SHORT+SWEET 2020 SYDNEY – Top 80 plays, and this is the first week of this eight week festival of short plays. Yet another entertaining and fun night with a great mix of plays to engage every audience. From a disastrous meeting with Human Resources, the many adventures of millennials when dating, and there is comedy, dramedy, philosophy and pure drama a plenty.
1. DIAGNOSTIC INVENTORY
Huge comedy delight, and always blunt is the theme, so always beware of anonymous staff surveys from the Human Resources Department.
Written and Directed by Michael Gooley
ITC – Arts Theatre Cronulla
CAST
Miss Fletcher – Angela Gibson
Miss Jones – Melissa Myles
2. RENTALS
Three new dads in training are quickly learning their life lessons, all about child rearing from the outset, one with twins, one with six children, and then the one who gains a child and loses the wife.
Written by Gregory Hardigan
Directed by Frank Leggett
CAST
Dad 1 – Chris Price
Dad 2 – Clayton Moss
Dad 3 – Danny Barton
3. TINDER NIGHTMARES
Internet comedy galore, when two millennials knowingly explore the pitfalls of online dating using the tinder app.
Written by Alyssa Gillgren
Directed by Chris Ireland
CAST
Ethan – Lucas Boyer
Addy – Nicole Tabuena
4. INTO THE WIND
Julie from her sixteenth birthday, begins her dramatic and golden path to womanhood, and the wonderful career of a lifetime.
Written and Directed by Lisa Kelaher
ITC – Backstage Pass
CAST
Girl – Lola Bond
Woman – Liz Hovey
5. PHILOSOPHER’S HOSPITAL
Hospital Emergency Room comedy, but a hospital without any medical doctors, multiple-choice philosophers everywhere, so how does this car accident victim, actually get his profusely bleeding broken arm fixed.
Written by Steven Otfinoski
Directed by Kathleen Hrayssi
CAST
Theo Larkman – Jamie Treselyan
Receptionist – Dani Lavorenti
Nietzsche – Justin Young
Schopenhauer – Aldo Fedato
James – Bob Deacon
Freud – Trey Daniels
INTERVAL
6. OH, LUCY!
Dating disaster comedy, with cheating testing and eating, as Lucys dream date explodes.
Written and Directed by Suzy Wilds
CAST
Lucy – Katy Rachel Moore
Jen – Amy Hofman
7. LENNY, YOU SLAY ME
1930s Hollywood with Mr and Mrs Schultz, and poor poor Chuck is very earnestly trying far too hard, to get young Gretel to leave her veteran German composer husband, Leonid (Lenny) Waldstein.
Written and Composed by
Gordon Kalton Williams
Original Direction by Adam Taylor
CAST
Chuck – Tayman Jamae
Gretel Schultz – Holly Matheson
Lenny Schultz – Gordon Williams
8. JUST ANOTHER DAY
High school days create intense drama, as complex and misunderstood High school student finally makes his crush known.
Written by Cathy Friend
Directed Bedelia Lowrence
ITC – Umbr Productions
CAST
Milton – Jeremy Lowrence
Sarah – Cathy Friend
9. DEATH OF A TRADESMAN
They just completed the murder of number seventeen of forty, solely for the money in his wallet, interesting and clever married couple comedy, when a Police Detective arrives asking about a long missing person.
Written by Graham Yates
Directed by Emily Perry
ITC – Cronulla Arts Centre
CAST
Maureen – Di Mifsud
Denis – Graham Yates
Detective Baxter – Craig Bulmer
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 the annual Short+Sweet huge gala finals, all take place during April 2020.
Third year in this big new venue for S+S, and comfortably seating a maximum of 171. Top 80 WEEK ONE is a huge opening week special event, Thursday 13th March 2019 until Sunday. The S+S 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 work of approximately 600 artists. Now you understand w* hy we call it 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 ONE – 13th March 2020 until 16th 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/
WINNERS S+S WEEK ONE – The Judges Choice
3rd place – INTO THE WIND (4)
2nd place – DEATH OF A TRADESMAN (9)
1st place – RENTALS (2)
WINNERS S+S WEEK ONE – The Peoples Choice
3rd place – DEATH OF A TRADESMAN (9)
2nd place – PHILOSOPHER’S HOSPITAL (5)
1st place – RENTALS (2)
