Synopsis
Welfarewell
Published by Samuel French Inc
1 Male 7 Female
Esmerelda Quipp is 80, still of sound mind, but her body is beginning to "come unglued", as she puts it
Having spent her working life as an actress, age pushing her gradually out of the business, she now faces the fact that her meagre government pension is insufficient to support her, even with her minimal needs
When she is arrested for attempting to bury her dead cat in her landlord's yard, she finds that there is some sense of community, not to mention free room and board, within the prison system
She devises a plan to get herself sent back to jail
And so she robs a bank!
And is glad to be apprehended
But the system that has failed her also wants to forgive her because of her age and general health, and the public defender wants to use an insanity plea to get her off
Can Esmerelda convince the legal system she should be incarcerated for life?