A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

East of Ludgate Hill

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  5w, 7m

Domains

Three act comedy in which the employees of a successful firm have their futures thrown into question after one of the partners is accused of disappearing with £20,000 from the company safe.

East of Ludgate Hill

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 7m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences

Details

Summary
An exciting day in the office of McIntyre and Bland. At 9 a.m. all seems normal as the office staff arrive for their day’s work. The cleaner finishes her cleaning; the junior girl Minnie and her sweetheart Bobbie Druce from another office in the building plan their future; Ely, a clerk, returns from his holidays; and the managing clerk is making arrangements to send his son to a public school. The first sign of trouble is when Mrs Bland, the wife of one of the partners, calls to find out why her husband has not been home all night. The other partner, Mr McIntyre, discovers that the safe is unlocked and bonds worth £20,000 are missing. He jumps to the conclusion that Bland has absconded with the money and calls the police. He tells the staff that it will result in the firm going bankrupt and they will all lose their jobs. Gloom pervades the office and as they see their plans and lives falling to pieces. Later in the afternoon, however, the missing partner turns up and explains he has been ill in a hotel after a hectic night out, and that the missing bonds are in the bank where he deposited them on the previous afternoon, being unable to lock the safe. 
Cast Attributes
Performing Groups

Males: 2 young, 3 middle-aged, 1 middle-aged to elderly, 1 boy. 
Females: 2 young, 1 young to middle-aged, 1 middle-aged, 1 middle-aged to elderly. 

  • Time Period 1950s
  • Setting A suite of offices.

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Arnold Ridley

ARNOLD RIDLEY, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984)

Born in Bath – and always a proud West Countryman – Arnold Ridley is best known today for playing the part of Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army. This came at the end of a long and varied career in the theatre. He was a prol ...

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