One-Person Shows

One may be the loneliest number, but it doesn’t have to be, especially if you’re putting on a show! With inspiring musicals, uproarious comedies and heart-stopping dramas, this list of solo shows is sure to include the perfect title for your next production.

A Prayer by Selma Dimitrijevic (US/UK)
(Short Play / 1 any gender)
In this fun and witty short play, an atheist named M and God get to know each other very well and try to find answers to life questions both large and small along the way.

Bad Dates by Theresa Rebeck (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1w)
“Maybe it has been too long since I’ve been on a date.” So confesses a single mother and self-described restaurant idiot-savant in this thoroughly charming and slyly sweet one-woman play. A semi-sweet paean to lonelyhearts everywhere, Bad Dates is about learning to take a closer look, and why, when it comes down to it, there’s nothing in the world like a killer pair of Chanel pumps.

Clarence Darrow by David Rintels (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1m)
In this dynamic one-man Broadway show, the groundbreaking attorney addresses his personal life and contemporary events, reviewing much of America’s legal history with salty humor, courtroom gusto, and human relish.

Clarity by Kord Arrington Tuttle (US)
(Short Play, Drama / 1m)
Cameron enjoys rough sex. Which is fine. However, in the final moments leading up to his picturesque wedding on the Georgia state coastline, one particular sexual encounter with his fiancé demands that he question his marriage, racial identity, and sexual preferences altogether.

Draw the Circle by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1gnc)
The hilarious and deeply moving story of conservative Muslim mother at her wits’ end, a Muslim father who likes to tell jokes, and a queer American woman trying to make a good impression on her Indian in-laws. In a story about family and love and the things we do to be together, one immigrant family must come to terms with a child who defies their most basic expectations of what it means to have a daughter. This unique play compassionately brings to life the often ignored struggle that a family goes through when their child transitions from one gender to another.

Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1 any gender)
You’re six years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid.” She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own. A hilarious and heart-wrenching play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.

Extinguished Things by Molly Taylor (US/UK)
(Monologues / 1w)
Molly’s neighbours haven’t come home. The spare keys are in the lock. She’s over the threshold. In a house that will never be lived in the same way again, Molly looks under the rock of a marriage, a family, an existence and brings to light what has been left in the dark. The voices of a past echoed in belongings. Items left behind. Extinguished things.

Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis-Edwards (UK)
(Monologues, Drama / 1w)
Funeral Flowers follows the story of Angelique, a seventeen-year-old whose dreams of being a florist are a refuge from a complicated adolescence. With her mum in prison, Angelique faces bullying, abuse and growing up in the care system, but is pushing through to change her path.

Half Breed by Natasha Marshall (UK)
(Monologues, Drama / 1w)
Jazmin feels different. She doesn’t want to stay in the village. She doesn’t want to have a baby. She doesn’t want to laugh at racist jokes in the local pub. She’s got to get out. So, when her Gran signs her up for a drama school audition in London without telling her, she thinks: “my brain is just as confused as my skin. Should I stay here? Or should I try move to London. Stay. Go. Stay. Go. Stay. Go. Stay…”

Harry Clarke by David Cale (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 1m)
The story of a shy midwestern man who feels more himself when adopting the persona of a cocky Londoner, Harry Clarke. Moving to New York and presenting himself as an Englishman, he charms his way into a wealthy family’s life, romancing two family members as the seductive and sexually precocious Harry, with more on his mind than just love. For another solo show by David Cale, check out Lillian (US/UK).

I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1 any gender)
Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, this Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German trans woman, who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime.

I Love You St. Petersburg! by Bixby Elliot (US/UK)
(Monologues, Comedy / 1w)
Career day can be daunting, especially for musical theatre lovers… and moms. Part of the Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 44th Series.

Just for Us by Alex Edelman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1 any gender)
A comedian follows an anti-Semitic tweet down an online rabbit hole to in-person meeting of White Nationalists in Queens. Equal parts hilarious and gripping, this award-winning one-hander explores religion, cultural identity, assimilation, empathy, gorillas that speak sign language, and what it means to be confronted with hatred.

Love, Linda (The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter) by Cole Porter, Stevie Holland and Gary William Friedman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 1w)
In this tour-de-force one-woman show, Linda Lee Thomas (Mrs. Cole Porter), candidly recounts, through song and story, her life’s journey with Cole Porter. Though Porter was gay, their companionship and love lasted through 35 years of marriage and a spectacular, glamour-filled life.

Monsoon Season by Lizzie Vieh (US)
(Short Play, Drama / 1m)
It’s monsoon season in Phoenix, and Danny hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. Between his recent divorce, his mind-numbing job in technical support, and the neon sign from the strip club that glows through his window all night, his grasp of reality is slipping. And things only get weirder when a decapitated body is found near Danny’s job and Danny develops a fascination with circles.

My Left Nut by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney (UK)
(Monologues / 1m)
400 millilitres. That’s how much liquid was drained from Michael’s left testicle when he was a teenager. That’s more than a can of coke. He should have told someone sooner, but who could he turn to? His dad died ten years ago and besides, school is full of rumours about what the giant bulge in his trousers actually is. Who wants to stop that?

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Rona Munro, based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w)
Lucy Barton wakes after an operation to discover – much to her surprise – her mother at the foot of her bed. They haven’t seen each other in years. During their days-long visit, Lucy tries to understand her past, works to come to terms with her family, and begins to find herself as a writer.

On the Exhale by Martín Zimmerman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama, 1w)
When a senseless act of violence changes her life forever, a liberal college professor finds herself inexplicably drawn to the very weapon used to perpetrate the crime – and to the irresistible feeling of power that comes from holding life and death in her hands. Peering down the barrel of a uniquely American crisis, she begins to suspect that when it comes to gun violence, we’re all part of the problem.

Open by Crystal Skillman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w or 1gnc)
Open is a magic act that reveals itself to be a resurrection. A woman called the Magician presents a myriad of tricks for our entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible: to save the life of her partner, Jenny. But is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and, as impossible as it may seem, this Magician’s act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.

Penelope by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 1w)
Blending sharp humor with a folk-pop score, this modern retelling of The Odyssey gives Penelope a voice as she awaits her husband’s return, moving through her loneliness to discover her own strength.

Sister Robert Anne’s Cabaret Class by Dan Goggin (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 1w)
Sister Robert Anne is feisty, street-smart, hilarious and immensely talented. As she ‘teaches’ us how to put together a cabaret act, she also takes us on a journey of some of the most memorable numbers from the Nunsense series by award-winning composer Dan Goggin.

Spoonface Steinberg by Lee Hall (UK)
(Monologues, Drama / 1w)
An extraordinary award-winning play about faith, love and the meaning of life following an autistic eight-year-old girl who is dying of cancer, Spoonface Steinberg is at turns funny, intensely moving and profound.

The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama, 1w)
This fictional exploration of the real Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community tells the story of violence’s impact on a community, the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake.

The B*easts by Monica Dolan (UK)
(Monologues, Drama / 1w)
Tessa is a psychotherapist who has been instructed to provide a medical report on one of her patients for the criminal court. This has been Tessa’s most exceptional case in all her twenty years of practice. As treatment progresses she finds herself asking deeper, more far-reaching questions, not just about her patient, but about the world and its motives.

The Good Life by Mike Birbiglia (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1 any gender adult)
In this hilarious and heartwarming one-man show, Mike Birbiglia poses the question: “What can I teach my daughter?” Through a series of comedic rants about sex talks, children’s birthday parties and the story of his father’s recent stroke, he attempts to answer this question – and then poses a few more.

The Night Shift Before Christmas by Isaac Gómez (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1w)
Meet Margot, a 30-something Tejana who works at a beloved whata-sized Texas burger joint. The Christmas Eve overnight shift is her personal tradition – even if that means spending the holiday dealing with grumpy drive-thru customers and an equally grumpy robotic Santa. But when her dead best friend Jackie Marley drops by to warn her of impending late-night visits by spirits, Margot has no choice but to roll with the punches and confront the very Scrooge she’s become. It’s a Christmas Eve like none other in this brand-new holiday show filled with humor and heart set in H-town by Texan playwright Isaac Gómez.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1w)
Populated with colorful, complex, hilarious characters, Jane Wagner and Lily Tomlin’s brilliant show explores themes of identity, art, power, and the struggles of the feminist movement in America. From Trudy, the homeless savant, to Chrissy, the vapid gym bunny, this parade of engaging and insightful character studies may be performed by one or several actresses. 

The Way She Spoke by Isaac Gómez (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama, 1w)
This haunting play travels from a New York stage to the treacherous streets of Juárez, Mexico, where thousands of women have been murdered in an epidemic of violence that has yet to stop. Based on his intimate interviews, the play is a riveting exploration of responsibility: one playwright’s journey to give voice to a city of women silenced by violence.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w)
In this dramatic adaptation of her award-winning, bestselling memoir, which The New York Times called “an indelible portrait of loss and grief… a haunting portrait of a four-decade-long marriage,” Joan Didion transforms the story of the sudden and unexpected loss of her husband and their only daughter into a stunning and powerful one-woman play.

Tell Me on a Sunday by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Don Black (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 1w)
Tell Me on a Sunday follows a young English girl who has recently landed in New York. Brimming with optimism, she sets out to seek success, companionship and, of course, love. But as she weaves her way through the maze of the city and her own anxieties, frustrations and heartaches, she begins to wonder whether—in fact—she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. The show contains some of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most treasured songs, including “Tell Me on a Sunday,” “Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes” and “Nothing Like You’ve Ever Known.”

Title and Deed by Will Eno (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1m)
Behold the newest nobody of the funniest century yet. He’s almost Christ-like, from a distance, in terms of height and weight. Listen closely or drift off uncontrollably, as he speaks to you directly about the notion of home and the world. All of it delivered with the authority that is the special province of the unsure and the un-homed, which is a word he made up accidentally.

Where We Belong by Madeline Sayet (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1 any gender Native actor)
A celebration of language and investigation into the impulses that divide and connect us as people. The play follows Achokayis, a member of the  Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, as she travels to England to pursue a degree in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave home. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, she finds comfort in the journeys of her Mohegan ancestors who traveled to England in the 1700s to help her people. Achokayis’s transformation journey leaves us with the question: What does it mean to belong in an increasingly globalized world?

Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1 any gender)
In a town running low on compassion, an exile seeks forgiveness, forcing the community to decide between mercy or justice. The storyteller spins a tale of a lonely soul tempted by the devil’s kindness on a fateful trip to the crossroads. Where We Stand is an epic fable of penance filled with humor, heart and music.

To find more shows to perform solo or with others, visit Concord Theatricals in the US or the UK.