MAD FOR MYSTERY
by Vivian Lermond
MAD FOR MYSTERY offers a full evening of tasty shorts sure to satisfy a mystery lover’s palette. This collection of six one-act plays, offering roles for Gen Z to age 50+ actors, serves up a smorgasbord of “who-dunnits” with a madness chaser, sure to sate your audience’s senses.
Each unique play tackles plot twists and turns that make MAD FOR MYSTERY a memorable night of theatre, taking on all your favorite motives for murder – love, greed, buried secrets, and of course, a distinctive dose of revenge.
Join us in witnessing the full experience of the unpredictable under belly of human nature gone awry – that magic that makes for the wonderful genre of mystery.
- Cast Size: Flexible Casting
- Running Time: Variable
- Royalty Rate: $75 for the Full Evening, $15 for individual plays
Order Digital Download (Will NOT download to phones)
About the Playwright
Vivian is an award-winning playwright who has penned more than 100 plays and monologues that have entertained audiences on four continents and nine countries – the US, Mexico, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and South Korea. Her play, THE MADNESS OF MEMORY, is included in the Smith & Kraus Publication BEST TEN MINUTE PLAYS OF 2022. Her full-length drama/comedy, Back to Bethlehem (PA), premiered Off-Broadway in 2006 at the Manhattan Theatre Club. She has taught playwriting at a local college and has facilitated playwriting workshops at writing conferences. Vivian has lent her talents to Gallagher Literary, an LA talent management company, where she evaluated pitches and screenplay submissions. She also has freelanced for afilmwriter.com, where she was a script analysis specialist for stage plays. She has been a proud member of The Dramatists Guild since 1998.
“Mad for Mystery” combines a few short gems of plays that feature fascinating plot twists and endings with a couple of radio-style dramas featuring a pair of Miss Marple/Jessica Fletcher-type sleuths who you just know will get to the bottom of things. If you like old-time radio drama, you’ll love those two closing pieces but the four shorter plays that precede them are also amazing for their twists and interesting developments. I’d love to get a few actor friends and read these out loud, and I’d recommend them to any group or company looking for something to make your audiences smile and say … “oh, wow … now I get it!” at the ending!
I’ve been following Vivian Lermond for sometime now and love these plays with their oldy timey feel. Her Lavender Ladies, like the Mounties always get their man but this in no way spoils the fun. After all, it’s all about the journey and this is where Vivian excels. Her characters’ dialogue points to a sharp observational mind as she takes us on a journey with more twists and turns than Harry Lauder’s walking stick! More please I say!
have zoomed quite a few of her pieces
This selection of one-act plays reminds me so much of Agatha Christie, but with a modern and sharper edge. Vivian has an ear for conversations in which the actors skirt around avoiding giving too much away , but leaving subtle hints obliquely while at the same time one can imagine them sipping tea out of China cups.
Her plays address many contemporary issues and evil-doings but in a subtle and interesting way, creating intrigue and mystery before the satisfying denouement.
A delightful collection reminiscent of the golden age of cozy mysteries from the likes of Christie, Sayers, and Marsh. The dialogue is clever, the characters are clever, and the playwright was clever enough to figure out how to fit full-scale, satisfying whodunits into six small packages. Fun on their own, together they would make an evening of theater audiences will love.
I really enjoyed this collection of plays. It’s like a plate of appetizers, just enough of each to really enjoy and still leave room to read some more. I liked the very British sense of decorum in the Stillwell sisters’ pieces — “Oh, dear, a dead body… milk in your tea, dear?” And it’s apparent that some of them were meant for radio, which inspires the imagination and could make for fun staging — as if the audience was watching a radio drama being performed with sound effects and all.
Reading this delightful collection of short plays brought out my inner sleuth. I kept trying to solve the crime ahead of Vivian’s well-drawn characters. There’s the scheming roommate with an ulterior motive, the madly-in-love writer with a custard pie, the dynamic sisterly duo who take cases as often as they take tea, and more to be found within these pages. Love, greed, revenge, it’s all here. Plus, Vivian Lermond gives us characters of all age ranges, making it a hit not only with audiences, but with older actors who are all-too-often relegated to minor character roles. Not so, here. Everyone’s invited to THIS party. Just don’t eat the dessert. Unless, of course, you deserve it…
Vivian creates beautifully visual stories that take you on a journey. With twists in the tale and colourful characters, you cannot fail to enjoy each and every story. I love this collection.
What a fun collection! Part of that fun is the knowledge that, in each play, some character will bite the dust. Who will it be, and why? The twists and turns (and the appearance and reappearance of a determined, very British pair of investigative sisters) kept me leaning forward in anticipation of the next surprise. Love that this collection uses actors of all ages.
We all ADORE a good, “benign” (aka cosy) murder mystery in our household and Lermond does not disappoint! What a fun blend of characters, settings and set ups–Christiesque Village who dunnits, slow reveals, radio shows… You’ll go MAD for her collection of seven delightful and surprising mini-mysteries.
We all ADORE a good, “benign” (aka cosy) murder mystery in our household and Lermond does not disappoint! What a fun blend of characters, settings and set ups–Christiesque Village who dunnits, slow reveals, radio shows… You’ll go MAD for her collection of seven delightful and surprising mini-mysteries.
Review Mad for Mystery.