THEY say good things in come threes – and Limelight Theatre is starting the year with a trio of short plays.

Deadly Relations, written and directed by Bob Charteris, follows the unexpected events that occur after Mrs Owens’ death.

On the day of her funeral, a detective calls in relation to a hit-and-run accident that involved Mrs Owens' car.

There is a simple explanation – but Mr Owens appears to have something to hide.

“My usual plays are what I would term mature-age romantic comedies, which deal with relationship issues of people in their 60s,” Charteris said.

“But I’d wanted to write a thriller for some time and I chose this topic – the death of a terminally-ill woman – as the starting point to see how I could develop a plot with many twists and turns.

“In comedy, you have much more poetic licence to create characters but with a mystery play, the roles have to be believable and the plot also has to stand up to scrutiny.”

Stones and Screaming Inside are both written by Sean Byrne, who is co-directing the two shows with Jason Pearce.

The devastating aftermath of losing a child to suicide is the focus of Screaming Inside, as it explores a mother’s journey in trying to come to terms with her loss and ultimate failure to accept it.

In Stones, Steven has been broken by the death of his daughter and is now facing the destruction of his marriage.

He reminisces about the good times and questions whether he could have – or should have – acted differently.

“Many people have been touched by suicide and I witnessed a very close friend trying to cope with the devastating effect it has on immediate family and friends,” Byrne said.

“Teenage suicide is a blight on our society and I wanted to raise awareness of this in what I hope is an engaging way.”

Pearce adds: “I have always wanted to direct and the opportunity arose so I took it

“I hadn’t read the scripts at that point but it didn’t matter because the scripts are great.

“As a first-time director, I will face a lot of challenges but I’m sure I’ll pull through because there are many people who can help.”

Deadly Relations, Stones and Screaming Inside play at 8pm February 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28. All tickets are $15 – book on 0499 954 016 between 9am and midday, Monday to Friday, or at www.limelighttheatre.com.

Limelight Theatre is located on Civic Drive, Wanneroo.