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Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  6w, 4m

Prepare To Meet Thy Tomb follows Tomb With A View and Tiptoe Through the Tombstones to complete the trilogy of plays from Norman Robbins about the family that play together and slay together: the murderous Tombs. As night falls and fog descends on Monument House Hotel …

Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    6w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences

Details

Summary

Prepare To Meet Thy Tomb follows Tomb With A View and Tiptoe Through the Tombstones to complete the trilogy of plays from Norman Robbins about the family that play together and slay together: the murderous Tombs.

As night falls and fog descends on Monument House Hotel and Alternative Health Spa, Hecuba Tomb and her niece Drusilla receive a series of unexpected visitors. Novelist Philippa and her assistant Daphne are seeking refuge from a mysterious follower they fear may be the notorious "Norfolk Strangler". Hot on their heels come TV historian Quentin Danesworth and vacuous honeymooners Robert and Miranda. The uninvited guests are soon snooping around the secret passages of the creepy old mansion and asking too many questions for comfort. Sure enough, one by one they fall victim to violent deaths by devious techniques — no secret panel is unoccupied, no cup of tea untouched, and nobody is who they appear to be. This irresistible combination of spoof and baffling murder mystery, over-the-top characters and shocking plot twists will thrill and delight in equal measure.

History

First productions in 2010

As of 2016 over 30 productions nationally

Cast Attributes

DRUSILLA TOMB - 19
HECUBA TOMB - her aunt; 60s
SIR BEVERLEY COMSTOCK - 60s
PHILLIPA COLLINS - 40s
DAPHNE SUMMERS - late 50s
ANTHONY STRICKLAND - late 20s
QUENTIN DANESWORTH - effeminate; late 60s
ROBERT SANDBROOKE - late 30s
MIRANDA TORRENCE - early 40s
CECILY VENNER - late 30s

The more skilled the performers and director the more the watchers will enjoy themselves.  Characters are pure stock, giving performers wonderful opportunities for truly bizarre characterization, whilst laughter and chills are in equal amounts.  Forget political correctness.  Here is a family that play together and slay together.

  • Time Period Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

"This is the sort of thing that Norman Robbins does best: eccentric characters;secret panels;plot twists taht are every bit as shocking, and frequent, as the violent deaths suffered by the cast list; and a gloriously funny sense of the macabre throughout" - Amateur Stage September 2010

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Norman Robbins

Norman Robbins, one of Amateur Theatre's most popular authors, wrote his first stage show almost 60 years ago whilst working for the Yorkshire Evening Post. An avid theatregoer from the age of three (his grandparents ran the pub near the local theatre so free tickets were al ...

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