the great divorce
Anthony Lawton has adapted C.S. Lewis' novella, The Great Divorce, into an 80-minute, solo performance.
The play is the story of Clive, who, along with a motley crew of malcontents, takes a bus ride from hell to heaven. They are offered a chance to stay in heaven forever if they like, but the choice between joy and miserable loneliness proves to be much harder than they would have guessed. The piece is a feast of rich language, profound psychological insight, and humor.
Lawton performs the play solo, portraying more than a dozen characters. This is the simplest and most portable of the Mirror's offerings, which is probably why it is the cheapest and most popular! Lawton can perform the play with as little as one day's notice, in spaces as varied as a theatre, gymnasium, meeting room, or living room! All we require from you is a stool, about 3-4 feet high, preferably wood, with no backrest.
PRICES AND TERMS:
Fee: $2,000 (or $2,500 for Special Performance, see below)
Additional Performances: $500 each
Expenses: Travel and Lodging
Royalties: If you charge admission, you are required to pay the C.S. Lewis estate a royalty equal to 3% of your gross box office receipts, and another 3% of the receipts to me as adaptor. If you do not charge admission for the event, you are not required to pay a royalty.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
The ordinary production of THE GREAT DIVORCE runs 75 minutes, and is (we think) the theatrically superior version of the show. Lawton also presents a 90-minute version of the show for an extra $200. This version contains supplementary material which (we think) lengthens the show in a way that tests the patience of a non-Lewis fan, but the option is there for you Lewis die-hards.
The 75-minute version contains these segments: The Big Man ("I came here to ask for my rights"), The Ambitious Wife ("I forgive him as a Christian"), The Cynic ("I never saw one of these bright mornings that didn't turn to rain later on"), George MacDonald, and The Lizard.
The 90-minute version contains all those segments, plus: The Bishop ("When the doctrine of the Resurrection ceased to commend itself to the faculties God had given me. . .") and The Artist ("Do you mean those damned Neo-Regionalists have won after all?").
the screwtape letters
Lawton has adapted C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters into a 90-minute, two-person play.
The show features Screwtape, an undersecretary in Hell's sprawling bureaucracy. He dictates letters to his demon nephew, Wormwood, who has been assigned the task of tempting a single, earthly soul to damnation. Screwtape offers diabolical advice on the best ways to lead a mortal into self-delusion, surrender, pettiness, vice, and despair. The language crackles with satirical wit and penetrating insight on the psychology of human failure and unhappiness.
Punctuating the play are dances between each letter, in styles as varied as tap, Latin ballroom, jazz, martial arts, and rock, and which feature extras like bullwhips and fire-eating. Screwtape performs these dances with his sinuous secretary, Toadpipe.
PRICES AND TERMS:
The play needs to be performed in a professional theatre with a lighting grid and sound system. Client must also provide the following items:
Computer projector and screen
Office desk and rolling chair
The Mirror needs at least one month's notice to prepare for a performance. The fee for The Screwtape Letters is necessarily higher than for the Mirror's other plays, because it involves two actors, a stage manager, a set, a computer projector, and at least a day's worth of technical rehearsal prior to performance.
Fee: $5,000
Additional Performances: $1,000 each
Expenses: Travel and lodging for 2 actors, plus 1 stage manager
Royalties: If you charge admission, you are required to pay the C.S. Lewis estate a royalty equal to 3% of your gross box office receipts, and another 3% of the receipts to me as adaptor. If you do not charge admission for the event, you are not required to pay a royalty.
the devil and billy markham
The Devil and Billy Markham is a 90-minute solo play written by Shel Silverstein, author of such beloved works as The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends.
The play consists of six tall-tales about Billy -- a songwriter, good-ol'-boy, and ne'er-do-well -- and his misadventures with the Devil. The text is entirely written in rhymed couplets, punctuated here and there with song. The tone of the play is raucous and raunchy, full of bumptious humor alternating with thrills of spiritual dread and pathos.
Prospective clients should be warned that this play is not Silverstein's typical family fare. While the Mirror believes that the the themes of the play are sacrifice and redemption, it is also unapologetically and joyously profane. Parental guidance is advised for audience members under the age of 17.
FEES AND TERMS:
As with The Great Divorce, The Devil and Billy Markham can be performed in any space from a theatre to a living room. No special lighting, space, or sound considerations are required. The play can be performed with as little as one day's notice.
Fee: $2,000
Additional Performances: $500 each
Expenses: Travel and Lodging
Royalties: Royalties are due to the estate of Shel Silverstein, and the Mirror will negotiate those with his executor and you, the client. Safe to estimate about 6% of gross box office receipts, or (if no admission is charged) 10% of the Mirror's fee (or $200).
heresy
In 2009, Lawton first performed this autobiographical play. It is the story of his spiritual life.
The audience comes along with Lawton for the story of his childhood, spiritual formation, his choice of vocation, his two failed marriages, a profound crisis of faith, and a new understanding of Christ and Christianity. Much of the story is funny, but much of it concerns serious themes of morality, orthodoxy and fundamentalism, and spiritual life. This is a play for audiences willing to take a serious, questioning look at religion.
The play contains profanity, frank discussion of sex, and ideas that some may consider to be blasphemous. Children under 17 not admitted.
FEES AND TERMS:
Heresy should be performed in a theatrical space where a complete blackout is possible, and where it is possible to mount a computer projector and screen. A few hours' technical rehearsal with an experienced stage manager would be good. If no such facilities are available, the play can be adapted to virtually any space.
Client must provide computer projector and screen.
Fee: $2,000
Additional Performances: $500 each
Expenses: Travel and lodging for one actor
Royalties: If you charge admission to the event, royalty = 6% of gross box office receipts. If you do not charge admission, no royalty required.