Monologues

Still – Jane Bodie

Character: name, age and gender unspecified

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: Monologue 2 – Fresh

Monologue context: In the midst of a supermarket, the character encounters their ex with their new partner. Behind a pile of grapefruit, the character observes the intimacy of this new relationship unfold.

Scenes from the Climate Era – David Finnigan

Character: gender and age unspecified

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: Evac Bingo (p.48-53)

Monologue context: There are four interwoven monologues, the following two are recommended:

• A – In the middle of a heatwave, the power cuts out. A parent undertakes the perilous journey to a public cooling centre with their two young children
• B – In the midst of a Category 4 storm, a young person tries to convince their mother to go to an evacuation shelter. The eye of the storm passes overhead

Love Me Tender – Tom Holloway

Character: age and gender unspecified

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: ‘It’s night’ to ‘Who knows?’ (p.69-71)

Monologue context: During the frenzy of an evacuation in a bushfire, a police officer stops on a busy road and encounters an injured deer. The police officer shoots the animal – or is it a teenage girl?

That’s One Damn Sexy Ape – Gavin Roach

Character: Zoo employee, gender and age unspecified

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘I grabbed the wrong gun’ to ‘Wow, I almost shot a kid today’ (p.21-23)

Monologue context: A zoo employee recounts a harrowing experience where they had to decide between shooting an endangered silverback gorilla and a child.

Watermark – Alana Valentine

Character: Narrator

Estimated length: 6+ minutes

Excerpt: There are several lyrical monologues from the Narrator throughout the play – Scenes 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 26

Monologue context: The narrator describes and embodies the visceral experiences of a flood in a small town.

Things I Know To Be True – Andrew Bovell

Character: Rosie, 19 years old 

Estimated length: 8-9 minutes 

Excerpt: ‘Berlin. A winter coat’ to ‘And I know that I have to go home’ (p.3-5) 

Monologue context: Eliza is backpacking around Europe when she meets someone who makes her feel like she is really alive.  

Things I Know To Be True – Andrew Bovell 

Character: Rosie, 19 years old 

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes 

Excerpt: ‘Her shift finished at three a.m.’ to ‘It goes on’ (p.66-68) 

Monologue context: Rosie is driving on a highway when she finds out her mother has died in a car crash.  

He Dreamed a Train – Margi Brown Ash (in The Belonging Trilogy)

Character: Woman 

Estimated length: 3-4 minutes (there are also many other monologues in the play) 

Excerpt: ‘But on a good day’ to ‘I’m tired of caring’ (p.119-120) 

Monologue context: A woman and her brother try to manage the decline of his neurological condition with humour.  

They Saw a Thylacine – Justine Campbell & Sarah Hamilton  

Character: Alison, a zookeeper 

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes 

Excerpt: The Storm – Part One (p.38-39); The Storm – Part Two (p.41-45) 

Monologue context: In Tasmania in the 1930s, Alison is struggling to keep the last known Tasmanian Tiger alive. She wakes in the middle of the night to the Tiger’s cries and struggles through heavy rain, falling branches, and a locked gate to try and save the creature.  

Slap. Bang. Kiss. – Dan Giovannoni

Character: Immi

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Five to six and you can feel it’ to ‘slap, slap, slap’ (p.2-4)

Monologue context: Rushing home before curfew in a community controlled by ‘peacekeepers’, Immi’s rage grows until she confronts a peacekeeper. 

Beyond the Neck – Tom Holloway 

Character: A girl, 17 years old

Estimated length: 6+ minutes

Excerpt: The text spoken by the girl (number 2) in unbolded font throughout the play can form a compelling extended monologue.

Monologue context: Struggling with the grief of losing her father, a teenage girl is influenced by online conspiracy theories. Her mother takes her to Port Arthur, Tasmania, the site of her father’s death.

The Black Sequin Dress – Jenny Kemp

Character: Woman in Black Sequin Dress 1

Estimated length: 3-4 minutes (there are many evocative monologues throughout the play)

Excerpt: ‘I see a beautiful nightclub’ to ‘And down we go’ (p.7-8)

Monologue context: A woman arrives at a nightclub, a mythic underworld space, and encounters a surreal meeting of bodies and minds.

You and Me and the Space Between – Finegan Kruckemeyer 

Character: Eve

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: Scenes 8 & 9 (p.18-20)

Monologue context: Eve belongs to The Island of the Proud Circle, a group of people forced to leave their home. Eve grapples with a profound sense of loss, even as she learns to adapt to the life, language, and people of her new home.

Prima Facie – Suzie Miller

Character: Tessa, age 30s, a criminal defence barrister

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: Scene 1 – Thoroughbreds (p.1-12)

Monologue context: A skilled and confident lawyer, Tessa cross-examines a witness.

Prima Facie – Suzie Miller 

Character: Tessa, age 30s, a criminal defence barrister

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: Scene 17 – Voir Dire aka Finding One’s Voice (p.89-95)

Monologue context: While testifying, Tessa ‘finds her voice’ (also known as a voir dire), where the jury is sent out of the courtroom temporarily. Tessa connects her experience of sexual assault with the experiences of all women.

Jasper Jones – Kate Mulvany

Character: Eliza, 14 years old

Estimated length: 6-7 minutes

Excerpt: ‘This is where Laura died’ to ‘You knew where she was all this time and didn’t tell me?’ (p.69-73)

Monologue context: Talking to her friend Charlie, Eliza reveals what she knows about the death of her sister.

The Seed – Kate Mulvany

Character: Rose, 30, embodies a memory from her childhood

Estimated length: 5-6 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Out this far’ to ‘in the middle of a massive black ocean’ (p.52-53); ‘As we head back to shore’ to ‘Because it just makes us hold on tighter’ (p.61-62)

Monologue context: Rose sees a different side of her father when they bury a neighbour’s dog at sea.

The Lies We Were Told – Shopfront Arts Co-Op

Character: Megan

Estimated length: 2-3 minutes (the script contains several short monologues)

Excerpt: ‘On my very first day of high school’ to ‘who I could become’ (p.11)

Monologue context: Megan describes how it was important that her father lied to her about what school would be like.

Julia – Joanna Murray-Smith

Character: Julia Gillard

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: ‘And just like that. I am PM’ to ‘And delete the voyage from memory’ (p.12-16)

Monologue context: It’s Julia Gillard’s first night as Prime Minister of Australia and she can’t sleep. Julia reflects on how her life has led her to this moment and re-imagines herself as Lady Macbeth.

Lemon Tree on Dreg Street – Amy May Nunn

Character: Twiglet, early twenties

Estimated length: 2-3 minutes

Excerpt: ‘The dawn is almost dressed’ to ‘so this is it…’ (p.3-4)

Monologue context: It’s first light at a ramshackle house on the outskirts of a city, in a heightened and poetic world. Twiglet gives her morning address, “an ode to the beginning of things”.

Letters to Lindy – Alana Valentine

Character: Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton

Estimated length: 6-7 minutes

Excerpt: ‘So let’s start at the beginning then’ to ‘And that’s where it begins’ (p.5-6); ‘The night before’ to ‘let’s talk again afterwards’ (p.11-12); ‘Nineteen days after I went to jail’ to ‘Mummy’s coming home’ (p.20)

Monologue context: These excerpts span Lindy Chamberlain’s reflections on how she could have performed different emotional responses to the loss of her child, her experience of evil, and giving birth while in prison.

Watermark – Alana Valentine

Character: Gia

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: Scene 24 (p.53-54)

Monologue context: Gia lost everything in the flood but the insurance company won’t pay out. With a wry sense of humour, she shares a ‘fantasy’ about the ‘city fella’ insurance guy experiencing a natural disaster of his own.

Kingswood Kids – Angela Betzien 

Character: Kyle, 11 years old 

Estimated length: 3-4 minutes 

Excerpt: ‘Dear Journal’ to ‘stickin the knife inta me stumuk’ (p.20) 

Monologue context: It’s Friday, Kyle’s favourite day of the week – but Kyle’s violent father shows up for the KFC family dinner. 

Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? – Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas and Irine Vela 

Character: Leon 

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes 

Excerpt: Dream-town – Leon monologue (p.40-41) 

Monologue context: Leon reflects on how a hand injury precipitated a downward spiral in his personal relationships and work life, leading to a fleeting brush with fame on news media. 

Saving Henry – Angus Cerini

Character: Henry, a boy

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes (the play is an extended lyrical monologue)

Excerpt: ‘An icy breeze perks up’ to ‘leaves out the side door’ (p.20-22)

Monologue context: Henry watches a confrontation unfold between his mother and grandfather, with dire consequences.

The Call – Patricia Cornelius

Character: Gary, 20s, works in an abattoir

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘I didn’t know it would feel like this’ to ‘if I needed to’ (p.26); ‘The Taklimakan Desert’ to ‘Its mysteriousness’ (p.44-45); ‘If I think of what I was like’ to ‘He’ll keep me strong, I reckon’ (p.46)

Monologue context: These excerpts chart Gary’s dreams of a new life (‘the call’ referred to in the play’s title) as he converts to Islam and seeks new experiences overseas.

Lady Tabouli – James Elazzi

Character: Danny

Estimated length: 2-3 minutes

Excerpt: ‘A year ago’ to ‘This is your problem not mine’ (p.65-66)

Monologue context: Talking to his uncle, Danny describes the tension of hiding his sexuality from his family and Lebanese community.

Europe – Michael Gow

Character: Douglas

Estimated length: 3-4 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Better things to do here’ to ‘so you can go on thinking you’re the best’ (p.29-30)

Monologue context: Douglas, a young Australian man, talks bitterly of the cultural cringe Australians feel towards Europe.

Toy Symphony – Michael Gow

Character: Roland

Estimated length: 7-8 minutes

Excerpt: ‘No Jake, I didn’t go on at them’ to ‘Goodnight’ (p.42-44)

Monologue context: Roland is a writer with writer’s block. He tells his friend Jake about delivering the eulogy at his mother’s recent funeral, where he expounded on multiple universe theory to the entire congregation.

As We Forgive – Tom Holloway

Character: Him

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes (the play is written for one performer)

Excerpt: ‘I… I guess I should just show you’ to ‘staring at me’ (p.22-24)

Monologue context: A man wakes up mysteriously soaked in blood that seems to be coming out of his pores. He ends up in hospital, surrounded by baffled doctors and nurses.

Rhomboid – Eric Jiang

Character: Xavier, twenties, described as “outspoken, erratic, east asian, well-meaning, disorganised”

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘RHOMBOID’ to ‘Or that not saying it was the reason you… left’ (p.77-78)

Monologue context: Xavier arrives at his friend Sebastian’s place to share his true feelings with him.

Relative Merits – Barry Lowe

Character: Clay, late teens/early twenties, country born and bred

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Since I was 12 years old’ to ‘I just want to get to know him a bit better before…’ (p.21-22)

Monologue context: Clay’s older brother Adam is living with AIDS. At Adam’s hospital bedside, Clay speaks of a gay hate crime committed by himself and his friends, and his subsequent guilt.

Lose to Win – Mandela Mathia

Character: This one-person show is a personal account of Mandela Mathia’s journey as a refugee from South Sudan to Egypt to Australia. Special care should be taken with casting.

Estimated length: 10 minutes

Excerpt: 16. Soccer (p.24-27)

Monologue context: Mandela’s childhood passion for soccer wanes when he encounters racist attitudes in Australia.

Jailbaby – Suzie Miller

Character: gender and age unspecified. In the premiere production, AJ was played by a young male-identifying actor

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Big cop arrives’ to ‘Where are you taking me?’ (p.30-34)

Monologue context: In court, AJ listens as their soccer coach gives a character reference, before hearing the verdict from the judge.

Jailbaby – Suzie Miller 

Character: gender and age unspecified. In the premiere production, the roles of AJ and Sam were both played by a young male-identifying actor

Estimated length: 7-8 minutes

Excerpt: Scene 28 (p.84-91)

Monologue context: The playwright suggests that AJ and Sam be played by the same actor for symbolic purposes. This is a scene including both AJ and Sam. They meet outside a nightclub, and both of their lives are irrevocably changed.

Colder – Lachlan Philpott

Character: David, 33, speaking from the perspective of his younger self

Estimated length: 6-8 minutes

Excerpt: ‘I see a boy’ to ‘never leave my mother’s side at all’ (p.133-137)

Monologue context: David is haunted by a man and a boy who follow him, but who his mother can’t see.

The Spook – Melissa Reeves

Character: Martin, 19 years old

Estimated length: 9-10 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Testing. Testing’ to ‘I was wondering if I get that back at all?’ (p.1-4)

Monologue context: It’s 1965 and Martin is an ASIO spy embedded in Bendigo. He files his first, meticulously detailed, report about a party he has just attended.

Night Letters – Susan Rogers and Chris Drummond

Character: Robert, an Australian author, recently diagnosed with HIV

Estimated length: 3-4 minutes (these excerpts could be combined with other short monologues throughout the play)

Excerpt: ‘I’ve cancelled the cooking course’ to ‘Because now I know I can’t have it’ (p.25); ‘I need a cigarette!’ to ‘I have to get away’ (p.49-50)

Monologue context: Robert is talking to his partner Peter, grappling with his HIV diagnosis and a desire to leave Australia.

Kayak – Katherine Thomson

Character: Luke, 15 years old

Estimated length: 4-5 minutes

Excerpt: ‘Who’d a thought you could just hire a boat’ to ‘it is the best day of your life’ (p.8-11)

Monologue context: Luke is enjoying a fishing trip in a hired boat with a friend. When they see a woman in a kayak, they decide to disturb her calm solitude.