Costume Drama

Costume Drama – Marion McDowell “One thing about tables, they always turn.” Costume Drama is a darkly hilarious look at making the punishment fit the crime. BETTY is an unglamorous older woman who likes her routine. She’s a regular at the country pub and never has any trouble with the locals, who know that she’s a witch and treat her with respect. But when the pub throws its annual Halloween bash, three loud out-of-town party animals ANDREW, SHARON and JIM arrive in fancy dress and bring Betty’s night to an early end when they mock her and steal her table. As she leaves the pub, she curses the three friends to be transformed into their costumes for one day: Sharon becomes a pigeon, Jim becomes a dog, and ringleader Andrew becomes a black sheep. The crime and punishment are gradually revealed as Jim and Sharon, still dressed in the remnants of last night’s costumes, rendezvous at the pub to try to piece together the events of the evening. Unbeknownst to them, Betty sits in the corner with her sherry and her crossword puzzle, smugly watching the fallout as Jim hesitantly tells of his shame in coming to his senses while licking a homeless man, and health-nut Sharon is horrified to discover that she’s spent the evening eating gluten, and possibly worse things. When Andrew finally arrives, dishevelled and covered in ram’s crayon, Betty’s revenge is complete. A multiple award-winning short script, Costume Drama is a darkly comical reminder to never judge a book by its cover, and for anyone who has ever dealt with obnoxious groups of pub-goers on a Saturday night down the local, a thoroughly satisfying sense of poetic justice as well.