Solution
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Table structure.
This is the structure we follow: one play per day, from Monday to Friday.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A |
A is on Monday (the answer we were looking for...)
"D or E should not be either the first or last to be staged."
"E should be immediately followed by C." "B should be staged immediately after D."
So E and C form a block (EC), and D and B form a block (DB). D and E cannot be on Monday, so neither block can open the week. A takes Monday.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | D | B |
D and B.
"One play is staged between A and B."
A is on Monday, so B is on Wednesday. B comes right after D, so D is on Tuesday.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | D | B | E | C |
E and C.
"E should be immediately followed by C."
Only Thursday and Friday remain, so the EC block fits there: E on Thursday and C on Friday. E is not first or last, so this is allowed.
Note: "E is followed by C" just means C comes right after E, like in a queue where E stands first and C stands behind. So it is E, C (not C, E), which gives A, D, B, E, C, and the first play is A.