About the Play:

Earth and Sky has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues.

Earth and Sky is a full-length murder mystery by Douglas Post. A young woman finds that her boyfriend of 10 weeks has been viciously murdered. The police don't seem to care if they find the killer or not. But when she sets out on her own to solve the crime, she finds that the truth may be too terrible to face.

Earth and Sky follows an ill-fated romance during a steamy summer in Chicago. Sara McKeon, a would-be poet and part-time librarian, has been head-over-heels in love with David Ames for all of 10 weeks. One day, Ames is found brutally murdered and his secret, seedy existence unravels as police investigate the crime. Adding to her shock, she is told that David, owner of an expensive restaurant, has an unsavoury past that may have included kidnapping, rape and murder. Unable to believe that she gave her heart to a killer – and outraged that the police seem to have closed the book on David's death – Sara launches her own investigation which plunges her into the urban labyrinth of the contemporary underworld. As the detective story moves forward in time, scenes from the love affair take us back to the moment when Sara and David first met. Finally the plots converge, and Sara finds herself face to face with the person who murdered her beloved. Earth and Sky is a cop thriller with enough devious plot turns, tough and gritty dialogue, and surprises to keep even the most jaded "film noir" fans on the edge of their seats.

Earth and Sky premiered in 1991 at Second Stage Theatre off-Broadway in New York City. The UK premiere was in 1999 at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton, England followed by a British tour though eight cities. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been performed in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 female, 6 male

What people say:

"Douglas Post's Earth and Sky is a case of film noir on stage. The devious U-turns in the plot continue past the evening of this taut new thriller." — New York Times

"…it is thoroughly engrossing, holding you fast for about 100 intermissionless minutes…a genuine cop thriller, with devious plot turns, tough, corner-of-the-mouth, Chandler-and-Hammett-style dialogue, and enough surprises to startle rabbits out of holes let alone hats." — New York Post

"A winner ... a satisfying whodunnit shot through with sardonic humour ... psychologically absorbing ... richly poetic ... a seriously good play." — Portsmouth News (UK)

"A brilliant and remarkable play ... compulsively gripping ... an undoubted success." — Bournmouth Daily News (UK)

"Its final moments might well go down in the theatre history as some of the most heartrending of any modern production." — Bath Echo (UK)

About the Playwright:

Douglas Post is an American playwright, lyricist, and composer who has written for stage, radio and television. His stage plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Canada, England, Wales, Germany, Austria, Russia, and China.