Short and Sweet is “The biggest little theatre festival in the world” and now returns for the third week of “live on stage” delicious incredible theatre entertainment, weird and vivid comedies plus elegant dramas, this week providing thirteen wonderful plays in bite sized morsels, each under ten minutes. This week also has the best of international entries from the world-wide network of S+S venues, including a full crew visiting Sydney from Chennai.
Every week there is a new Short+Sweet Top 80 program (Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays at 7.30pm and Sundays at 6.00pm) together with a separate new S+S Wildcards program each week (Saturdays at 3.30pm and Sundays at 2.30pm). The Short+Sweet huge gala finals, all take place in April 2019.
Second year in this big new venue for S+S, and comfortably seating a maximum of 171. Top 80 WEEK THREE, Thursday 21st February 2019 until Sunday. The S+S festival has new shows every week for eight weeks, and runs through to April 2019.
(1) 15 SECONDS
Written by Ken Levine
Directed by Lachlan McWilliam
STARRING: Simone LaMartina (Laura), Sean Foster (Josh)
Single strangers meet, Laura and Josh achieve meaningful eye contact, delicious comedy ensues. The battle begins with the two challengers deciding the winner of sex versus fight i.e. love versus hate, including a musical interlude of “some enchanted evening”.
(2) THE DINNER PARTY
Written and directed by Morag Rasmussen
STARRING: Sarah Hawthorn, Chris Downie
More comedy with fourteen guests for dinner. Food clichés galore, including burnt crème brûlée. Fourteen sets of different food intolerances, require the dinner hosts to prepare fourteen separate meals for dinner.
(3) RED JACKET
Written and directed by Hemalatha Swaminathan
STARRING: Tejaswini Vijay, Dvij Krishnamurthy, Hemalatha Swaminathan
Music and lyrics of Michael Jackson, given in this message play as important life lessons, to be quickly learnt in under ten minutes, complete with a surprise visit from Michael Jackson.
(4) UNTER INVESTIGATION
Written by Nancy Hopps
Directed by Jonathan Chan
STARRING: Peter McAllum, Ali Morad, Meredith O’Reilly
Politically incorrect American drama, an investigative spot-check by using illegal entrapment of an unsuspecting UBER driver, with the timely help of the other passenger, who fortunately is a Pax Christi.
(5) CONTEXT
Written by John.C. Davenport
Directed by Laryssa Southerton
Winner of the Short+Sweet Illawarra – People’s Choice.
STARRING: Bradley Ward, Olivia Harris, Zac Chadwick, uncredited actor.
Very funny, audience pleaser with offensive/reactionary and uncompromisingly forthright word choices. Loudly spoken predictive comedy. The ex and mum and son, all bluntly speaking their fully uncensored minds. In-absentia, beautifully constructed script. Each line of dialogue, consisted of a relationship question, but always each question without an answer.
(6) LOVE LIES
Written by Fran Bowick
Directed by Bernice Breckon
ITC: Thespians
STARRING: Denise Metzger, Edric Hong, Amy Gordon
Huge comedy delight with charming pizazz. Holly and Richard, she signs up for treatment costing $50000 for the equivalent of a pre-frontal lobotomy so that she will again be madly completely in love and lust for her husband. It is never the years, it is always the mileage.
(7) I LOVE LUCY
Written by Bara Swain
Directed by Rene Lane
STARRING: Christine Skilton, Keira Sinclair
Excellent comedy set in a doctor’s waiting room, when two strangers meet. Two huge fans of “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show” meet, but there is so much more to learn about the precisely why they are “accidentally” waiting for the same gynaecologist.
(8) NOT SO ENCHANTED
Written by Debbie Neilson
Directed by David Berry
ITC: RedBerry Productions
STARRING: Debbie Neilson (Gizelle), George Burgess (Prince Edward), Greg Thornton
Quite predictably witty, plus easily sticks firmly to the track, always makes every scheduled stop, and carries us triumphantly to the terminus, very very entertaining. Simply the best musical comedy of the night, two cute arm puppets, cute songs always sung perfectly, starring the beautiful Princess Gizelle and the handsome Prince Edward with “Professor Perfect Pecs”. Enjoy experiencing all the joy, when good finally triumphs over evil.
(9) JADE GREEN
Written by John Longhurst
Directed by Dudley Levell
ITC: RC – Rubbish Co Op
STARRING: Cindy Tran (Jade Green), Steven Tait (Max Hamilton)
The lucky thirteen comedy, Max Hamilton the 2RC radio station manager, unexpectedly offers an eager country rookie (yes, radio is her life), a fully-paid RJ job at a city station, but with casting-couch strings fully attached.
(10) AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DANGERS
Written by Peter Greenaway
Directed by Felix Carlyle
ITC: The Upgraders
STARRING: Gaurav Kharbanda, Jawed Gebrael
YES Antony Robbins has a lot to answer for, because those who do not wander forcefully, are already lost. Interesting and very detailed comedy about eighty countries of the world, and eighty ways to die badly in those eighty countries. Includes deadly tarantula spiders, OR was that deadly taarr-are-nntt-too-laarse?
(11) SURPRISE!
Written by Mark Hervey Levine
Directed by Lisa Robinson
STARRING: Jesse Northam, Kristelle Zibara, Lisa Robinson
Dumped at his favourite restaurant, just because of his always ordering Corn Flakes. Of course “Peter The Psychic” already knew his bogan girlfriend Whitney was going to dump him after arriving at the restaurant. However the psychic waitress, who keeps finishing all his sentences, and perhaps already knows that the evening actually will soon begin with him at her place.
(12) EYE OF THE STORM
Written by Sonal Moore
Directed by Taufeeq Ahmed
ITC: Nautanki Theatre Co
STARRING: Conchita De Souza, Suman Mathur, Dinesh Karuthedath
Arranged Indian marriage, excellent well-written drama about Reema who is a decidedly gainfully-employed non-virgin Sydney adult female, who has been taken back to Mumbai, to marry the un-employable Mumbai male of her parent’s dreams. Her confessional assumptions, but does she want her parents to know the whole truth about living in Sydney?
(13) REFUNDS FOR WISHES
Written by Bob Ballinger
Directed by Sam Haft
STARRING: Edric Hong (Victim), Alice Furze (Genie)
Asking the “Genie Of The Lamp” for anything, anytime, anywhere, must be such a very tempting proposition, so be very very careful selecting those three wishes. Huge comedy because the genie has excellent/adequate attitude, and she wants to win at all costs, so asking her for a refund is solely at your risk.
Short+Sweet Theatre (@ Tom Mann Theatre) Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) 136 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills
SHORT + SWEET THEATRE – Top 80 – WEEK THREE – 21st until 24th 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/
