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A Lighter Shade of Noir by Patrick Derksen play script cover

A Lighter Shade of Noir

by Patrick Derksen Canadian Author

Trent Trowel is your typical gumshoe. Searching the mean streets for crimes to solve and dames to fall for. He joins some of the world’s most famous detectives at the International PD gala. There’s Shirley Holmes, Jean Louie Phillip Eustache… and Aunt Beatrice. But is this just an innocent gala? Will the world’s most dastardly villains foil them with a fiendish master plan? Will Aunt Beatrice ever get an English muffin? Everything is not what it seems.

A fabulously funny and high styling take on film noir - it’s a lighter shade of noir after all!

Comedy

Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 75 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
25 Characters
4 M5 F16 Any Gender
Set
Simple set
Length
62 pages
Production Tips
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Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

25 Characters

4 M, 5 F, 16 Any Gender
TRENT TROWEL [M] 136 lines
A tough, but somewhat incompetent, hard-boiled P.I.
TRACY DYCK [F] 64 lines
A no-nonsense police detective who loathes private inspectors
SHIRLEY HOLMES [F] 96 lines
A confident and intelligent British detective
JEAN-LOUIS-PHILIPPE EUSTACHE [A] 77 lines
A refined inspector from France
MS. BEATRICE [A] 61 lines
An elderly lady who knows it all
DR. WATSON [M] 55 lines
Holmes’ long-suffering assistant
MISS FLANNIGAN [F] 31 lines
Trowel’s long-suffering secretary
MONSIEUR SILENCIEUX [A] 0 lines
Eustache’s long-suffering butler
JANE [A] 34 lines
Ms. Beatrice’s long-suffering niece
SERGEANT MALONEY [A] 23 lines
Dyck’s long-suffering subordinate
BIG BILL [M] 12 lines
A shadowy crime boss
TONY [A] 7 lines
A tight lipped-henchman who gives away more than he thinks
VINNY [A] 7 lines
Big Bill’s henchmen
CANDY [A] 6 lines
A good-for-nothing floozy
MARIO [A] 7 lines
Another criminal thug
MAUREEN ARTEE [F] 18 lines
A cunning villain
LE CAMBRIOLEUR [A] 7 lines
An infamous cat burglar
ETHEL [A] 5 lines
Ms. Beatrice’s good-for-nothing neighbor
MR. SMITH [M] 38 lines
A hapless postman
CLARICE LATRICHE [F] 48 lines
A femme-fatale with mysterious motives
MAYOR DEFEHR [A] 48 lines
A boisterous and personable politician
MRS. BENEDICT [A] 30 lines
A wealthy socialite and hotel owner
BEVERLY STEWART [A] 6 lines
A very famous singer
JANITOR 1 [A] 12 lines
A grumpy hotel-worker
JANITOR 2 [A] 12 lines
A jaded hotel-worker

Praise for A Lighter Shade of Noir

5 out of 5 stars
Mary Gray
Stamford Collegiate
Great script! The students really enjoyed playing these roles, and the production was a big hit with both staff and administration.
5 out of 5 stars
Gisa Bevacqua-Tirone
The Country Day School
The grade 7 to 9 students had a blast with this show. They loved the characters and the style of the production. We were always laughing in rehearsal and they got such positive feedback after performing. It was a great success.
5 out of 5 stars
Philippe McMurdo
Oxford Area School - Te Kura o te Poho Rakahua
We absolutely loved it as a school and as a community. The students worked super hard on developing their characters and the feedback from everyone who saw it was incredible.

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