HELLISH DELIGHTS
by Scott C. Sickles
A bride visits her groom in prison… still in her wedding dress! Two women bury the body of their blackmailer. A composer returns home after an accident has taken away their talent and passion. Lucrezia Borgia, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Devil rehearse a Nativity play in Purgatory.
Four visions of Hell: romantic, gothic, artistic, and theatrical.
In four short plays that can be performed as an evening or individually:
BULLETPROOF LOVE (1F/1M)
THE FALLOW GARDEN (2F)
O, FOR A MUSE OF FIRE (2A)
SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF BETHLEHEM (2F/1M(or A))
Order Digital Download (Will NOT download to phones, cannot be printed)
A collection of short plays that together give us a vision of what Hell is really like: missed opportunities, lost love, unsatisfying vengeance, and the arrogance of hubris in the hands of frail humanity. Each one of these four plays comes at us from different directions, with different motives and methods, and yet it’s all so clearly done that you find yourself nodding in agreement and wondering where you may fall — so to speak — in these situations. Also, funny as hell. Great work from a master craftsman.
Hellish they may be. But the four plays in this collection–infused with Scott Sickles’s off-kilter wit, sense of Hitchcockian surprise, talent for intriguing characters, and suggestions for creative staging possibilities–are definitely delightful. If you can’t produce these plays–and you should if at all possible–then treat yourself to a copy of your very own and enjoy every page.
That’s the only reason I can figure out why the 4 plays that make up this collection are so damned good. BULLETPROOF LOVE is a flat out brilliant character piece. THE FALLOW GARDEN comes across like some Tales From the Crypt script that escaped and made it’s way into this collection. O, FOR THE MUSE OF FIRE will break your heart and make you lament the loss of ability that comes with, in this case, an accident, but also happens with life and aging in general. Then the puppet show hijinks of SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF BETHLEHEM will have you laughing your ass off. This collection isn’t Hellish. It’s Heavenly!
Review Hellish Delights.