Intersectionality and Form in Five Short Plays by Deirdre Kinahan

Abstract

Short plays vary from ‘tiny plays’ or ‘micro plays’ that can be as little as two to ten minutes in length to the twenty-minute plus one-act plays, from the thirty-forty-minute scripts beloved of teenage or youth writing competitions to the thirty-fifty-minute plus playscripts associated with festivals of new writing. Then there are works that run closer to one hour in length that are often scheduled during fringe theatre festivals or fill the lunchtime slots of bespoke café venues. Just as distinctions between the short story, novella and novel are sometimes hard to be definitive about, as are the merits of each form , critical responses to short plays incite a variety of different reactions and perspectives. Some critics clarify why short plays might be underrated, identify strengths that might signal why they should be more appreciated, or more frequently performed. Others sometimes struggle to characterize the relevance and significance of work that merits their placement within the short play category.