Short+Sweet Sydney 2019, the 18th thrilling season. Each delightful morsel of vivid effective storytelling, is delivered in under ten minutes. There are eleven simply superb plays being performed live on stage this week, at Short and Sweet Sydney. Plays completely focused on the power of the visual narrative, with captivating drama, strange circumstances, unique outlooks, and laugh-out-loud entertainment galore.
Second year in this big new venue for S+S, and comfortably seating a maximum of 171. Top 80 WEEK ONE Thursday 7th February 2019 until Sunday. The S+S festival has new shows every week for eight weeks, and runs through to April 2019.
S+S Top 80 program (Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays at 7.30pm and Sundays at 6.00pm) together with a separate S+S Wildcards program (Saturdays at 3.30pm and Sundays at 2.30pm). The S+S gala finals take place in April 2019.
(1) STORY TIME
Written by John Longhurst
Directed by Steven Tait
ITC: RC- Rubbish Co Op
Starring: Mark Longhurst, Cindy Tran, Ally O’Brien, Steven Tait
Behind the scenes of your kid’s favourite television show, clever relationship comedy of the two young stars who are soon to be very (un)happily married.
(2) BY THE WAY
Written by Andrea Clardy
Directed by John Brownthis
Starring: Suzane Chin, Bess Yage
Airport waiting-lounge drama with bold choices, vicarious two-hander has constant stereotyping, angst, pathos and pigeonholing through a two player game of “truth or dare”. So many interesting female secrets, fully played out, as the far more challenging “truth and truth”.
(3) THE SDRO
Written and directed by Xeno Nemos
Starring: Charlotte Young, Don Ferguson, David Hodgkins
Fear of power, comedy drama at a terrorist hostage situation, with the very unexpected. Apparently every dead beat criminal who openly breaks the law and thus deliberately incurs huge fines/penalties, hates and loathes their State Debt Recovery Office (i.e. Revenue NSW).
(4) TE HA TANGATA
Written by S. Pickering, V. Swenson, M. Dewes and Elspeth Tilly
Directed by Anastasia Kyriakidis
Starring: Cormac Costello, Katrina Maskell, Vicki Thompson
Kids raising kids. Devised verbatim play is a effective message drama, easily delivering heart-breaking stories of homeless children and stolen children, with performance both in song and monologue.
(5) GOTTLE OF GEER
Written by Graham Yates
Directed by Sue Turner
ITC: Grinning Shark Productions
Starring: Graham Yates, Richard Littlehales
Ventriloquist comedy/drama., very well directed. The ventriloquist is an alcoholic, who has deep-seated creative issues against his dummy. Yes the dummy is now kicking back at his creator. An audience favourite on Opening Night.
(6) MOMENTS IN INVENTORY
Written by Amber Spooner
Directed by Jen Davidson
Starring: Christine Richardson, Tommy Deckard
The best place to organise you property divorce settlement is at your local coffee shop. Volatile confrontation comedy delight, as these ex-partners loudly display for all, every reason why their cheating long-suffering marriage collapsed into deep-seated hatred.
(7) TIME SAVERS
Written by Barry Wood
Directed by Jesse Hilford
Starring: Rachael Millanta, Rob Ferguson
Very worthwhile and thought provoking. Your future is “Probably-Not”. Your past is “Definitely-Probable”. Time Travel Comedy via strange circumstances. A new time creation store has just opened this morning, and offers a very tempting time-travel proposition. The manager is very determinedly selling a quick trip into your past for $20 for each five minutes. Three times, their first customer goes backwards in time, creating the expected time paradox, where she must not meet her future self. Not a scam, as unexpectedly the whole planet, goes backwards in time, and the future is F E . . .
(8) BOYFRIEND 2.0
Written and directed by Paulene Turner
ITC: Musketeer Productions
Starring: Eveline Schubert, Steven Tait, Jack Douglas
A.I. Robot Boyfriend with interesting attitude. All of the relationship had been over for a long time, so you never can go back. Ex meets his replacement, comedy ensues. Audience favourite on Opening Night.
(9) NOTICE
Written by Peter Snoad
Directed by Amelia Gilday
Starring: Alex Fenner, Anthony Ghosn
Comedy message two-hander provided by one “positive message t-shirt” with these two words “WRITERS NOTICE”. Two actors in multiple roles, and there is a an explanatory epilogue.
(10) SPIN
Written by Fran Bowick
Directed by Julian Ramundi
ITC: Thespians
Starring: Sean Gunn, Benjamin Dillon-Smith
The “everyman archetype” screwball comedy, bold dialogue choices as the current and very inept Australian Prime Minister, constantly fails to get a personality makeover. “Extreme Personality Makeover” desperately needed via brain transplant.
(11) A SOLDIER’S TESTIMONY
Written by Paul Bowman
Directed by Dany Akbar
Starring: Arshia Ayran, Russell Cronin, Peter Allison
The evening ends with “Drama in Afganistan”, trying to explain away a prisoner combatant who was given an unauthorised “Catch and Release”.
Short+Sweet Theatre (@ Tom Mann Theatre) Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) 136 Chalmers Street Surry Hills
SHORT + SWEET THEATRE – Top 80 – Week One – 7th until 10th February 2019
7:30pm Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays
6:00pm Sundays (followed by the official presentation)
TICKETS: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/shortsweetsydney
WEBSITE: https://shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-theatre-sydney-2019
https://www.facebook.com/pg/shortsweetsydney/
https://shortandsweetsydney.wordpress.com/
