Mystery, Suspense or Thriller Plays

Dark Road by Ian Rankin and Mark Thomson

It’s Isobel’s thirtieth anniversary on the force, making her eligible for retirement. Her daughter, Alexandra, is in her last year of university and still lives at home. Isobel has risen to Chief Superintendent. There’s a little gathering at the office with Detective Superintendent Frank and retired Chief Constable Fergus. Isobel says she’s thinking of writing a book about Chalmers, a killer she put away twenty-five years ago. She’s uncomfortable with the conviction due to notable missing evidence. Her colleagues urge her to stay away from Chalmers and leave the case alone.

The first two scenes of this play can be read in the preview of Dark Road. (20% in)

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

Mollie and Giles run a guesthouse, Monksville Manor. Among their guests are a talkative young man, a complaining older woman, a retired Major, an aloof woman and a foreign man. There’s a news report of a woman who was murdered nearby. Mollie gets a call from the police, saying that a Sergeant is being dispatched to the guesthouse.

A Soldier’s Play by Charles H. Fuller (2 Acts)

A drunken Sergeant Waters, a black man, is killed by an anonymous shooter. A black investigator, Davenport, arrives to interview the men. He is warned that his authority won’t be respected.

Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher (1 Act)

Mrs. Stevenson is a sickly woman who spends her time in bed. When she tries to call her husband, she is mistakenly connected to a wrong number. She overhears a plot to kill someone. She tries to trace the call and get help.