“Changes”

Grover, Jim (British playwright, college lecturer, actor, 1948-____), “Changes,”

a 25-minute horror fantasy science-fiction in English, set in a laboratory, England, 1999, with recent flashbacks,

2m1f; • © 1999 by Jim Grover; • in Jim Grover's Changes (London: The Author, 1999); • script/rights available from Jim Grover, 8 Charlton King's Road, London NW5 2SA, England, telephone (home) 0171 482 1063, e-mail jim@nakedtheatre.co.uk, www.nakedtheatre.co.uk. • Cited by Jim Grover, via ftp September 15, 1999; Grover says,

§ Dramatis Personae Julia Levi (f), 25, research scientist; Max Ovid (m), 55, elder, a research scientist; Max Ovid (m), 22, junior, an experiment.

§ Synopsis “Julia, a research scientist, has killed someone whose body she is enclosing in a body bag. A voice sounds—that of Max Ovid journeying from life to death. As Julia reflects upon how she came to murder, Max replays in her memory. The elder Max Ovid’s fatal illness has been the driving force behind an experiment. Her relationship with her scientific mentor emerges through her taped account of the decomposition of the body. A lesson to the ‘apprentice’ replays; the lesson recounts the experiment to restore life to a dead rat by transplanting moth genes. Julia gradually accepts the elder Max Ovid’s obsession in a bid to ‘recreate’ him, interleaved with the gradual ‘restoration’ of the body in the bag and a reverse of the previous ‘dying thoughts. Max Ovid wakes young, causing Julia to doubt her own eyes and sanity. She questions the youth and finds all his faculties and memories intact and the urge to make love dominant. Next morning, Max is nowhere to be seen. The body is decomposing again; the moth genes have mated. Julia appears in court/ jail, replaying the memory/tapes.

§ Comment “Continuous playing, with flashback suggested and intercut or interleaved on other area of the stage. Requirements are a tape recorder, a large table, a rat cage and a chair. • Premiered at the Etcetera Theatre, London, March, 1998. Director, Marten Laurens; Julia, Jacqueline Howard; Max, Bernard Lawrence; Max (The Experiment), Sean Kemp; Lighting and Sound, Dominic Burnham.”

§ Themes Frankenstein, genetic engineering, horror, memory, mentor, murder, passion, resurrection, scientific experiment, time.
 
 

Jim Grover on London bus

See also Jim Grover’s

• “Angel Hair,” a 15-minute horror drama in English, set in a small English theatre, during a performance, 1999, 2m1f
• “Pictures in Babcia’s Head,” a 40-minute reminiscence in English, set on a split stage (1) interior, domestic kitchen and (2) space, representing England, Poland, Lebanon, showing three generations of history seen from Wanda’s birthday, 1999, 2f

This Website continues under construction and welcomes new citations and comments.

Page mounted November 27, 1999, and updated October 12, 2004, by the site Webmaster.

There is a there there with a correct click.

Quick Connections to Major Sections of This Guide

Preliminaries
| Home Page | Contents | Acknowledgments |
| Foreword | Preface | Introduction |

Body
| Author Index | Cast Size/Gender Index | Title Index | Glossary of Genres | Bibliography for Playwrights | Playbills by Themes |
| Eighty Script Analyses (in Print Volume) | Source Directory for Scripts |

Sundries
| Visits Counter | Success Stories |
| Form for Submitting New Citation | Ordering 1/2/3/4 for the Show |
| Present Web Links | Adding Web Links |
| Guest Book | Disclaimer | General Bibliography |
| About the Author |

Quick Connections to Cast Size/Gender Menus

1 Actor
| One-Male Plays | One-Female Plays |

2 Actors
| One-Male-One-Female Plays | Two-Male Plays | Two-Female Plays |

3 Actors
| One-Male-Two-Female Plays | Two-Male-One-Female Plays | Three-Male Plays |
| Three-Female Plays |

4 Actors
| One-Male-Three-Female Plays | Two-Male-Two-Female Plays |
| Three-Male-One-Female Plays | Four-Male Plays | Four-Female Plays |

Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online

complements

the more-extensive print volumes

1/2/3/4 for the Show: A Guide to Small-Cast One-Act Plays

Vols. 1 and 2