Publisher's Synopsis
The Muse Sneezes and Other Plays is a collection of five, upbeat, offbeat, funny plays that use mime, dialogue, slapstick and repartee to take a fresh look at old problems. Three of them are unusual in combining speaking and non-speaking roles of equal importance to mimic the difficulty of communication. In 'The Muse Sneezes', procrastination is the subject - specifically the problem of writer's block. In 'Tig', a fifteen year old fights through the difficulties of a severe adolescent crisis with the help of Domo and the family dog to some kind of accommodation with the demands of a society about which he has serious doubts. In 'The All Purpose Monster', the monster (here the black dog of depression), hovers over Cro and saps his vitality. 'Pinch in Love' explores the dynamics of sibling rivalry and considers how to handle the arrival of a very unwelcome newcomer to the family. In 'Presto and Clown', Presto, a third-rate magician with big dreams and a very colourful clown resolve a conflict that centres on Presto's painful lack of self-confidence. The plays document an internal monologue about ongoing obsessions, using characters that are often neither age or gender or culture specific. The plays have been performed in Fringe venues in Berne, Amsterdam, London and Oxford, at colleges in Switzerland and England, and translated into French, in Lausanne and Fribourg. The Muse Sneezes and Other Plays will appeal to fans of theatre and plays. Author Caroline has been inspired by her favourite play, Antigone, and the work of Beckett, Pinter and Ionesco.