This is the final week of Top80 S+S heats. Festival Director Wayne Tunks has made good use of the wall of props on display each week, and finally someone found a magnificent use for the shovel. Selected superb theatre pieces, for you to pick and vote for your two preferred plays out of the twelve plays this week. Interesting message pieces, and emotionally moving themes with rap chess prequel, drama, comedy, time travel, true love, chance love, and a resonating vibrator challenge.
Week Eight Plays: March 1-5 (Wed – Sun @ 7.30pm)
(1) – The Bridge
ITC Presented by Mega Theatre Productions
Written by Jayaprakash Kulur / Directed by Sreejith Gangadharan
Cast: Sreejith Gangadharan, Nithin Balakrishnan
A guard enforces NO fishing on bridge. Drama entirely spoken in unintelligible gibberish (spoken in a meaningless nonsense language that no one understands) eventually the fisher-person teaches the guard how to fish.
(2) – Judgement Days
ITC Presented by Mockingbird
Written by Carl J Sorheim / Directed by Chris Baldock
Short story comedy monologue, starring Nick Steain. Audience participation and comedy one-liners, as cocaine driven humour becomes drama, along his journey of discovery towards his redemption.
(3) – Ying Yang
ITC Presented by Scene Theatre Productions
Written and Directed by Carol Dance
Cast: Harrison Freeland and Erica Long
Dialogue driven, romance comedy with drama in this fast-paced competition of opposites. When flirting, do opposites actually attract? He says, she says, black versus white, poor versus rich. So who will win their delightful word game challenge?
(4) – Tying Up Loose Ends
ITC Presented by Blackout Theatre Co
Written by Mark Harvey Levine / Directed by Delle Fowler
Cast: Daniel Boole, Daniel Conway and Delle Fowler
Youthful charm and dry wit galore between Adam (deceased at 26) and Richard, in this custody battle over a huge stack of vinyl and CDs. Adam versus Richard, and then Adam’s Mum versus Richard.
(5) – Stargazers
Written by Greg Gould / Directed by Simeon Yialeloglou
Cast: Blake Eaton. Georgia Heiniger and David Quinn
“3rd Rock from the Sun” the six season TV series, cleverly revisited at S+S. A comedy of young love between a woman, and the one alien who went native.
(6) – Floss
Written by John Tilbrook / Directed by Addie Fowler
Cast: Justine Matulewicz, Jasper Musgrave and Rachel Marley
The secret love of Romeo and Juliet, now revisited as a huge comedy in the dentist’s office, with dental rhyme and dental poetry. Floss the dental assistant and the dentist are in love, with a love too quickly destroyed by suicide. However the sorceress, Irma La Bush, with a twist decides to rescue all.
(7) – Game of the Century
ITC Presented by JAMS Productions
Written by Mark Longhurst / Directed by Steve Tait
Cast: Manon Gunderson-Briggs, Heath Jelovic, Mark Longhurst, Chris Tomkinson and Andrew Wang
Stunning prequel to last year’s Short+Sweet play Match of the Century. With live music, on keyboard and percussion. Fast paced rap rhyme dance, pays tribute to USA chess player Bobby Fischer. Lightning-fast chess game, where winner takes all.
(8) – When Babies Fly
Written by Steve Korbar / Directed by Avantika Tomar
Cast: Dimitri Kleioris and Avantika Tomar
Fourteen hour sleepless flight LAX to SYD. Hugely entertaining, very politically incorrect high altitude comedy. One very loudly crying unhappy baby, constantly screams its lungs out, keeping everyone awake. Two strangers discover their mutual dislike of children, and both wanting to remain barren, leading to romantic attraction. Magnified when she makes the buying decision.
(9) – Time Machine
ITC Presented by Natguru
Written by Bratya Basu / Directed by Asim Das
Cast: Surja Gupta, Madhulekha Das, Anirban Basu and Rima Sen
Interesting drama unfolds, as his time machine reveals his parents’ past events with audio and video. When taken completely out of context, those past events reveal shocking revelations.
(10) – One Punch
ITC Presented by Ranting Mime
Written and Directed by Jessica Fallico
Cast: Jacinta Moses and Anthony Thomas
Superbly written drama and message piece. Their son was a fatal victim of a cowardly one punch attack. After visiting the police morgue, Mum and Dad are still processing their loss, and keep trying to remain calm.
(11) – Press Pray
Written by Seth Freeman / Directed by Wayne Underwood
Cast: Glenn Anthony Levett and Wayne Underwood
Catholic christianity comedy, as the church now uses an annoying computer voice message service (think Centrelink), to respond to the prayers of the faithful. Dazzlingly imaginative, and an audience favourite on Opening Night.
(12) – Good Vibrations
Written by Susan Mattocks / Directed by Valentino Arico
Cast: Sandra Campbell, Emma Louise and David Wiernik
Without the rabbit, the search for the perfect vibrator. Never ending audience laughter galore, the biggest audience hit on Opening Night. Mum (Sandra Campbell) is the perfect foil for daughter (Emma Louise). If only the sex shop had female employees.
SHORT AND SWEET THEATRE 2017 Top80 Week EIGHT, runs from Wednesday 1st March 2017 to Sunday 5th March 2017.
The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, with on-site free car parking.
All photos by Robert Miniter.
Website: : http://www.shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-sydney-0
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