A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Rural Nightmare

Short Play, Drama  /  4w, 3m

Rita and Martin buy an old house in the country and arrive one weekend to find it has been savagely vandalized.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    60 minutes (1 hour)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
A young couple and their two small children move to a rural town to escape the violence and pollution of the city. While working to restore their antique home they hire a neighbor to watch the children. She tells them something's buried beneath the hearth. They unearth a small coffin but, it's empty. One night they hear shuffling and scratching in the attic. The next morning, in a crawl space, they make a frightening discovery. Perhaps their neighbors are more terrifying than their discovery in the attic. The horror of this play is that the Inhabitant is different. He doesn't kill anyone. He doesn't attack anyone. His only crime was being born "different." This spine tingling one-act brings to mind, - "...things that go bump in the night."
History
Rural Nightmare first appeared as a short story in the Boston Globe. The author was comissioned by Baker's Plays to rework the story into a one-act play.
Keywords
MARTIN - the husband, a tweedy type.
RITA - the wife, has or has had a good career. 
LESLEY - Rita's sister, also successful in her career. 
EVE - a real estate agent. 
SHIRLEY - a neighbor, knows all the gossip and know where the skeletons are buried. 
GEORGE - Shirley's husband. 
THE INHABITANT - a shaggy, filthy, dishevelled man.

Two small children are mentioned in the play, but they are never seen. Martin, Rita, and Lesley are all in their early 30s. Eve, Shirley, and George are in their 50s. The Inhabitant can be an adult of any age.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $65 per performance

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Authors

Grace Rudolph

Grace Gannon Rudolph studied theatre and worked in summer stock. She has directed community theatre and cable network productions, founded a radio theatre, and taught courses in playwriting for adults and children. After raising six rowdy, wonderful children she returned to c ...
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