Can you meet someone, fall for them, lose them and still find your way to a happy ending – all in the space of 15 minutes?
That is the challenge facing director Dan Shirley with Stop and Smell the Roses, one of eight brand-new short plays being performed as part of Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company’s Duologues this October.
“It’s a classic rom-com in 15 minutes,” Dan said. “Meet cute, gradual attraction, separation and happy ending.”
Dan originally volunteered as a reserve director but was delighted when Stop and Smell the Roses was one of two plays still needing someone to take the helm.
“This one did call to me,” he said.
Describing it as a “comedy of embarrassment”, Dan originally pictured one character as an “uptight John Cleese, David Mitchell sort of person” – until casting offered a different possibility.
Dan already knew Emma Brooks from working with her on previous productions and felt she was an obvious fit for Anna.
Newcomer Massimo Petronio immediately impressed at his audition. “He was so well prepared and is already perfect on the lines,” Dan said.
Massimo is also Italian, something Dan hopes to make use of. With the option for directors to reach out to writers and discuss script adjustments, everyone involved is taking full advantage of this open creative relationship. It is all part of bringing a completely new play from page to stage for the first time.
And Dan knows exactly what reaction he hopes the audience will have after his whirlwind 15-minute romance. “Like most people at the end of a rom-com, I think they’ll go, ‘Finally! Get a grip, you two.’”
Duologues is at the Boxmoor Playhouse on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October.
Rehearsals are about to begin for Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company’s 2026 pantomime, Hercules – The Panto!
The cast are getting ready to head to Ancient Greece as we start bringing this larger-than-life adventure to the stage – complete with heroes, villains, plenty of laughs and all the mayhem you’d expect.
There’s a lot of work (and probably a few labours!) ahead before we open the doors at the Boxmoor Playhouse, and we’ll be taking you behind the scenes as the shows take shape.
Hercules – The Panto
4, 5, 6 & 11, 12, 13 December
