The Monster Under the Bed

Ben has a BIG problem. His Mum is acting grumpy, his best friend Vince has stolen his precious binoculars and his Dad is far, far away…oh, and there’s a monster under the bed. But when Ben Swaps places with the under-bed monster, Ben’s life – and his school – is turned inside out, and upside down. A funny and thrilling play for children about friendship and facing up to your fears.

Regular price $12.00

Quick Details

  • Type: Play
  • Length: 75-90 minutes
  • Availability: Available for productions in North America
  • Cast Size: 11 roles | Doubling possible for a cast of 5

Full Details

Roles:

  • Ben
  • Ben's Dad, a soldier
  • Mum
  • Vincent, Ben's best friend
  • Monster, lives under Ben's bed
  • Dad monster
  • Miss Rowlands, teacher
  • Celine, student
  • Anthony, student
  • Danny, student
  • Celine's dog

The following resources are included in each performance license:
  • Permission to photocopy the PDF script for your production so there is no additional cost for these assets.

The following resources may be added to you license for an additional fee:
  • Logo/Media package

Kevin Dyer

Kevin became a writer at the age of nine and a half when his teacher, Mister Fox, typed up a story he had written. The fact that one month later the nice Mr. Fox ran him over in his car (true!) did not deter him. He is now a playwright with over 50 commissioned plays behind him.

Kevin recently won the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Best Play Award for The Syrian Baker. He also won the Guild’s Best Play for Young Audiences with The Monster Under the Bed. It was also shortlisted for the Brian Way Award and the John Whiting Award. The Monster Under the Bed was presented at the Kennedy Center for the Arts New Visions/New Voices festival. ASSITEJ has awarded him their Most Inspirational International Playwright Award.

His plays include Baghdad Zoo (York Theatre Royal), The Bridge (Dundee Rep), Giving it Back (BBC Radio Four), Beauty and the BeastJason and the ArgonautsMerlin, The Hobbit and The Adventures of King Arthur (Dukes Lancaster), Night Train, GenerationsA Million Shades of Pink, and 12 Miles from Nowhere (Action Transport Theatre). Kevin is a published, prize-winning poet, a leader of creative-writing sessions, an actor, a theatre director, and Associate Writer for Theatre Porto and Lead Artist for Storm in the North. He was short-listed for the prestigious Brian Way Award for his radical reworking of Coleridge's The Rime of The Ancient Mariner (Sixth Sense). Angela play about a young girl and on older woman with dementia, was originally produced at Theatre Hullabaloo, was also shortlisted for the Writer's Guild Award for Best Play for Children and Young people.

Originally produced by Polka Theatre, UK, in 2009

Reviews

Drawing with delicacy and wit upon the childhood fantasy of the monster under the bed, writer Kevin Dyer proves why that endangered species, the original play for children, is worth saving. This is a terrifically entertaining story about fathers and sons and the monster inside all of us.

- The Guardian, UK

Dyer’s play, which intentionally echoes bits of several dozen children’s tales, touches on some powerful topics, including friendship and the closeness between parents and children.

- Toronto Now