By Amber Dunton, an award-winning playwright (which sounds fake, but it's true, shout out to the Kennedy Center) and former theatre kid

A play for uterus-havers & the people who love them –and– A play for classic literature nerds, the gays, & Johnlock shippers

"What happened to the women inevitably getting abortions at the Planned Parenthood in Washington, DC, on the day Roe v Wade was overturned?"

Overturned

by Amber Dunton • 10 minutes • 4 women & 1 offstage voice • political, drama • women's healthcare

Three women enter a women's health clinic in Washington, DC, on June 24th, 2022– the day Roe v Wade and their lives are overturned. As they watch the news and wait for their appointments, they form a sisterly bond with each other; three ordinary women on an extraordinary day. Region IV 2024 Regional Finalist for the Gary Garrison 10-Minute Playwriting Award, recognized by Region IV of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF)

Read it on New Play Exchange | Buy a digital copy on Gumroad ($5+)

"What if John Watson's original stories were published in a time when Arthur Conan Doyle could be explicit about the queer subtext?"

A Study in Violet

by Amber Dunton, an adaptation of A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle • full-length, two acts • 16 men / 10 actors • adaptation, period, mystery, drama, romance • Sherlock Holmes, queering classic literature, reclaiming the narrative

A Study in Violet is a queer, period reimagining of the origin story of the world's most iconic detective duo– Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in their first case, A Study in Scarlet. When the pair is thrust into a mysterious murder investigation, it pushes the bounds of their companionship. As they pursue the murderer, they begin to uncover not only the crime, but the real story– the truth that Watson could never publish. A story of love and repression, A Study in Violet, examines who gets to tell the truth and how history hides the implicit. Through Watson's narrative asides, the characters' testimonial flashbacks, and raw emotion seeping through the cracks of the classic whodunit, we see the story the original novel could not tell– and the power of finally reclaiming it.

Read an excerpt on New Play Exchange | Buy a digital excerpt on Gumroad ($0+, plz I would love some readers)

I would literally love it so much if you guys read them, or even just like clicked on the links for engagement.