F/2M; 2-4 minutes
Barbie is trying to convince Annabel that her (Annabel's) boyfriend Vlad is a vampire. Annabel thinks Barbie is jealous because she (Barbie) is still woefully single. Clearly, Annabel doesn't see what's going on behind her. It's awful.
NOTES OVER AN UNDERCAST SKY (sci-fi; drama)
2 actors; 5-6 minutes
At a precipice at the edge of the universe, a Scholar is about throw their life's work over the edge and a Soldier is there to make sure it happens. But what a life's work! And is throwing these notes into the ether necessarily a bad thing?
OLD NORSE LOVE ARIA (comedy pantomime)
3F/2M/1A; 5-9 minutes
Somewhere in Scandinavia, a Viking themed wedding competes with the wind.
ORCHIDS AND HEAT (drama)
2M/1F; 5-6 minutes
1930s. A train is stopped in the desert. The engineer has found a top hat. It belongs to a man who was murdered, thrown off the train in a brutal fight. The dead man's wife arrives with orchids to lay down for her husband and a revelation about the murder.
POETICA (comedy)
2A
Jordan has some advice!
You've had this conversation! Just probably not about this.
POSSIBLY THE FIRST OF MANY (comedy drama)
2A; 5-9 minutes
A prisoner gets a surprise visit from a former hostage.
600 KM NE LIMA (drama)
1F/1M; 5-7 minutes
March 6, 2020. The day the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in Peru. At a disco, two people on opposite sides of an environmental conflict share a moment of peace.
THE SYLLABUS (horror)
1F/1M (both white); 2 minutes
Miss Mason is teaching her students about a difficult chapter in history. Principal Warner has some good news for her.
THE TRIKE, OR “USE YOUR WORDS” (comedy/drama)
2M; 6 minutes
The groom's best friend has hijacked the wedding limo and won't get out. A complex negotiation beings between the edudite Gabriel and the semi-articulate Angus, revealing the readings for his tantrum run deep.
TROPES I HATE: “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME AND WITH MY…”
2F/2M; 6-8 minutes
A man and a woman find their spouses in bed together. But who are they to each other??? The answer will be obvious because you've seen it billions of times before.
TROPES I HATE: TATTLETALE
2A; 2-5 minutes
The Noble One threatens to expose The Villain!
TROPES I HATE: THE TITLE OF THE PLAY WE’RE IN
2A; 6-9 minutes
A writer has written a novel about their friendship with their friend. GUESS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA CALL IT!!!
UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, OR "NOBODY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE" A TALE OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST (musical pantomime)
3F/3M/2A; 5-9 minutes
An encounter in the woods brings crime, ritual, and legend together for a very long, awkward moment.
UP ON A ROOF (comedy-drama)
2M/1F; 5 minutes
Hal has stepped away from the party. His best pal Robbie's girlfriend, Gemma, has found him. Gemma questions whether she's made the right choice between the two.
Available in 5-Minute Plays from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
WHERE WE DEAD AWAKEN (comedy)
2M; 5 minutes
Brett and Lee have been together nearly 35 years. Today, looking out over the sunset, they consider their final resting places.
A WORLD WITHOUT MATTHEW WEAVER (experimental comedy
7A; 5-9 minutes
I have dared to imagine the unimaginable! The untenable! A world where playwright Matthew Weaver's characters exist without Matthew Weaver!
(Fellow NPX playwrights, look him up so you can read his beautiful plays... and so you can get the jokes in this one!)