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Wood, Nick Francis (British playwright, writer, teacher, 1949-____), “The Graceland Experience,”

a 40-minute comedy in English, set in the lounge of an old peoples’ home, July, 1999,

1m1f;

  •  © 1999 by Nick Wood;  •  script/rights available from Nick Wood, 1, Dagmar Grove, Alexandra Park, Nottingham, NG3 4JE, England, e-mail nick.wood@breathemail.net, telephone (home) 0115 9857569.  •  Cited by Nick Wood, via ftp August 9, 1999; Wood says,

  § Dramatis Personae Vernon (m), 35, formerly an Elvis impersonator, now a retirement home operator; Josie (f), 30, widow, a retirement home operator.

  § Synopsis “Josie and Vernon have just returned to England from a trip to Graceland, where they hoped to scatter her late husband Frank’s ashes. Vernon, formerly an Elvis impersonator, now helps run a retirement home, set up with insurance money from Josie’s late husband. Josie has promised the residents a slide show of the trip to Graceland, but Vernon has accidentally destroyed the pictures. So, she tells them they will see a reenactment of the journey. Vernon reluctantly joins in. As they recreate their bizarre holiday, Vernon reveals knowing more about Frank’s death than Josie has imagined. In a musical climax, he dons his Elvis suit for the last time and tells Josie what he knows. Approaching police sirens signal Josie’s impending arrest for the murder of  her husband.

  § Comment “First performed at the Birdwell Theatre, London, July, 1999.”

  § Themes bizarre, black comedy, Elvis (Elvis Aron Presley, American singer, actor, 1935-1977), Graceland (the home of Elvis Presley, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.), surreal.

See also Nick Wood’s:

• “Female 29, G.S.O.H.,” a 40-minute comedy in English, set in one setting that can change with minimal fuss from a wine bar to a flat etc., the present, 1m1f
• “Suspicious Minds,” a 40-minute comedy in English, set in an empty office, July, 1999, 2m1f

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Page mounted September 4, 1999, by the site Webmaster.