Chris Martin is a published author and internationally successful playwright. Here, he has written a short ‘play version’ of Dickens’ famous Christmas tale for use in schools. Either… As an assembly? A short entertainment piece? Or simply to be read out as part of a class literacy activity? The lively, popular piece can be downloaded here as a 3,000 word, 12 page, Word document with a running/reading time of approximately 15 to 20 minutes. It has 18 named characters of which ‘Scrooge’ is the only significant role. There is, however, plenty of scope for doubling-up making the piece suitable for a much smaller cast. Likewise, there are two mimed sections where non-speaking characters can be added making it appropriate for larger class groups, too. The piece is a shortened version of Dickens’ novel. Snippets of original text do appear but, in general, the language has been greatly simplified to make it accessible for readers/performers of all ages. There has been no attempt to modernise the story… the short play all the original character names and is loyal to the traditional Victorian tale of an old miser who’s asked to reflect upon his life by three ghosts. (Or, rather, ‘four’ ghosts if Jacob Marley’s included!). The staging requirements for the piece have been kept to minimum for ease of staging, and these are clearly identified within the text. Ex-teacher Chris has produced this short play many times in school and can guarantee its effectiveness, and popularity, in performance.

Stage your own comedy fundraising show and raise vital funds! ‘Murderplays’ is an internationally successful murder mystery playscript supplier with over 20 years’ experience. The beauty of its concept is that your actors are encouraged to enact the play ‘whilst reading from their scripts’ thus, with only the minimum of preparation, they’ll soon be ready ‘to go on’. (The play’s performance requirements have also been kept to a minimum for ease of staging.) ‘Who Killed the Headmaster?’ was originally written as a school fundraiser and can be presented as a large-scale performance event, as a school-based entertainment to delight your students, or simply read out in English/Drama lessons. The whodunit play (as outlined below) was written by ex-teacher Chris Martin and repeatedly uses insider-knowledge of schools to delight your audience. Obviously, selecting your own cast (adults or older students?) to play the stereotyped characters will generate further comedy. The script, written in three acts, is accompanied by a full event explanation plus all relevant answer sheets (and even poster and ticket templates for larger performances). General running times are… 10 minutes. Audience read through their character sheets. 30 minutes. Act 1 is read out/acted by your performers. 10 minutes. Audience ‘breather’. 25 minutes. Act 2 is read out/acted. ?? minutes. The audience fill in their answer sheets (and refreshments can be served?). 20 minutes. Act 3 (the solution) is read out/acted. 5 minutes. The winners are announced. Website description… ‘Who Killed the Headmaster?’ is set in 1937 at a British private educational establishment called ‘the Berrigan Tuft School for Young Gentlemen’. All the action takes place inside the Headteacher’s (Montgomery Rex’s) office. ‘Monty’s’ a fiery, charismatic individual and the school is highly thought of, yet it has fallen foul of a malignant force who’s bent on teaching the Head a lesson he’ll never forget. But which pair of suspects will ultimately be found guilty of strangling him inside his locked office…? Ophelia Rex, ‘Monty’s’ disillusioned, flamboyant wife? Miss Pippa Lemon, his (overly) Personal Secretary? Miss Barbara Forbes-Marshall, the school’s bullish Head of English? James Tonic, the inept caretaker? Mr Harry Smith, the secretive Science teacher? Or, Mr Brute Savage, the no-nonsense, narcissistic Deputy Head? Detective Inspector November is about to face the sternest of examinations! ‘Who Killed the Headmaster?’ is a comic murder mystery piece written for 9 characters (4M, 3F, and 2 of either).

Looking for something a little different that’s guaranteed to have your students spellbound!? ‘Barf of the Net!’ is a comedy whodunit script which, when read out aloud, provides not only for a hugely engaging courtroom-style drama classroom event, but can also be scaled up into a whole school show. In true ‘Murderplays Mystery Shorts’ fashion, your actors/readers read from their scripts while standing in a line thus, with ‘the minimum of preparation’, your show will be ready to engage and entertain your audience. The piece itself (outlined more fully below) is a comic whodunit for six readers of any age which explores what happens when ‘foul play’ is suspected during a school soccer match. It’s full of character, accusation and comedy, and parodies the ‘win at all costs’ nature of school sports. And, being a whodunit, your audience will be challenged to suggest which two of the four suspects they think is guilty of tampering with the opposition striker’s halftime drink! The script is accompanied by a full event explanation plus all relevant answer sheets (and even poster and ticket templates for larger performances). General running times are… 10 minutes. Audience read through their character sheets. 20 minutes. Act 1 is read out by your performers. 10 minutes. Audience fill in their answer sheets. 15 minutes. Act 2 is read out. 5 minutes. The winners are announced. (The script parodies British football in particular… but the emotion involved is relevant to any competitive school cup tie.) Ex-schoolteacher Chris Martin, writing as murderplays, has written a series of murder mystery/whodunit plays which have been staged multiple times worldwide. ‘Barf of the Net!’ is a piece which has been specifically created for classroom use and has been repeatedly staged in both Primary and Secondary settings. Website description… The football whodunit that’s in a league of its own! The ‘Maradonna and Child School’ soccer team have never been in a cup final before and things are not looking good when they find themselves 3 - 0 down at halftime against bitter rivals, ‘Canton Academy’. Yet much of Canton’s success is down to the prowess of their star striker ‘Beef Cake’. Yet when ‘Beefy’ is forced off with a mystery illness ‘Maradonna’ are finally able to seize the initiative and claim victory. But who’s about to be ‘red carded’ for tampering with Beefy’s halftime drink? Jinx Dribbler, Maradonna’s school team captain? Kitt Bagg, Maradonna’s goalkeeper? Miss Chelsea Bunn, the home side’s Cookery teacher?Or… Referee, Stanley Accrington? ‘Barf of the Net!’ is a short whodunit play which captures youngsters’ love of football via a comic exploration of ‘the beautiful game’. The names of its six characters are non-gender specific meaning that the school team involved can be male or female, either 4M/2F or 2M/4F. All characters have significant roles.

Looking for something a little different that’s guaranteed to have your students spellbound!? ‘St Bernard’s Goes to the Dogz!’ is a comedy whodunit playscript which, when read out aloud, provides not only for a hugely engaging courtroom-style drama classroom event, but can also be scaled up into a whole school show. In true ‘Murderplays Mystery Shorts’ fashion, your actors/readers read from their scripts while standing in a line thus, with ‘the minimum of preparation’, your show will be ready to engage and entertain your audience. The piece itself (outlined more fully below) is a comic whodunit for six readers of any age, centred around the aftermath of the dress rehearsal for the St Bernard’s school’s musical show (Dogz!) where its Drama teacher is deliberately locked inside a storeroom while tidying away. The piece is full of character, accusation and comedy… and jeopardy, too, as the school’s inspection also hangs in the balance. Being a whodunit, your audience will be challenged to suggest which two of the four suspects they think is guilty of imprisoning Miss Plott! The script is accompanied by a full event explanation plus all relevant answer sheets (and even poster and ticket templates for larger performances). General running times are… 10 minutes. Audience read through their character sheets. 20 minutes. Act 1 is read out by your performers. 10 minutes. Audience fill in their answer sheets. 15 minutes. Act 2 is read out. 5 minutes. The winners are announced. Ex-schoolteacher, Chris Martin, has written a series of murder mystery/whodunit plays which have been staged multiple times worldwide. ‘St Bernard’s Goes to the Dogz!’ is a piece specifically created for classroom use and has been repeatedly staged in both Primary and Secondary settings.

FREE ‘Crime File’ to assist with the delivery of a whodunit class reader specifically designed to appeal today’s young people. ‘The Case of the Caretaker’s Keys’ is the opening title in the Great School Detective series of books by Chris Martin aimed at students aged from Year 8 to 13. The series, published by Hogs Back Books, follows the adventures of a schoolboy detective called Inky Stevens who goes undercover at Blinkton High School in order to solve a variety of perplexing crimes. This ‘Crime File’ is a FREE PDF document supporting the delivery of the novel in the classroom. Written by Head of English, Jamie Foster, it contains over 70 differentiated lesson ideas over the course of 60 fun-packed pages. Information from the novel’s flyleaf… Oh we do like to scream beside the seaside! The Great Storm, which shook Blinkton that September, would live long in the memory of the isolated coastal town. At its height, each wave crashing against the harbour wall sent seawater spewing upwards as a dense curtain of brine which hung perfectly still for the briefest of seconds, before thumping down with the force of a thousand fists. This darkest of times provided cover for the darkest of deeds. As the storm swelled to its climax, a malignant force sat, poised to enact a deed of unspeakable evil. For them, the thrashing jaws of the tempest offered the perfect distraction… " ISBN: 978-1-907432-53-8