SHORT AND SWEET THEATRE TOP 80 week five SYDNEY 2020 @ AMPA TOM MANN THEATRE Review

Wednesday 18th March 2020 – Short+Sweet postponed until June 2020 – – – Sadly, as you may have anticipated, the Short+Sweet festival will close even before the week six’s already rehearsed program was to open tommorrow. Health concerns for (and of) audience and artists are primary . . . Short+Sweet will be back in June 2020, and will see you there.

SHORT+SWEET 2020 SYDNEY – Top 80 plays, and this is week five of the eight week festival of brilliant S+S short plays. There are twelve very different plays, including some with adult themes, being performed live on stage this week, at Short and Sweet, the world’s biggest little play festival. Dark dating, bright dating, an important message play about depression/grief, one absolutely engaging dramatic monologue concerned with a fascist, plus the unexpected dangers of dna-testing fully provides superb comedy entertainment to end the evening.

1. ANTISOCIAL MEDIA
Audience favourite on opening night. Incredibly clever black-comedy, all about one young woman (Sarah), who is living only an online life. Would have been absolutely perfect comedy, if only the play was under ten minutes, but the play just went on and on and on. Badly in need of having less than 1800 words, with a minimum of one whole page of meaningful dialogue immediately deleted.
Written by Julie Barnett
Directed by Peter Gizariotis
CAST
Sarah – Scarlet Hunter
Facebook – David Loney
Twitter – Cris Bocchi

2. THE PRICE OF
The devil is in the detail, so be careful what you ask for. Commit one murder to become famous, but exactly which kind of famous will you achieve. Reminiscent of a complicated episode of THE TWILIGhT ZONE (1963) “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville”.
Written and Directed by Bree Spaccavento
ITC – NT2 Company
CAST
Michael – Henry Taylor
Agnes – Taleece Paki
Maggie – Amy Lawler

3. BEST SERVED
Drama about regrets, revenge is a dish best served frozen cold, his child (now an adult) has turned the abusive father, into a victim.
Written by Annette Roman
Directed by Jamie-Lee Turner
CAST
Carl – Peter Morrissey-Smith
Jen – Zoe Godendeau
Duncan – Daniel Crompton
George – Rohan Comey

4. THE CLERK
Slow wordy monologue drama, and train clerk was going nowhere looking for love, until the fascist within finally appears.
Written by Jeffrey Gold
Directed by Lachlan McWilliam
CAST
Clerk – Don Ferguson

5. SUPERPOSITION
Too fecking clever comedy, well worth voting for, starring two Irish Mimes. This science lesson in quantum computing, and superposition within quantum computing, the invisible maze (think MS PACMAN maze) beautifully explained and well remembered.
Written by Clifford Keen
Directed by Andrew Ramage and Lana Jean Hill
ITC – Druth’ Theatre Collective
CAST
Mime #1 – Andrew Ramage
Mime #2 – Lana Jean Hill

6. FAULT LINES
Brilliant Drama, on a park bench with two people from entirely different worlds, “YOU PEOPLE” with superb cast and expertly directed, experience good deeds with a dash of Miles Davis JAZZ that delivers throughout, and ends with excellent haiku poetry.
Written by Pheona Mulligan
Directed by Felicity Burke
CAST
Zander Collins – Haki Pepo Olu Crisden
Sue Munroe – Nicki James
Male #1 Voice – Tom Maginnes
Male #2 Voice – Michael Burke

INTERVAL (twenty minutes)

7. BASKET CASE
Comedy funeral outing, mum tells her daughter (Vicky) about each of the awful relatives, that she never ever knew existed. Huge ensemble cast of actors, all with non-speaking roles.
Written by Joseph Arnone
Directed by Olga Tamara
Inner Circle Theatre Productions
CAST
Mum – Olga Tamara
Vicky – Debbie Neilson

8. PROMETHEUS SHRUGS
Drama message play, interesting and with a quick lesson in Greek Mythology. The Romans renamed all the Greek Gods.
Written by John Bavoso
Directed by Zoë Harvey
CAST
Prometheus – William Baltyn
Eagle – Prateek Chatterjee
Heracles – Daniel D’Amico

9. DATE WITH DEATH
Angela prefers murder, to prevent a second date from occurring. Boring dating comedy, as this Black Widow heads towards murder number forty. But one of her victims survived his injuries, and is now a Police Detective (David). So what could go wrong?
Written by Steven Hayet
Directed by Alyssa Gillgren
CAST
Karen – Hope Disher
David – Aiden Mckenzie
Angela – Cassandra Nesci

10. THE LINE
Well constructed message drama, give peace a chance. Are you capable, as you must not cross the line?
Written by Felix Carlyle
Directed by Fergus Maclagan
CAST
Escapee – David Hodgkins
Ranger – Morgan Harpur
Chaser – Lloyd Darling

11. THE TEA PARTY FOR SAD PEOPLE
Clever farce, happy is not available for sad people. Depression is rarely visible. Grief/mourning/miserable/upset/sad. You must not smile.
Written by Cathy Friend
Directed by Jeremy Lowrencev
ITC – Ümbr Productions
CAST
Ziva – Zoe Sadler
Joy – Tihana Vulcik
Jill – Julia Pennisi
Lavender – Joss Chalmers

12. SUSIE MEETS HER MATCH
Comedy and drama, accidental parents, teenager (Susan) wanting more siblings, past adoptions, secrets galore, dna-testing is prone to complications. This play has many unexpected turns and a Fiji Holiday for five.
Written by Gerry Greenland
Directed by Jyotsna Sharma
CAST
Susan – Sonia Hamdard
Jane – Debbie Tilley
Bradley – Adam Dorrington
Steve – Jonathon Brown

Every week there is a new Short+Sweet Top 80 program (Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays at 7.30pm and Saturdays at 1.00pm and Sundays at 6.00pm) and followed by the annual Short+Sweet huge gala finals held during April 2020.

Third year in this big new venue for S+S, and comfortably seating a maximum of 171. The Short+Sweet festival has brand new shows every week for the eight weeks, and runs through to April 2020.

* “In theory, if you came to see every week of the 2020 S+S Sydney Festival you will have seen 80+ ten-minute short plays, and the new work of approximately 600 artists. Now you completely understand why they call SHORT + SWEET ‘The Biggest Little Festival in the World!’ ” *

Short+Sweet Theatre (@ Tom Mann Theatre) Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) 136 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills

SHORT + SWEET THEATRE – Top 80 – WEEK FIVE – 12th March 2020 until 15th March 2020

WEEK FIVE 7:30pm until 10:00pm Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays

WEEK FIVE 6:00pm until 8:30pm Sundays (followed by the official presentation, announcing the weekly winners)