A Select Few
Author
J Boyer
J Boyer teaches in the Creative Writing Program of Arizona State University.
Synopsis
A three-act play, A Select Few is an exploration of marriage and betrayal at midlife. Set in the countryside of England, the play is a dinner party. Its hosts are Bertrand and his wife May. Bertrand is a senior faculty member at a public school, one, alas, much like Bertrand himself, a good cut or two below the best England has to offer, and this is true once again of their guests.
Their guests are the school's headmaster, an older man on the eve of retirement; Melissa Pritchard, younger than the others by half of their lives and the faculty's latest addition; and two other senior faculty members and their wives, the Peckwaters and the Barton Brandons. Bertrand is in contention for the headmaster's position, a matter to be decided by a board of directors before the evening is out.
At curtain's rise, the party is over. Bertrand confesses to May that he has been having an affair with one of their guests. In the second act we move to the dessert course to witness what has prompted this confession. And in the third act, during the main course, we see the bonds that have held May and Bertrand together, as well as the tensions that have kept them at odds. View extract.
Cast
7 (1 woman 20s, 2 women 40s/50s, 3 men 40s, 1 man 50s/60s)
Duration
105 minutes
Contact
J Boyer
Creative Writing Program
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287-0302
USA