The Worst Day of My Life
One Act Comedy
- First performed by the Mercators in the SCDA One Act Festival, February 2006
- Highly Commended in the 2006 SCDA One Act Playwriting Competition
- 88 productions in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Israel, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and South Africa.
- 8 festival awards including winning play, best comedy, best production, best director, best actor, best actress and best supporting actor.
- Published by Stagescripts Ltd
Characters (1m 4f)
Charlie Brown: A hospital patient, late forties or older
Samantha: A young nurse
Joanne: A hospital visitor, slightly younger than Charlie
Evelyn: Another visitor, aged to match Charlie
Melissa: Another visitor, also aged to match Charlie
The Setting: A room in a town or city hospital
Running Time: 40 minutes
Synopsis
It’s almost afternoon visiting time at the hospital and Charlie Brown is readying himself. But why is he concerned about which dressing gown he is wearing? And why is he replacing not only his get well card, but also his box of tissues and his drink bottle with substitutes?
However, Charlie relaxes when his wife Joanne, appears. She is a sensible dresser with a brisk manner and when she produces documents from a briefcase, it is obvious that she is also his business partner. After a short exchange of business and pleasantries, Charlie is horrified when another visitor appears.
In stark contrast with the plain Joanne, Evelyn is expensively and fussily over-dressed. She apologies that a crisis with the dishwasher caused her to miss that morning’s visit. While Charlie remains uncharacteristically speechless, Evelyn presumes that Joanne is “some kind of social worker” and introduces herself as Mrs Brown. To avoid confusion, Joanne explains that she is Mrs Charlie Brown. When a shocked Evelyn states that she is also Mrs Charlie Brown, he’s got some explaining to do.
As his previously secret life is hilariously disentangled, a sexily dressed third female visitor arrives, also claiming to be Mrs Charlie Brown. You'd think Charlie's day couldn't possibly get any worse - but it does.