When COVID-19 hit the United States, The Merry Beggars launched a contest for 10-minute radio plays responding to the theme of "quarantine." We've chosen twelve of the scripts to bring to you.
How do you relax amidst civilizational collapse? Well, lucky for you, a future London has just the answer: Relaxabot 938! Kick up your feet, relax, and soak up the warm nostalgia of a caring governmental robot.
Written by Matthew Wright
The Announcer - Aaron Williams
The Advertisement - John Howard
Relaxabot 938 - Jeromey Lloyd
The Corrector - Naomi Campagne
Direction and Sound Design - Peter Atkinson
Assistant Producer - Naomi Campagne
All our lives have been stopped in their tracks. Coronavirus has made us all confront silence. Perhaps we're being invited into something deeper. Something that awaits us in the depths of silence.
Written by Christine Sloan Stoddard
Boy - Garrett Braddock
Girl - Tatyana Aravena
Conductor/Priest - Patrick Frith
Direction and Sound Design - Peter Atkinson
"You never make the journey home alone." Accompany a young family as they road trip to their parents' home, stuck in a different kind of quarantine - traffic.
Written by Kiley Hatch
Andy - John Paul Stansbury
Jen - Megan Carter
Darcy - Maria Collins
Gabe - Oliver Collins
Sound Design - Theresa Ambat
Direction - Peter Atkinson
James' ex-girlfriend Sonya calls him up, telling him to meet her in the park. "It'll only take a minute," she says. But neither of their lives will ever be the same...
Written by Ben Washington
Sonya was played by Audrey Herold
James was played by Jack Wainwright
Officer Richardson was played by Cecil Archbold
Officer Daniels was played by Peter Salzer
Direction - Peter Atkinson
Sound Design - Theresa Ambat
In 1939, the United States heard Orson Welles' production of War of the Worlds. It was so convincing and so creatively produced that masses of people believe the world was truly under martian attack. Join our host, Norma, as she remembers how that radio show changed her life forever.
Written by Georgia Belle
The Narrator was played by Judy McMillan
Norma was played by Cassidy Sandry
Norma’s Ma was played by Lisa Stanley
Norma’s Pa was played by Cecil Archbold Jr.
Billy was played by Ryan Ledman
Billy’s Ma was played by Bonnie Bogovich
Billy’s Pa was played by Rich Greene
Mrs. Jennings was played by DL Merlin
Younger Sister Bess was played by Bailee Bonick
Casting - Connor Carlin
Direction - Jacob Groth
Sound Design - Theresa Ambat
It’s been a while since Millie and Andy have had the chance to see each other.
It’s been a while since Andy has had the chance to see much of anyone.
While his wife, Millie, is on mission in space, Andy faces the trials of quarantine back on Earth. Now, he has to spend his brief face-to-face conversation with Millie breaking some unfortunate news.
Andy - Clayton Bury
Millie - Sarah Simmons
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Sound Engineering - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Peter Atkinson
Casting and Production - Peter Atkinson and Michaela Elise Fox
Eli and Hazel, two young best friends, are navigating the first COVID-19 lockdown and all its uncertainty together through letter-writing.
While Eli is trying to remain relentlessly lighthearted, his best friend, Hazel, struggles to cope with some of the more brutal realities of the pandemic.
Hazel - Vieve Ott
Eli - Vincenzo Cusato
Mom - Sarah Simmons
Sound Engineering - Kevin Conroy
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Michaela Elise Fox
Casting and Production - Peter Atkinson and Michaela Elise Fox
Doug, a stony banker, wishes to stop his neighbor, Kim, from feeding pigeons on her balcony. The conversation doesn't go as planned.
With zany, snappy banter exchanged through the increasingly familiar setting of a Zoom call, Doug might just learn that graces received should be graces shared, even to those as “undesirable” as pigeons.
Doug - Logan Sutherland
Kim - Lydia Hanman
Marion - Jeanne Scurek
Sound Engineering - Kevin Conroy
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Michaela Elise Fox
Casting and Production - Michaela Elise Fox
Damien, a nurse at Beachside Nursing Home in Virginia, is knocking on stranger's door with some difficult news. The woman who opens the door is far from what he was expecting.
Damien Pond - Seth Humerick
Suzanne Bedford - Sarah Simmons
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Michaela Elise Fox
Casting and Production - Michaela Elise Fox
When Taylor wakes up from a deep sleep, he is surprised to find himself in a boarded up farmhouse. Confused and dazed, Taylor fights to convince Norman and his daughter, Sarah, to let him leave, but to no avail.
Norman - Cecil Archbold Jr.
Sarah - Bianca Shaw
Taylor - Bobby Duncalf
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Peter Atkinson
Casting and Production - Peter Atkinson and Michaela Elise Fox
Is it possible to fall in love with someone you cannot see?
Nick finds himself enjoying his confinement in prison more and more as his neighbor’s blissful positivity begins to rub off on him. As the two prisoners share conversations, Nick begins to experience the kind of joy he hasn’t felt in a long time.
Ann - Bianca Shaw
Nick - Bobby Duncalf
Narrator - Cecil Archbold Jr.
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Peter Atkinson
Casting and Production - Peter Atkinson and Michaela Elise Fox
In a world where everything operates via a singular machine, people like Vashti have become conditioned to a bland and lethargic lifestyle. When Kuno notices a significant fault with The Machine, it is up to him to convince his mother to embrace a drastic change.
Kuno - Clayton Bury
Vashti - Sierra Doss
Friend - Lauren Miller
Sound Engineering - Kevin Conroy
Sound Design - Kevin Conroy
Direction - Peter Atkinson
Casting and Production - Peter Atkinson and Michaela Elise Fox
Discover twelve tales of quarantine, from touching family moments to futuristic adventures. Experience the beauty of friendship. Witness the love of marriage. Learn from the trials of family.
Discover the beauty of human connection in plays like Above and Beyond and Corona Kiddos. Laugh at familiar family arguments in I Do Like the Rain and The Birds are Feeding Me. The Quarantine Plays will captivate your heart and provide the escape from quarantine we’ve all been craving.
Enjoy original, moving, and riveting entertainment. New episodes dropping monthly.