During the eight weeks of S+S heats, Festival Director Wayne Tunks has picked one S+S play each week which displayed excellence in writing, directing, acting and team work.

This week those eight S+S plays now have their own final, on Thursday March 9 and Friday March 10 at 7.30pm

This is a fierce competition, because one play, will be chosen to go to the S+S Gala Final the following week.

Beard (Week 1)

ITC presented by Viridescent

Written by Erin Middleton and Robert Miniter / Directed by Lawrence Dooley

Cast: Erin Middleton and Robert Miniter

Praying the gay away. The need to pretend to be, what parents incorrectly want. Both ignoring aversion therapy, boy meets girl, and the girl offers to be his beard, to misleadingly prove that the weeks of treatment actually works.

T3 Trojan (Week 2)

ITC presented by Bare Bones Theatre Co.

Written and Directed by Judith Duncan

Cast: Karishma Mathur

Very entertaining, dramatic injustice monologue of woman versus machine, with essential content very reminiscent of “Fahrenheit 451” and “Divergent”. The human element has been removed, dystopian justice is now very blind. Blindfolded and kept in an execution cell, and a computer is your judge jury and executioner, because all justice is badly administered by artificial intelligence, with urgent need for change. The twist ending was inspired, and brilliantly original.               

Attachment Theory (Week 3)

Devised by Gina Tay Limpus and Jamie Kendall / Directed by Jamie Kendall

Cast: Gina Tay Limpus, Jamie Kendall

Physical Theatre piece with techno music track, these two artists use words together with choreographed swift movements that explore their intimate relationship through time. Via American Psychologist John Bowbly’s theory of relationships, they move along from perfect, to secure, to avoidance, ending with a rather wet form of ambivalent. Love becomes both hate and anger, a full and very worthwhile theatrical experience, on the Short and Sweet stage.

Arthur and Marilyn (Week 4)

ITC presented by Half Boy Company

Written By Jasper-Lee Lindsay / Directed by Danen Young

Cast: Meg Hyeronimus and Alec Ebert

Delicious fictionalised dialogue, as we learn exactly how Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller met. Hear all that they talked about, and also see their body language, with a smoky haze caused by the cast constantly smoking a seemingly infinite amount of herbal cigarettes.

The Secret of Me (Week 5)

ITC presented by Almost Evkav

Written by Sonal Moore / Directed by Evangeline Moore

Cast: Jack Marsden & Alexandra Joyce

Cultural expectations change, and photographic art trends keep changing. During Queen Victoria’s time, young children being captured in photos completely naked was a symbol of purity and not of sexuality. Strong believable performances, utterly intense dialogue within a perfectly balanced structure, set in an photographic art gallery storeroom. Unexpectedly Ruth sees an extremely confronting paedophile photo of herself on exhibition, that unknowingly her Uncle Leo had taken of her over twenty years ago. Dramatically ends with an unexpected resolution of her dilemma.

My Name is Lucinda (Week 6)

ITC presented by Backstage Pass

Written & Directed by Lisa Kelaher

Cast: Margareta Moir

Margareta Moir stars as Catherine, telling a beautiful to hear, short story monologue all about her life. As a child the simplicity of Catherine the introvert, enjoying all those John Wayne westerns of daytime television, and she decides her life is so much better as the driven “Wild West” extrovert Lucinda. For Lucinda, every hotel bar transforms into a wild west saloon. Delivered everything a play should be, Margareta Moir did a beautiful job of providing the wonderful duality of the role, in a superb and winning performance.

The Accident (Week 7)

ITC presented by Marko Mustac Productions

Written By Marko Mustac / Directed by Jenny Hope

Cast: Marko Mustac & Lou Pollard

“Baby you can drive my car, and maybe I will love you”. The strong coarse language content of this play, is completely inappropriate for all children. There are so many Bad and Disrespectful witty one-liners, however my favourite line is when the husband says to his wife “I don’t hate women you c*nt”. Offensive Explicit Language is used creatively and effectively, to metamorphosize this dialogue intensive drama, into a black ironic comedy masterpiece.

In a very long-term relationship, this very dysfunctional couple are both enjoying cheating on their marriage partner, however their love for each other is a brightly burning fire, that burns down everything that it sees, and this couple are a car crash away from dying. Perfectly cast couple, have so many memorable twisted lines of biting dialogue, this elegantly constructed play delivers outstanding artistry.

Floss (Week 8)

Written by John Tilbrook / Directed by Addie Fowler

Cast: Justine Matulewicz, Jasper Musgrave & Rachel Marley

Experience 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.

SHORT+SWEET FESTIVAL DIRECTOR’S FINAL 2017 WEEK NINE @ THE DEPOT THEATRE

All photos by Robert Miniter.

The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, with on-site free car parking.

Website:   : http://www.shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-sydney-0
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