A selection of romantic comedy plays by French playwright Jean-Pierre Martinez, available in English. These contemporary comedies explore love, attraction, couples, relationships and the misunderstandings that can bring people together — or drive them apart.
Romantic comedy combines emotional relationships with comic situations, reversals and conflicting expectations. In these plays, love is rarely simple: desire, jealousy, friendship, commitment and chance all complicate the search for happiness.
Browse the plays below to discover their synopses, cast information, scripts available for reading and information about performance rights.
After being dumped once again, Fred swore to his best friend that no girl would sleep over at his place until the end of the year. A few months later, he is on the verge of winning his bet and the hefty cheque that came with it. But on the eve of Christmas, one is never safe from a surprise gift...
Kimberley inherits her grandmother's renowned cookie recipe. On Christmas Eve, alongside her best friend Jennifer, Kimberley is on the verge of launching a tearoom at the base of the building where Granny Maggie lived. This endeavour is deeply meaningful to her, and she has poured all her savings into it. However, a ruthless real estate developer is determined to acquire her shop, demolish the building, and replace it with a luxury residence. Can Kimberley overcome these challenges and finally find love? A true Christmas movie plot... but worse.
On the platform of a suburban railway station, a man and a woman who don’t know each other are waiting for the train that will take them to the new destiny they have chosen for themselves. But this 8:30 train, which they used to take in the past, has been canceled. The next one is only three hours later. This presents them with an unlikely encounter that could potentially change the course of their lives…
On New Year’s Eve, a man is on duty at the Forensic Institute. One hour before midnight, a woman appears in front of him, covered only by a sheet. She doesn’t know who she is or where she comes from. And what was shaping up to be a deadly dull New Year’s Eve at the morgue turns out to be full of surprises… A comedy with multiple twists and turns, absurdly romantic and darkly humorous.
The storefront of a grocery shop, which also serves as a bookstore, sets the stage for delightful exchanges between a philosophical grocer and his quirky customers, each in search of answers to their existential questions. A philosophical farce that blends outrageous situations with reflections on the absurdity of life.
A man and a woman encounter each other daily at a café, discreetly observing one another from separate tables, filled with curiosity but hesitant to initiate conversation. Will they yield to the longing for a rendezvous, uncertain if reality will match their mutual fantasies? While exploring the potential of deepening their connection, they also face the inevitable narrowing of options. Holding onto the preliminary stage of their interaction means risking missing out on what truly matters.