Mystery/Suspense/Horror
From murder mysteries to gothic horror, Stage Partners has an exciting collection of suspenseful plays by some of the most exciting playwrights working today. From high schools and middle schools to community and professional theatres, Stage Partners has chilling new plays for every stage.
Browse our selection below and READ EVERY PLAY SCRIPT FOR FREE!
Go to filters
-
Rogues' Gallery
Length: 120-130 minutes, flexible (each play is 10 minutes)Cast Size: 6-35+ actors (suggested casting: 9F, 6M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Two hapless security guards must investigate who destroyed the art gallery's prize sculpture - but every suspect caused mayhem that day, from would-be art thieves and confused tourists, to fumbling custodians and fiendish pranksters. Whodunnit? The better question is, who didn't? And can the guards come up with a really good excuse before the artist comes back? This hilarious build-... -
The Single Man - A Murder Mystery
Length: 80-85 minutesCast Size: 15-30 actors (suggested casting: 8F, 3M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
After a death threat is found on the set of the hit television show, The Single Man, the producers strike upon a brilliant idea: Have suave mustachioed investigator Henri Poisson fill in for the terrified bachelor in order to root out the presumptive killer. But with eight single ladies vying for his attention on the show, will Poisson be able to discover the killer in time? Who will get the rose,... -
Beware the House on Haunted Hill!
Length: 85-90 minutesCast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 3F, 3M, 3 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Come to the party…stay if you dare. An eccentric millionaire promises six guests a mysterious prize if they can survive the night at the only truly haunted house in the world. Everyone invited has a few skeletons in their closets though, and screwball scares lurk around every corner. The classic 50s horror movie House on Haunted Hill becomes a campy whodunnit in this low-tech stage adaptation. J... -
Murder by the Book
Length: 35-45 minutesCast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 3M)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
When mystery writer Mary Graves is found dead, it's up to a detective with anger issues to figure out who among Graves' guests is a murderer. Is it the oil tycoon, the scientist, the Shakespearean actor, the countess, the psychic, or the maid? ...Say, this is starting to sound like a mystery novel! A hilarious one-act whodunnit brimming with larger-than-life characters. -
Yellow Wallpaper
Length: 35-45 minutesCast Size: 6-30+ actors (suggested casting: 2M, 10F)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
When Eleanor stumbles upon a hidden diary, she unlocks a family secret - and finds that danger lives closer to home than she possibly could have imagined. An ensemble of trapped spirits cracks open the door between generations in a theatrical adaptation that wraps the classic psychological horror story The Yellow Wallpaper in a Hitchcockian thriller. -
Pick Your Poison
Length: 100-120 minutesCast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting 3F, 5M, 1 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Pick Your Poison is a murder mystery farce in the style of the “country house murder.” Sir Nicholas Blackburn invites his old friends, acquaintances, and one stranger to visit him at his country estate, but some of them may not live through the weekend. In this audience-interactive play, the audience votes at intermission on which of the eight main characters is the murder, and the winning vot... -
You Cannot Undo This Action
Length: 100-120 minutesCast Size: 16-30+ actors (suggested casting: 7F, 5M, 10 any)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
The populations of two high schools are thrown into disarray after a careless social media post leads to real life tragedy. Some of the students are jolted into fear as they reckon with how deep and wide their vulnerabilities have become in our hyper-connected world, while others wrestle with their culpability in the incident. Meanwhile those most affected seek a path toward justice, but how far w... -
Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
Length: 80-90 minutesCast Size: 9-25 actors (suggested casting: 8F, 8M)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
While wandering Worcester, England in 1943, a teenage boy happened upon the skeleton of an unidentified woman inside the trunk of a large tree. An investigation commenced to determine who the woman was and how she died, but it raised more questions than it answered. Was she a spy? Was she a prostitute? Had she been part of an occult ritual? Theories abounded, but no definitive answers emerged. The... -
Possessed
Length: 10 minutesCast Size: 5 actors (5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Only the bard notices that one of the traveling companions seems...different after their battle with a witch. This play is part of the short play collection Quest! and can be licensed separately or as part of the collection.