This is a series of A4 photocopiable books which shows teachers, through clearly structured and progressive lesson plans, how to prepare, rehearse, direct and perform short plays with their class or year group. Each book contains one fully photocopiable playscript, usually just one Act (length 45 minutes max.). Cast sizes vary between 18 and 40 and the range includes comedies, soap operas and dramas, fairy stories etc., using a range of drama forms. Some are based on short stories, poems or full-length plays. All have a moral or message, and all have been developed by the writer with children in a workshop context. The range is ability graded into four levels: 5-7, 7-9, 8-10, and 9-11 year olds. THREE MURDERS, A SUICIDE AND A NEAR MISS is a comedy based on Shakespeare's Othello. It transforms the tragedy into a farcical melodrama but retains all essential elements of the original text. It gives children opportunities to explore physical comedy and clowning.