{"id":2846,"date":"2026-03-18T03:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T03:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.uked.com.au\/?page_id=2846"},"modified":"2026-03-20T22:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:13:16","slug":"synopsis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/synopsis\/","title":{"rendered":"Synopsis"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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ACT ONE<\/strong><\/p>

It\u2019s Karla<\/u><\/a>\u2019s 50th<\/sup> birthday and she\u2019s just been dumped by her violin-playing boyfriend Brian. She\u2019s just not musical enough.<\/p>

Brian\u2019s the first violin in the West Bendigo Chamber Orchestra. Karla\u2019s the first triangle.<\/p>

Hurt and lonely, Karla comforts herself with a gin and tonic, and then does what she always does when she needs to express her feelings; she writes a rhyme about it \u2013 an ode to Brian\u2019s new girlfriend Kylie, who plays the cello.<\/p>

Karla wonders how she will fill her lonely Sundays. She\u2019s never been married, never had kids and never had a career. She works at Pack n\u2019 Track with her friends Leonie and Julie between caring for her aged mum.<\/p>

Perhaps she\u2019ll go to church or synagogue? She romanticises about the Sabbath, with the whole family around the table \u2013 lighting the candles. She reads the book Mum gave her for her birthday, Helen Garner\u2019s Everywhere I Look, <\/em>and confesses that she\u2019s been inspired by Garner\u2019s love letter to the ukulele to buy one for herself. It even has her name on it \u2013 Kala. Meant to be!<\/p>

With her new ukulele, Karla starts learning on YouTube, learning basic chords with Spruikin\u2019 Uken Luke and strumming with Brett McLean. It\u2019s so easy!<\/p>

The eccentric Tiny Tom teaches her a one-chord song (Lime in the Coconut<\/em>). But it\u2019s old Uncle Scraggy who teaches her a song she can really relate to (Chain of Fools).<\/em> Karla is on fire. She resolves to be a fool for Brian no more and to join a dating site.<\/p>

A week later she joins the dating site Romance-R-Us. She is wary about scammers, but Spruikin\u2019 Uken Luke reassures her that she will find the man of her dreams (Mr Sandman).<\/em><\/p>

Weeks later, Karla is frustrated. She hasn\u2019t had time to practice as Mum\u2019s had a fall and broken her hip. She\u2019s only had one bite from Romance-R-Us \u2013 dick pics from a bloke called Owen. To add insult to injury, her friend Julie is making fun of her passion for the ukulele.<\/p>

Her new YouTube teacher Pierre Vert offers reassurance in the form of a cool riff, and she is buoyed when she gets a bite from a handsome widower called Wade. Not only does Wade play the ukulele; he has his own YouTube Channel \u2013 WhatWadePlayed!<\/p>

Wade\u2019s second wife Lydia died of ovarian cancer two years ago and he\u2019s still grieving (I Still Miss Someone<\/em>). He\u2019s Australian, from Ballarat, but is in Sacramento, LA, helping Lydia\u2019s Mum with some legal issues.<\/p>

Karla is wary at first but when YouTube teacher Baba Bill reassures her, preaching free love and paid subscriptions, she decides to give Wade a chance. (It\u2019s So Easy to Fall in Love)<\/em>.<\/p>

After a whirlwind Skype and text romance, Wade wants to meet her. Karla fantasises about going to Sacramento to be with him, but Julie cautions her that he might be a scammer. (Step Back)<\/em>. Fearful, Karla blocks Wade. Things aren\u2019t going well at work either. The doctors want her to come to Bendigo to discuss Mum\u2019s Care Plan, but her boss won\u2019t give her compassionate leave.<\/p>

Weeks go by without another bite from Romance-R-Us. Karla is in a rut. She turns to YouTube teacher Luke for advice, who tells her it\u2019s time to stop sitting alone in her room. She should join a club (Cabaret)<\/em>.<\/p>

Excitedly, Karla joins the Newstead Ukulele Troupe, where she meets the charming Jeremy and Joel and makes loads of friends (Happy Together).<\/em><\/p>

A month later, she\u2019s thrilled to be invited to join the NUTS<\/u><\/a> for their first gig \u2013 at the Maldon Nursing Home. But she fears she may not make it, as Mum has pneumonia. She is flattered when Jeremy sends her an invitation to play at a wedding and is convinced he likes her \u2013 until she discovers that the wedding is for Jeremy and Joel.<\/p>

Lonely and depressed she checks Wade\u2019s YouTube channel and is moved to find he\u2019s dedicated a song to her (Do You Ever Think of Me)<\/em>. Inspired, Karla resolves to Skype Wade and to ask outright whether he\u2019s a scammer. Wade reassures her that Julie is just jealous.\u00a0 But the call is cut off just as he starts to tell her his true feelings.<\/p>

The next week Karla is with the NUTS at Jeremy and Joel\u2019s wedding (Love Me Do)<\/em> when her phone interrupts the celebrations. It\u2019s Wade. He can\u2019t stop thinking about her. He\u2019s coming home. Does she want to meet him at the airport next week? For Karla there is only one answer: \u201cI do!\u201d<\/p>

ACT TWO<\/strong><\/p>

Dressed to kill and holding her carry-on luggage, Karla waits for the taxi to Melbourne airport to meet Wade. He\u2019s booked a romantic weekend at the Langham. She\u2019s convinced he\u2019s going to propose (Maybe This Time<\/em>.)<\/p>

Her phone rings. It\u2019s Wade. But the news isn\u2019t good. He\u2019s been mugged on the way to LA International Airport. His leg is broken, his face is smashed and his money and passport are gone. Convinced they are still destined to be together, Karla picks up her bags and rushes to the airport to fly to LA to rescue him (Count on Me<\/em>).<\/p>

A week later, Karla sits at home in her dressing gown listlessly playing her ukulele. Lydia the wife who died of ovarian cancer met her at LA International Airport. Wade didn\u2019t have a broken leg, but he would soon. Not only that, he disappeared with the $10,000 Karla borrowed through Mum\u2019s reverse mortgage to pay his hospital bills.<\/p>

Karla posts a rhyme on Facebook warning other women about Wade, and decides to give up on love. Maybe she\u2019ll be like a poet instead? She recites a rhyme about it and sings and plays sadly (If No One Ever Marries Me<\/em>).<\/p>

The good news is that Mum\u2019s coming home. Karla has bought her a welcome-home present \u00a0\u2013 a tiny ukulele. They can play together. But Karla now recognises that she also needs to make some friends and move on. She decides to rejoin the NUTS, but Jeremy and Joel are on an extended honeymoon in Hawaii, so NUTS are off the menu. Joel suggests she tries the GRUBS \u2013 the Guildford Regional Ukulele Band (GRUBS).<\/p>

That night, Ruth and the GRUBS welcome Karla. They understand exactly what she\u2019s been through with Brian and Wade (You\u2019re No Good)<\/em>. Ruth invites her to join them to practise for the Deni uke muster, but when Karla turns up the following week, no one is there.<\/p>

Karla practises while she waits and is stunned when Brian knocks on the door. Kylie\u2019s left him and he\u2019s desperate to join a uke club. There are no clubs for violin players.<\/p>

Karla slams the door on him and triumphantly plays a reprise of If No One Ever Marries Me<\/em>, unaware that a mysterious stranger has entered the room and is observing her.<\/p>

The stranger introduces himself as Maestro. There is an instant mutual attraction. (Love is in the Air<\/em>). They talk for two hours. Karla is giddy with excitement. As a test, she shows Maestro her rhymes.<\/p>

The next day, Maestro enters excitedly with Karla\u2019s rhymes and tells her they are not poems, but lyrics. She should write music for them! With Maestro\u2019s help she writes her first song (The Kooky Ukey Song<\/em>), thus discovering her true talent.<\/p>

Karla\u2019s happy-ever-after is in sight, until Maestro suddenly announces he has to go home to his family. She is devastated \u2013 and then relieved and thrilled when he explains that his family is his sister and her husband and that every Friday night they celebrate the Sabbath. The whole family around the table, lighting the candles \u2013 together.<\/p>

Maestro invites Karla to join them, but she\u2019s learned not to rush things. Maybe next time.<\/p>

Maestro is torn. \u00a0He decides he can afford to miss the Sabbath celebration just this once. He invites Karla to dance and together they dance into a brighter future. (Dance Me To the End of Love<\/em>).<\/p>

Want to read the full script?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Uked! script<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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ACT ONE It\u2019s Karla\u2019s 50th birthday and she\u2019s just been dumped by her violin-playing boyfriend Brian. She\u2019s just not musical enough. Brian\u2019s the first violin in the West Bendigo Chamber Orchestra. Karla\u2019s the first triangle.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2846","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2846"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3035,"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2846\/revisions\/3035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uked.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}