Cirrus@Austlit

'On the night of 9 August 1954, glamour model Shirley Beiger pointed a gun at her bookie’s clerk boyfriend, Arthur Griffith, in front of Chequers, one of Sydney’s ritziest nightclubs. Arthur was there with another woman… he’d told Shirley he was at the dentist. In her trial for Arthur’s murder, Shirley claimed she did not hear the gun go off, “but knew something dreadful must have happened”.'

Source: Production blurb.

'It’s 1985. TV prime time. Across Australia, millions of tear-stricken eyes are glued to their television sets in disbelief. A Country Practice’s beloved Molly Jones takes her final breath. Fade to black and she’s gone.

'Inside the story room, in a creative flurry powered by coffee, cigarettes and Fantales, the eccentric squad of TV writers have nailed it –– they’ve written the perfect death for Australia’s darling. Hearts around the country are broken and forty years later, the pain is only just subsiding.

'In this new comedy with Georgie Parker, A Country Practice addict and self- professed fanatic Melanie Tait imagines what it was like for the writers to pen the episode that became a defining cultural moment in the nation’s TV history. Whether you’re a diehard fan of this iconic TV series or simply a lover of a cracking Australian story, you’ll be rolling in the aisles with laughter at HOW TO PLOT A HIT IN TWO DAYS.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'Inspired by historical events, a royal scandal ignites a blistering fire between the steely Queen Mother and her children’s doting nanny in Melanie Tait’s sparkling new comedy drama.

'Marion ‘Crawfie’ Crawford adored her job as governess to Princesses Lilibet and Margaret Rose… until she was ostracised without warning, despite dedicating the best part of her life to raising, educating and caring for the young royals. The reason? A tell-all memoir.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'When Penny Anderson (Claire van der Boom) returns to her childhood home just in time for the Appleton Show and its ‘world famous’ potato race, she is outraged that the men’s first prize pays out $2,000 and the winning woman’s prize is only $200!  Determined to right this wrong, she unleashes a cultural war the likes never seen in sleepy Appleton - pitting family against family, sister against sister and potato racer against potato racer.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Cut-throat journalist Jez Connell is out for her next sting. It’s been a year since she brought down one of TV’s most lauded stars for behaving badly and now she’s got Michael King, the top-rated darling of public radio, in her sights. This time, it’s personal.

'With the loyalty of his longstanding producer wavering, and a hip up-and-coming podcaster eager to take the mic off Mike, has the plug been pulled on Michael King’s career?'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'Appleton is a small country town being forced into the present with a recent influx of wealthy city slickers, treechangers and refugees. Simmering tensions come to a head when new GP Penny Anderson discovers that the famous Appleton Potato Race awards $1000 prize money for the men, and a measly $200 for the women. When Penny decides to take steps to restore gender parity and coax Appleton into the 21st century, little could she have anticipated the spiralling, hilarious culture war that would follow.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'Written in the form of an extended blog, Fat Chance is a funny and honest account of Melanie Tait's unfolding journey through her fat life, before, during and after lap band surgery. It follows her struggles with being overweight, how she came to have the operation, what the operation feels like, her slow progress to thin and ultimately the challenge of living with a band. It also tells the stories of others who have had the band: those it's worked well for, other's where it hasn't, as well as inside information from doctors and health professionals.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.