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 theatre shows including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
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.Francis M. Dunn. Tragedy's End: Closure and Innovation in Euripidean Drama. Oxford University Press (1996). 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.
One-act plays by major dramatists 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])
See also List of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams Monodrama
References
Sources Murray, Stephen. Taking Our Amusements Seriously. LAP, 2010. .
External links One Act Play Depot