‘PAVING PARADISE’
“I stand. I watch. That is what I do. That is all I do. But the standing, the watching, is enough. For someone must note the passing of the days and years, chronicle the changes, or how will we know where we have been or where we are going?”
‘Paving Paradise’ looks at our relationship with the natural world through the eyes of a group of young people and a local tree. More relevant now than ever, it is gender-neutral throughout and can accommodate a large cast of young and diverse performers.
The rights to this text are now back in the control of the author; any drama teacher or youth theatre director can request permission to perform this piece internationally by contacting me via richard@richardconlon.com
The full text is available on trust and in good faith by clicking below.
‘HOPE SPRINGS’
“It’s very easy to get very angry very quickly in this place.”
Originally written in 2014 for youth theatre groups, this is based on the phenomenon of privately run youth-correction facilities . Published (in a slightly less dark version) in 2006, ‘Hope Springs’ is by far my most performed play. It is now represented internationally by Samuel French.
In either its original ‘dark’ version for older casts, or the ‘lighter’ Youth Edition, Hope Springs is gender-neutral throughout which makes it suitable for almost any young group of performers. Staged in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and America – this play fits a single-sex cast and any mix of ethnicity. Drama teachers and youth theatre directors love it because they can give the right part to the right cast member, and it offers a range of parts – for the young actor who is clearly going to be a star to the ones who have less confidence. A teacher recently referred to Hope Springs as ‘a godsend for our single-sex schools’.
Hope Springs is available here
