Dead Weight

Full-Length Play

When Julie Peach wins a luxury weekend at an exclusive health spa on a remote island, she jumps at the chance to get away so she can relax, shed a few pounds and tone up. With her best friend, Sandra, in tow, Julie arrives and begins to meet her fellow guests; all wealthy, famous or both. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before a freak accident is reported after a body is discovered on the premises. But when the staff go to send for help, they realise the boats have been destroyed and all forms of communication have been sabotaged. Very soon, another person is found dead and everyone trapped on the island begin to suspect foul play. Worried that a killer is amongst them, Julie and Sandra soon find themselves as reluctant amateur sleuths in a murder mystery adventure.

Character List

Brendan Sudbury (playing age 40s)
Brendan has worked in the hospitality industry all his working life, and worked at the Vital Holistic Health and Wellness Retreat for ten years. He started working there as an assistant manager but was soon promoted to manager after two years in the job. Previous to his employment at the Retreat, Brendan has worked at some of the top hotels in London. He is very efficient at his job and very strict, therefore not very popular amongst his staff. He is camp and his caustic comments can leave a sting. He has accumulated a rather large bank balance through healthy wages and a low-key but lucrative line in blackmail. He is currently living with his toy-boy, Cameron, who is Ronette’s son.

Lydia Walcroft (playing age 40s – 50s)
Lydia has worked at the Retreat since it opened over fifteen years ago. She is efficient and capable but nonchalant and pre-occupied with her appearance. She is beautifully coiffured and made-up and has immaculate dress sense. She is often caught flicking through fashion magazines and painting her nails on reception. She lives alone but has a little dog called Joey (Jojo) who is almost like a surrogate son and she is a little obsessed with him.

Kayleigh Drewitt (playing age 20s – 30s)
Kayleigh is a waitress and kitchen assistant at the Retreat. When she was a teenager, she was moody and melancholic and she has quite grown out of it yet. Brendan has an ongoing battle to improve her surly attitude to her work and the customers, but he does have a soft spot for her and enjoys teasing. She is dating Liam, one of the gardeners at the Retreat, and although is playing it cool and being aloof, she is quite besotted with him. She wears a lot of black, has dyed hair and heavy eye make-up. She likes rock music and heavy metal.

Ronette Webb (playing age 40s – 50s)
Ronette has been the head chef at the Retreat for over five years. She is very good at her job but doesn’t enjoy preparing ‘healthy dishes’ and openly admits she wouldn’t touch any of ‘this rabbit-food’ herself. Ronette enjoys a good steak, half a bottle of red wine and a cigarette afterwards. She has two grown up sons, Cameron and Nathan. Cameron is gay and is living with Brendan, her boss. Ronette is very down to earth and ‘calls a spade, a spade’ but although can be outspoken and blunt, she is a rough diamond and is kind and thoughtful.

Julie Peach (playing age late 30s – 40s)
Dentist receptionist Julie has been married for over 20 years and has two children in their late teens/early twenties. Although Julie enjoys bringing up her children and making a home for her family, she is now reflecting on her life and feels she wants more. She is beginning to feel old and past her best. She wants to lose a few pounds or more and has joined a local dieting group, in the vain hope it improves her self esteem and possibly inject a little sparkle back into her marriage. Julie is an avid reader of crime fiction and fancies herself as a bit of an amateur sleuth. She is also a good cook and loves to bake, however she also loves to eat what she’s baked.

Sandra Wiggleswade (playing age late 30s – 50s)
Checkout supervisor at Super Shopper Discount Store. She has been married and divorced twice. She is a vivacious, fun-loving woman who likes a flirt and a drink when she’s out socialising. She has a bit of a reputation in the town and isn’t well-liked by the local women but Julie has always got on with her since school and they have grown closer over the years. Her mother lives up the road from Sandra and she now spends quite a lot of time looking after her. She is in a constant battle with her weight and has tried every fad diet going. Her downfall is the amount of chocolate she eats whilst watching soaps and romance movies – she is a bit of a romantic at heart. She also likes reality TV shows. She has a good sense of humour and is quick-witted.

Marcus Delaney (playing age 40s – 50s)
Once one of the most well-known faces on television, Marcus has struggled for work since leaving one of daytime TV’s most popular programmes, Merry Meadows Arcade, a soap opera set in a shopping centre. During the 1990s, Marcus played the heart-throb of the show, a character known as Tony Chancellor. Although a renowned womaniser in his younger years, his wife Yvonne was with him for many years. But when the work began to dry up and they spent more time at home together, Yvonne grew tired of him and left over three years ago. He is still very bitter about how much the divorce cost him. Marcus is a pretentious luvvie and still craves the adoration he once had. He is always putting on an act to disguise the resentment and vitriol for the hand life has dealt him.

Angela Hawkes (playing age 50s – 60s)
Angela is used to the finer things in life. Her husband is rich, and although not very attentive, has provided his wife with financial security which is all Angela really wants. He spends a lot of time away of business trips, but Angela was never that fond of her husband so his frequent absences suit her down to the ground. Their only child is Joanne to whom Angela is devoted. However, as the light of her life, Angela has become possessive and overbearing with her daughter. Angela is very well spoken and knows how to behave in polite society. Her time is taken up with her duties as chair of the WI, various philanthropic activity, and long lunches with friends.

Joanne Hawkes (playing age 20s)
The spoilt only-child of Angela and Clifford Hawkes, Joanne has wanted for nothing in her life. She has been treated like a princess all her life and this has given her an attitude of airs and graces. She isn’t naturally clever but has been given every opportunity by her mother and father and therefore has done quite well academically. She has been brought up to enunciate, speak properly and mind her manners. As an adult, her mother continues to treat her like a child which she finds infuriating and she is beginning to snap back at her. The lack of freedom throughout her life has made her a little naïve and it is only now that she is beginning to enjoy the company of young men.

Kane Serpentine (playing age 20s – 30s)
Lead vocalist and front man of the rock band, Black Mamba Rejects, Kane is known for his media outbursts and debauched behaviour. He is a ‘recovering’ alcoholic and drug addict. His father has insisted he come to the Retreat to detox or he will stop baling his son out. Kane enjoys the attention of his female fans and has had a number of flings, although he enjoys the chase and the flirtation more. Kane is well-travelled and is known for disappearing on long exotic holidays, he is a fan of extreme sports and theme parks.

Vivienne MacKenzie-Forbes (playing age early 60 onwards)
An aging wealthy widow who owned a chain of restaurants with her late husband. After his death seven years ago, Vivienne sold the business and is now living the high life as a millionaire widow. She spends her time travelling around Europe, drinking gin, rescuing donkeys and avoiding her scrounging children. She has two daughters called Portia and Penelope, and a son called Rupert. She is a rather eccentric character who has no ‘airs and graces’ and isn’t afraid to say what she is really feeling

Deborah Buckfield (playing age late 30s onwards)
Deborah is a domineering, talkative character who speaks before she thinks and has an opinion on everything. She has been married to long-suffering husband, Patrick, for over 20 years. They have lived and worked in the same town all their life, and could be described as a lower-middle class couple, although Deborah has ‘ideas above her station’. Deborah has worked as a doctor’s receptionist for a number of years and is a leading light in the town amateur dramatics society. They have never wanted children but have had a string of pet cats as company. She is a good cook and is very house-proud. Deborah is the sort of woman who keeps herself busy by competing with the neighbours.

Patrick Buckfield (playing age late 30s onwards)
Patrick is the down-trodden husband of Deborah. He kowtows to her every whim for an easy life and lives for the moments when he can be alone and enjoy his garden and DIY. Patrick has worked for the District Council all his life and is currently the Waste and Recycling Manager. He does have a tendency to talk ‘work’ in social situations and doesn’t necessarily read social situations so can come across quite boring. Due to his obsessive pasttimes of gardening and DIY, he does fancy himself as a bit of a handy man but unfortunately isn’t as skilled as he thinks. He is careful with money but needs to be because his wife likes to spend it.

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