SHORT+SWEET 2020 SYDNEY – Top 80 plays, and this is week four of the eight week festival of brilliant S+S short plays. There are thirteen very different plays, including some with adult themes (trauma/suicide/nudity/full-nudity), being performed live on stage this week, at Short and Sweet, the world’s biggest little play festival. Dark dating dramedies, one concerned with death and dying, an important message play about 911 operators, one absolutely engaging comedy monologue, plus tinder comedy entertainment to end the evening.
1. MUM’S THE WORD
Very entertaining Blind-Dating comedy, for each still-on-the-shelf unmarried child, two interfering/patronising mothers arrange an unexpected blind date. Audience favourite on opening night.
Written by John and Kay Longhurst
Directed by Steven Tait
CAST
Kate – Ally O’Brien
David – Nathan Moss
2. THE BOYFRIEND
Interesting drama as uninspired jewish mother (Rose), is second guessing the nature of her daughter’s (Paula) latest new conquest (unseen), and the nature of the man who is her latest boyfriend.
Written and Directed by Brian Haydon
ITC – The Small Hall Theatre Company
CAST
Rose (The Mother) – Rebecca Howarth
Paula (The Daughter) – Ruth Smoother
3. DISPATCH
Always each play is supposed to be no more than ten minutes. Unexpectedly this play was a perfect example of social distancing, as each scene had its actors placed about three metres away from the next group of actors. This thirteen plus minutes angst-driven drama about emergency 911 telephone operator interaction, is just four/five minutes too long, and with two characters having a different needs with their “pizza to be delivered emergency”.
Written by Andrew Cooper
Directed by Alyssa Gillgren
HUGE ENSEMBLE CAST
Alex Whitewood, Lucas Boyer, Miroslav Nedeljkovic, Haleigh Foster, Indi Spagnolo, Ramsey Maberly-Smith, Wezley Debono, Lucas Clarke, Mannon Davies, Dylan Hill, Elias Parker
4. ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN
Beautifully crafted message drama, however these two cheerless party entertainers are just not funny, and this fact-checking play delivers an incredible commentary by a child-killing clown from Stephen King’s IT, plus via a non-Disney princess a feminist-based commentary all about Disney’s FROZEN.
Written by Kel Vance
Directed by Taufeeq Ahmed
CAST
Clown – British Flower
Princess – Mansi Gandhi
5. ON THE WAY OUT
Ah, the nature of these times are a changing, slow but very lengthy concept-based comedy as “Manners” and “Common Sense” versus “The Truth” until later on THE RON arrives, creating a very entertaining message/opinion play.
Written by Wendy Hopkins
Directed by Kristelle Zibara
Produced by Bridget Masters
CAST
Common Sense – Madeline Sykes
Manners – Anjelica Murdaca
The Truth – Tia Beale
Ron Mitchelson – Julian Herrera
6. THE COUNSELLORS
A less than ten minute play, that takes eleven plus minutes. Message Drama. Young female counsellor slowly prevents a suicide attempt to be made via freight train, at the local railway station, whilst constantly interrupted by the frequent voice announcements from the Train Guard.
Written and Directed by Andrew Savreemootoo
ITC – Mootoo Productions
CAST
Cassandra the counsellor – Emma Johnson
Kevin the stranger – Richard Littlehales
Train Guard – Yvonne Balakian
Unknown Actor, but without any name –
7. THE MOUNTAIN
Just before the interval, this peri-menopausal comedy delivered via three women, a mountain of mis-information about mood swings, whilst impossibly preaching to the converted.
Written and Directed by Susan Stapleton
ITC – Mountain Women
CAST
Sian – Donna Randall
Meg the guide – Anne
McMaster Kerry – Susan Stapleton
INTERVAL (twenty minutes)
8. WWW.SURVEYHONEY.COM **
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS SHOW CONTAINS MULTIPLE ADULT THEMES **
In their bedroom, privacy between two consenting adults, quickly disappears down the telephone line. We listen to the after 6pm telephone survey two-way-comedy conversation. Mentions of the Hollywood movies WOLF OF WALL STREET and HER, during these totally inappropriate and completely invasive survey questions and survey answers. Unexpectedly an entertaining comedy experience, appreciated by all.
Written by Seth Freeman
Directed by David McKay
CAST
Lois – Sandra Martin
Bob – Bob Deacon
Auto Phone Voice – Heidi Pavlic
9. LETTING GO
Chance meeting in a hospital, these two women, one with the secretive husband now with late stage lung cancer, suspicions expressed but with too many unanswered questions, never resolved.
Script and Performance Facilitated by Peter David Allison.
ITC – Voice of Circe Productions
CAST
Jenn Macro – Georgia Drewe
Patricia Elgort – Tsu Shan Chambers
10. UNEXPECTED TURNS OF EVENTS
Harried father with a young child, this entertaining comedy is a fully narrated short-story-monologue, one actor performs as multiple characters, using different voices and moods. So should the word “says” be correctly pronounced in Australian English as EITHER sezz OR saayss ?
Written by Pete Malicki
Directed by Nathan Large
CAST
Least Favourite Parent – Jean-Pierre Yerma
11. COMPLEX **
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS SHOW CONTAINS ADULT THEMES and FEMALE/MALE FULL-FRONTAL NUDITY **
The unadvertised male nudist (Lachlan), seeking a new flatmate (Travis). However never ever can a merkin be seen/found. Awkward/rude huge five hander, is a daring and courageous attempt at naked comedy, that tries to be many things, but never ever succeeds.
Written and Directed by Davo Hardy
ITC – Davo Hardy Productions
CAST
Lachlan – Ethan Taylor
Travis – Davo Hardy
Debra – Jem Rose Bartlett
12. THE DATE
Three minute speed-dating event, using small talk, this young couple are covering all of their future twenty years spent together, all performed in well under ten minutes.
Written by Chris Naylor
Directed by Swarada Patil
ITC – Nautanki Theatre
CAST
He – Dhaval Pandya
She – Riya Bhatara
13. LOVE ME TINDER
Two male actors have multiple offensive comedic roles, as the tinder dates of the lucky/unlucky tinder woman in constant demand, who is actually looking to find just the one.
Written by Melinda Jensen
Directed by Stephanie Reeves
ITC – Act IV Theatre Co
CAST
Woman – Melinda Jensen
Man #12 – Steve Stojcevski
Man #1/3/5/7/9/11 – Mark J Wilson
Man #2/4/6/8/10 – David Hodgkins
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 FOUR – 5th March 2020 until 8th March 2020
7:30pm until 10:00pm Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays
1:00pm until 3:30pm Saturdays
6:00pm until 8:30pm Sundays (followed by the official presentation, announcing the weekly winners)
TICKETS: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/shortsweetsydney
WEBSITE: https://shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-theatre-sydney-2020
https://www.facebook.com/pg/shortsweetsydney/
https://shortandsweetsydney.wordpress.com/
Production pix by Jim Crew
S+S WINNERS WEEK FOUR
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
3. Mum’s the Word (#1)
2. Love Me Tinder (#13)
1. On the Way Out (#5)
JUDGE’S CHOICE
3. Love Me Tinder (#13)
2. On the Way Out (#5)
1. Mum’s the Word (#1)