One-act play

A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions. One act plays make up the overwhelming majority of Fringe Festival shows including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of recorded Western drama: in ancient Greece, Cyclops, a satyr play by Euripides, is an early example. The satyr play was a farcical short work that came after a trilogy of multi-act serious drama plays. A few notable examples of one act plays emerged before the 19th century including various versions of the Everyman play and works by Moliere and Calderon.^[1] One act plays became more common in the 19th century and are now a standard part of repertory theatre and fringe festivals.

One act plays were very popular in the 20th century and it is regarded by many to be a modern product.

• Euripides – Cyclops
• Moliere – The Flying Doctor (1659)
• Edward Albee – The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002)
• Samuel Beckett – Krapp's Last Tape (1958)
• Anton Chekhov – A Marriage Proposal (1890)
• Joseph Heller – Clevinger's Trial (1973)
• Israel Horovitz – Line (1974)
• Eugène Ionesco – The Bald Soprano (1950)
• Arthur Miller – A Memory of Two Mondays (1955)
• August Strindberg – Pariah (1889)
• Thornton Wilder – The Long Christmas Dinner (1931)
• Cormac McCarthy – The Sunset Limited (2006)
• Jean-Paul Sartre - No Exit (1944)
• Athol Fugard - "Master Harold"...and the Boys (1982)
• Yasmina Reza - Art (1994)
• Oscar Wilde - ‘’Salome’’ (1891 [French] 1894 [English])

• List of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams
• Monodrama

• Murray, Stephen. Taking Our Amusements Seriously. LAP, 2010. ISBN 978-3-8383-7608-0.

• One Act Play Depot

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