HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH PLAY SCRIPT 2025

THE LETTER (ADAPTED)

Written by: Bhargavi Guhan 12 C, Anhiti Rajaram 12 A

Directed by: Anhiti Rajaram 12 A, Bhargavi Guhan, 12 C

Characters:
Helene Joyce – Nilotpala Karthik 11 A
Leslie Crosbie – S. Moukthika 12 D
Robert Crosbie – Sahas Sunil 12 D
Geoffrey Hammond – Krishna Menon 11 D
Ong Chi Seng – K. Shrikar 12 C
Alfred Jones -
Mary Dot - Bhargavi Guhan 12 C
Narrator 1 - Aparna S. 12 A
Narrator 2 - Vadhaanya S. 12 B

Music Director:

SCENE 1

NARRATOR 1:

NARRATOR 2:

(At 11 PM, takes place inside the Crosbies’ residence, LESLIE and HAMMOND are in a
heated argument. The stage is dark. Only silhouettes are seen.)

LESLIE: (desperate, pleading) Geoffrey - stop this madness. After all these years, please,
you can't do this to Robert. He’ll go sick with horror! If word gets out, it could destroy
everything!

(pause, stare, frantic) Geoffrey, this isn’t what you want. You want the money, right? I’ll get it.
I will, I promise, he’s got it in here somewhere. (reaches to grab the gun)

HAMMOND: (dry chuckle) This was never about the money, Leslie. (determined) I have
made up my mind. (walks away, shaking his head, towards the door)

LESLIE: (pleading) Geoff!

(HAMMOND turns back to look)

LESLIE: You left me no choice.

(Stage lights turn on.)

JONES: (rushes into the room) Madam? (looking at the body once again) What in God’s
name! (looks to LESLIE for some reaction) (shocked, puts his hands on his forehead,
gravely) Oh, lord, is that Mr. Hammond? (LESLIE is silent, pause) Madam… how can I help?

LESLIE: For one, don't ask questions. Call the Inspector.

JONES: I will, madam, right away. I’m relieved you are all right, truly, but-

LESLIE: (interrupts) Alfred, please, I don’t know. (quietly) Just call the police. (looks around,
terrified)

JONES: I will do anything I can to help you, madam, you’ve been nothing but kind to me,
but- what am I to make of this?

(LESLIE shakes her head, mutters to herself, leaves, brief stillness) (JONES sighs, looks at
body, and gasps)

JONES: (grasps the sofa handle and sits on the floor) Oh, save us all, the man is dead!
(points off stage, signaling to a servant) You! Call the inspector at once! Right away!

SCENE 2

(Scene opens to JOYCE pacing worriedly on stage, clutching her head. She sits down and
rapidly flips through her case file, only to get up once more, visibly disturbed. As the
NARRATORS speak, the scene freezes. On cue, ONG silently mimes whispering the letter’s
contents.)

NARRATOR 1: Leslie Crosbie was arrested that night for committing murder. The motive
remained unclear until she spoke to her family’s lawyer, Helene Joyce.

NARRATOR 2: Leslie swore she’d acted in self-defence, and that she had been brutally
attacked by the man, Hammond. No one had reason to doubt her — she wasn’t the kind of
woman who would kill.

NARRATOR 1: But then, a letter surfaced — one written by Leslie herself, addressed to the
very man she had just shot.

NARRATOR 2: Its contents gave no explanation. But for Joyce, it changed everything.

(On stage: Silently, ONG mimes saying the contents of the letter. JOYCE repeats after ONG
in disbelief, softly)
JOYCE: “Meet me at 11 tonight. I must see you. This has to end. - Leslie.” (sigh) That's
impossible. Mrs. Crosbie couldn't have… (fades into silence as NARRATORS continue to
speak.)

NARRATOR 1: Her assistant told her the contents of the letter, which he heard from the
servants at Leslie’s house, the very ones who delivered the letter.

NARRATOR 2: Reeling from what she’d learned, Joyce made a decision: she would hear the
truth for herself. She was determined to get to the bottom of that tangled lie.

(Lights shift to the police station. JOYCE exits. NARRATORS fade into dark. SCENE 3
begins.)

SCENE 3

(Takes place in the police station. LESLIE is seated outside the holding cell on a chair, and
JOYCE makes herself comfortable on a chair, facing LESLIE, at the table, with papers)

JOYCE: Mrs. Crosbie, it’s interesting that each time you’ve told your story you’ve told it in
exactly the same words. Impressive, really.

LESLIE: (tight smile) It all happened in a flash. Hard to forget, don’t you think?

JOYCE: I’d like to hear it once more, if you will humour me. (Shuffling her papers) Walk me
through it. (adjusts glasses, looks down, shuffles her papers, places one on top.)

LESLIE: It is difficult for me to speak about this. You are asking a great deal of me, Mrs
Joyce. (JOYCE nods and motions for her to continue) (LESLIE pauses, takes a deep breath)
Very well.

It was on the night of the fifteenth, around eleven. Robert was out of town, in Singapore. He
had business with the higher Generals, I believe. Wartime is approaching. He doesn’t tell me
about it, but I know, Mrs. Joyce.

JOYCE: (makes motions of acknowledgement, writes things down) Just so that we are clear,
Robert… I mean, General Crosbie is leading the West Britain forward command?

LESLIE: That’s right. My Robert is quite well respected around these parts. Anyway, I’d
meant for it to be a quiet night, so I sent the servants away. All of a sudden, Commander
Hammond just appeared at the door.

(JOYCE makes observatory motions, looks up and down from time to time)

He invited himself in, demanding an absurd sum of money, claiming deeply upsetting lies
about my Robert. I denied the first time, because my husband isn’t the sort of man to commit
the atrocities Commander Hammond was talking about. but he asked over and over, raising
his voice higher each time. One cannot possibly maintain their cool when they have
someone who is barely an acquaintance at their throat, can they? My panic was growing by
the moment, so I reached out for something to protect myself.

JOYCE: (mildly exasperated) Yes, you mentioned all this earlier. I'm more concerned about
the actual shooting - what did you do?

LESLIE: Oh. (pauses) When I finally refused to comply, that wretched man charged at me
with full force. I grabbed the gun from the table and shot at him blindly until I heard that
grotesque excuse of a man’s body thudding on the floor.

My eyes were wide open, but all I could see was red. Our butler came running into the hall. I
told him to call a policeman. I took refuge inside my room and I stayed there until you
arrived.

(JOYCE watches her for a moment. LESLIE is now once more cool and self-possessed.)

JOYCE: (leans forward) Mrs. Crosbie, there is a letter from you addressed to Mr. Hammond
on the day of his murder. (pauses, recollects) ‘Meet me at 11 tonight. I must see you. This
has to end.’ Does this ring a bell?

LESLIE: (visibly shaken) What…? That isn’t possible. I never wrote to him.

JOYCE: Don’t bother denying it. (pause) How could he have attacked you at your invitation?

[LESLIE is silent.]

JOYCE: (stands up, inhales deeply, walks as she talks) Mrs. Crosbie, I want to talk to you
about the truth. The real truth, not this truth you’ve rehearsed.

(stare at each other. Leslie is still.)

I was delighted to take on this case - assured victory. (viciously) But this letter… I don’t know
what to say. (sigh) In any case, I shall defend you in court even if I don’t believe your story
myself.

LESLIE: I don’t know what you’re getting at.

JOYCE: It’s clear that you’re lying, Mrs. Crosbie. But what are you lying for? (sigh)

(no response)

LESLIE: (looks past JOYCE, behind her, strained whisper) What- what? How are you here?

JOYCE (looks where LESLIE is looking, sees nothing): What do you mean?

LESLIE (partly calm, partly alarmed): No, no, no. You’re not here.

JOYCE: Mrs. Crosbie! I'm right here.

LESLIE: (towards HAMMOND) What are you doing here? You can't possibly…

HAMMOND: Can’t possibly what, dear? Breathe? Walk? Speak to you? You think you're so
clever, don't you?

JOYCE: (confused) Mrs Crosbie. I’m going to fetch help. (makes vague waving motion to
catch Leslie’s attention, fails, leaves)

LESLIE: Hammond, get away from me. I have nothing to say to you. Go back to whatever
hell you rose out of. I've done nothing wrong.

HAMMOND: (smiles) Is that what you’re telling yourself? That you’re some damsel in
distress, who’s done nothing wrong? Nice try. Next time though, don't leave your sins in ink.
Have you no respect for your country? (sneer)

LESLIE: What are you talking about?! This whole thing is because of you!

HAMMOND: Breathe, Leslie, breathe. I’m dead already, aren't I?

LESLIE: Oh, you're dead all right. (walks up and down, stressed) Hammond, enough of this.
I haven’t done anything wrong! Why are you blaming me? I only saved myself!

HAMMOND: (irritated) You haven’t learned a thing, Leslie. Just as blind as ever. Go on, lie
your way out, like you always do.

(HAMMOND exits, shaking head. JOYCE enters, looking worried. Upon seeing LESLIE, her
worry changes to frustration. JOYCE glares at LESLIE and sits down.)

(beat of silence)

JOYCE: I hope that was the end of your little episode. Are you pretending to be crazy? That
won't change what you've done.

LESLIE: (significantly calmer but still hyperventilating) Well… Mrs Joyce, you won't believe
me, I know, but… Oh forget it. I need something else. Will you help me?

JOYCE: Help you? That’s an odd way to put it. I am your lawyer, I shall certainly represent
you.

LESLIE: Destroy the letter, Mrs. Joyce. It can’t reach anyone’s eyes, especially Robert. Mrs
Joyce, can’t you do this for me? You’d be saving my life, don’t you see?
JOYCE: I need a moment. (inhales) Are you trying to ask me to destroy evidence? Are you
aware that that is illegal? My job is to defend you - not to bury your dirty secrets and protect
you from the consequences of your own actions.

I have bent the laws, but I have never broken them. I refuse to violate the integrity of my
career to cover up your trail of deceit.

LESLIE: Please, you must understand me. The letter is locked in a wooden box in my
bedroom. Destroy it any way you like. Burn it, bury it - I leave it to you.

(LESLIE is led away by a prison guard, leaving JOYCE alone in the scene.)

NARRATOR 1: Joyce decided to comply with Leslie's request.

NARRATOR 2: She was also a good friend of Leslie's husband, Robert Crosbie. She went to
visit the Crosbie residence to retrieve the letter, and to meet with Robert.

SCENE 4

MARY: (opens door for JOYCE) Good evening… you are?

JOYCE: Helene. Helene Joyce. I’m here to meet with General Crosbie.

[MARY exits stage to fetch tea, while JOYCE and ROBERT settle onto the couch.]

ROBERT (calls from couch): Hello, Helene, what brings you here?

JOYCE: I’m here to retrieve something that belongs to Miss Leslie.

MARY (listening intently, to the point of intrusion): I see, Mrs. Joyce. My name is Mary Dot.
I’m the head of housekeeping here. We don’t often get people coming to retrieve things. Is it
something urgent?

JOYCE: Mrs. Dot, listen carefully. In Mrs. Crosbie’s bedroom, there is a wooden box. It
was… (hesitates, clearly making up an excuse, then speaks rapidly) a gift, yes, a gift. We
need it instantly. For the trial.

MARY: Is that so? Well, if you’re certain. I'll look for it.

ROBERT: Hurry on, Mary, we haven’t got the time. (Mary nods and leaves)

JOYCE: Well, Robert, how have you been holding up? It must be hard on you.

ROBERT: You know how it is, Helene. These things must be commonplace for you, but I
don’t know how I can help my Leslie.
JOYCE: Don't worry so much. She's told me some… interesting things. I think I've figured
out how I can help her.

ROBERT: (leans back into chair) Oh, that’s truly the biggest relief. My Leslie has done
nothing wrong… I don’t see why they keep her in that nasty jail. You have to get her out
soon. She’s always lived a tough life. She could never tell me a thing about her childhood
because it was so painful. I’ll do anything to keep her safe, Mrs. Joyce.

JOYCE: (nods swiftly) Nobody doubts your wife, Robert. But she will be in real trouble if this
case isn't handled well. Murder is no light accusation.

ROBERT: It’s just like I said! Leslie simply did what anyone would do. Are you telling me that
she was wrong in defending herself? Is that a crime? (stands up in frustration) She is the
most level-headed woman I know; she would never hurt a fly.

JOYCE: I'm not quite sure that my experiences with Mrs Crosbie match that. (puts glasses
on) You’re thinking before you’ve heard the facts, Robert.

ROBERT: I don’t need facts to know what I saw in her eyes. (sigh) Well, anyway, what’s in
this box? You came all the way here and never once mentioned what you needed.

JOYCE: (pause, hesitant) I fear that is between me and Leslie. I would be violating a number
of laws if I told you anything.

ROBERT: If you say so. I know nothing about the law. I trust you on this.

MARY: (returns, box in hand) I am surprised, Mrs Joyce! (hands over the box) I found the
box. Here you are. (pause) In times of warfare, Mrs. Joyce, you can’t ever trust anyone.

JOYCE: (stiff) Thank you, Mrs. Dot. I’ll be on my way. Good day, Robert. (Nods to ROBERT
and leaves)

[MARY bows and exits scene, ROBERT exits scene]

[The stage goes black. Three bangs of a gavel are heard.]

JUDGE: (off stage) I now declare the defendant, Leslie Crosbie, not guilty.

SCENE 5:

JOYCE: Good evening, Leslie.

LESLIE: Well, hello, Mrs. Joyce! What a surprise! Mary, get her a cup of tea, please.

JOYCE: That’s all right.

LESLIE: Do make yourself comfortable! This has been such a weight off my shoulders, and I
owe it all to you. It’s wonderful to be back home with Robert.
JOYCE: (sighs) That’s enough now, may I speak?

LESLIE: Please.

JOYCE: The acquittal seems to have done well for you, Leslie, but-
(takes a moment to think, sets glasses down) Your case is an exception to my career. I only
took it to help Robert. A countryman deserves that much. (pause)

LESLIE: (surprised) What are you insinuating?

JOYCE: (angry, breathing faster) How could you be so cruel to him? Justice is not just a
verdict. It's the consequence of your actions! You understood it the moment you shot
Hammond. The judge might have believed your lies, Leslie, but I don’t.

LESLIE: (rising in pitch) My… lies? I don’t understand.

JOYCE: Please. It was obvious. I know everything, Leslie. I know exactly why you married
Robert. Don’t make me spell it out.

LESLIE: (innocently) Spell it out? Mrs. Joyce… you must be mistaken. What are you talking
about?

JOYCE: Good God, Leslie! You work with the other side! You’re only here with Robert to
steal information for your army back home!

LESLIE: You don’t know anything! (yells) You don’t understand a single thing, Mrs Joyce,
and you’d better stay right out of it. You don’t know how hard I’ve worked to play the part of
this loving wife! Everything depends on me! (fretting, pauses to think, but comes up with
nothing) Gosh, why can’t you just let me be?

JOYCE: Because it’s not just about you! Robert, Hammond, goodness, it’s about me! I
defended you because I had to, not because I believed a single word that came out of your
mouth. I am human, and I make bad decisions. But you? Not even the sacred flame of
justice could cure you of your oblivion. How could you ever even think of betraying Robert?

LESLIE: You are barely aware of the events of that terrible night, let alone why I’m here.

JOYCE: (impatient and angry) I am adequately aware, Leslie. Enough to tell-

LESLIE: (cutting JOYCE off) Oh please. (tone rising, showing a dark shade across her face)
You speak of justice so nobly, and yet you make no effort to see that my fate is just that. All
the things I’ve lived through… You’ll see. You’ll see I had no choice. (LESLIE begins to take
shallow breaths, almost hyperventilating)

(cut to flashback. Half of the stage darkens. LESLIE is seated on the sofa, while HAMMOND
saunters in. HAMMOND tosses his jacket onto the floor.)
HAMMOND: (settles into a chair, smug) Good evening, Leslie. Is my money ready?

LESLIE: And why would it be?

HAMMOND: (eyebrow raise, sits) You know perfectly well why. Did you forget about your
letter?

LESLIE: What are you talking about? What letter?

HAMMOND: Let’s not play dumb. The one you sent to the enemy base. (waves letter
around) A map and instructions in your handwriting? And funnily enough, you’ve circled
every camp our soldiers are stationed in. Funnier still that I should find this in the General’s
[Link] a little patriot you are.

LESLIE: (begins to shake) I… I don’t…The letter was buried in his office. How did you even
find it? You couldn’t have…

HAMMOND: The General sent me to find a document. But that’s enough of your theatrics.
You think your darling husband would like to know what you’ve been doing behind his back?
(chuckle, then serious) Bring the money, or I talk.

LESLIE: Don’t pin your suspicions on me. I’m not who you say I am just because you found
one letter.

HAMMOND: You think intelligence doesn’t cross-check names? You’re a phantom. And
according to London files, you don’t even exist. I’ve done my homework, Leslie, I always
knew there was something about you.

LESLIE: I just… I don’t understand. What do you get out of this? Money? If that’s what it is,
then I’ll get you the money. Why are you so fixated on some half-truth?

HAMMOND: (pretend-flabbergasted) Half-truth? Leslie, now, don’t flatter yourself. The only
half-truth is you marrying that sweet fellow Robert because you loved him. That isn’t even a
half truth, it’s a lie. We both know the real reason now, don’t we? [LESLIE is silent.]

HAMMOND: Do you really want to hear it from me, you traitor? (spits out the word) All you
had to do was be more careful. What is it like being Leslie Crosbie? It’s not my fault that you
belong to the enemy, that you only ever married Robert Crosbie for secret intel. And hell, it’s
not my fault you were stupid enough to be caught either. (mirthless chuckle) Robert is still
blissfully unaware about the real reason, isn’t he? I’d better go tell him. Let’s see how well
your marriage lasts after that.

LESLIE: (squares up against Hammond) Do not threaten me about my marriage, you

HAMMOND: Marriage is just another kind of human bondage, isn't it? Bondage that never
meant a thing to a liar like you. (pause) I really should have, but I haven't given this to
General Crosbie because I wanted to see the look on your face when I did. This look of
ruin… utter desperation… Who are you, Leslie?

LESLIE: Enough! I did nothing wrong! The world is against me, Geoffrey, it’s not my fault I
was born poor! I always struggled, and I could never afford a single thing, all my life! I fought
tooth and nail to keep every penny to my name safe, and my people… they just gave me a
way out. One where I could give back to the motherland that raised me. I owe this to my
home, don’t you see? No matter how horrendous, how inhumane… that land is mine. I was
born to protect it. (deep breath) Why are you acting like this is my fault? I never had a
choice!

HAMMOND: (chuckle) Oh, have you convinced yourself that you're the victim? (laughs
mirthlessly) Look at you. How could you even think that you’re the one struggling? Can’t you
see the man that loves you? (vicious, pause, wave letter)

LESLIE (laughs): You think you're so much better than me, don't you? You’re such a patriot
that you’d rather blackmail a poor woman out of her money than report me to the officials.
You truly deserve to be Commander Hammond. Soldiers of the Queen, aren’t we?

HAMMOND (eyes wide, angry): That’s enough, Leslie! Mark my words, Robert will know it all
by sunrise. I will tell him everything.

LESLIE: (taken aback, fearful) Wait, Geofferey, you aren’t serious… [HAMMOND is silent.]

LESLIE: Geoffrey - stop this madness. After all these years, please, you can't do this to that
simple fool of a man. He'll go sick with horror! If word gets out, it could destroy everything!

(pause, stare, frantic) Geoffrey, this isn’t what you want. Trust me. You want the money,
right? I’ll get it, I will, I promise, Robert has got it in here somewhere. (reaches to grab gun)

HAMMOND: (chuckle) This was never about the money, Leslie. I have made up my mind.
(proceeds towards the door)

LESLIE: (pleading) Geoff!

(HAMMOND turns back to look)

LESLIE: You left me no choice.

(six gunshots)

(cut to present time)

JOYCE: Oh, Leslie… is that what you did? Dear god, after all those lies and all that deceit,
you… How could you marry that poor man when all you ever intended was to ruin him?
Forget him, to ruin this country? How can you call yourself human? You’ve brought shame
not just upon yourself, Leslie, but upon the entirety of your country. You’ve drawn a curse on
your motherland, and I hope it was worth it, because this is the last that I will let you do.
LESLIE: (paces up and down as she talks, barely listening) Don’t you see it? It was never
my fault. All I did was protect myself. How can you fault me for simply saving myself? I never
had a choice in the matter.

JOYCE: I… I don't know what to tell you. This has only strengthened my [Link]
government, god, Robert must know. I'm telling him.

LESLIE: (vicious) What makes you think he'll believe you over his beloved wife?

JOYCE: (holds up letter) This letter, Leslie. It's evidence of your cruel actions. I cannot live
with myself if I keep this hidden.

LESLIE: That's rich coming from you. And you’re no saint either, Mrs. Joyce. (sneers) You've
hidden this all along just like me. You think the government won’t come after you?

JOYCE: (sighs, ignores her words) If you won’t tell the truth, I will. I owe Robert that much.

(LESLIE is quiet for a moment, silently grabs a heavy object from the table and strikes
JOYCE atop the head. JOYCE falls to the floor, LESLIE snatches the letter out of her hands,
and tears it into bits.)

LESLIE: Nobody takes away the life I've worked to build. Not Hammond, not you, no one.

(ROBERT silently enters, unnoticed until he speaks. He is holding a bouquet that he drops in
shock.)

ROBERT: (in a choked gasp) Leslie? What have you done?

LESLIE: ROBERT! Oh, no no no, it wasn’t supposed to be like this, I… Robert, you need to
listen to me, please.

(ROBERT slowly walks over to JOYCE and checks her pulse, and looks up at LESLIE with a
shocked expression)

LESLIE: Please, it isn’t my fault, you have to believe me. (runs to grab his hand) I’m not like
that. You know me!

(ROBERT pushes off LESLIE'S hand.)

LESLIE: Robert, she… she threatened me. Please, she threatened me first. I didn’t do
anything, I just protected myself- I mean, us! I protected us! It wouldn't have been safe if she
were free to roam, knowing all that she did. I… (trails off)

ROBERT: (sneers) Knew about what? About you killing Hammond? Or about you being a
traitor? What did she know, Leslie?
LESLIE: (shaky, teary) You… You heard everything? All of it?

ROBERT: (sigh) Yes. For my own sake, I wish I didn't. And as if that wasn’t enough… Why
on earth did you hurt Helene? (Points toward JOYCE) How could you? (teary) You were
supposed to be the one that loved me, Leslie, not... (rage builds up) You’ve made a fool of
me, and you dare to call it love?

LESLIE: (grabs ROBERT’S hand) Robert, you have to understand. Don’t I mean anything to
you? Please, I did it all for us!

ROBERT: (sigh, tone remains gentle but firm) You didn’t just betray our land, you betrayed
me. I loved you, Leslie… I trusted you. But now, I don’t even know who you are. Let go.
Enough. (slips hand out of LESLIE’S hold)

LESLIE: Robert! You can’t leave me! I did everything for you, please, not now! I love you!
Please, Robert, please, I’m begging you! Robert!

(ROBERT exits the scene, leaving LESLIE alone in the quiet.)

Set in colonial Malayasia, The Letter is a gripping psychological drama adapted from W.
Somerset Maugham’s famous short story. The play opens with a murder; Leslie Crosbie
shoots her close acquaintance, Hammond, in cold blood. To the world, she claims it was
self-defense. But beneath her calm exterior lies a web of lies and betrayal. Her sharp-witted
lawyer, Helene Joyce, tries to piece together the truth, when a mysterious letter emerges —
a letter that could unravel everything. Through haunting confrontations and moral dilemmas,
they bring to life a twisted story of secrets, power, and the fragility of lies. This is the story of
a woman trapped between her past and her survival, even at the cost of hiding the truth.
The Letter is brought to you by Kailash House, written and directed by Bhargavi Guhan and
Anhiti Rajaram.