– Are you a budding critic or journalist?

– Are you intending to study theatre at University?

– Are you available:
Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th February 2017 and/or
Saturday 15th April to Friday 21st April 2017?

The MADF organisers are looking for a keen young wordsmith to review the plays during the One Act Festival, Festival and Young Actor of Mann Final and write a daily blog post with help from the Online and Social Media Admin.

You will receive two tickets for the festivals so you can bring a parent or friend.

Benefits:

• You will see many One Act Plays, Youth Performances, 7 full length plays and their adjudication by a GoDA accredited adjudicator – a great opportunity for anyone going on to study theatre at University.
• Your posts will be featured on madf.im and publicised via the MADF Facebook and Twitter accounts and the newsletter sent to all subscribers.
• You will get to meet many people who are interested in the theatre, so it’s a great networking opportunity.
• Universities love to see extracurricular activities on applications, so this would be a great chance to get your writing in print and be a part of a long running Manx festival.

Please email onlineadmin@madf.im or facebook message to express interest by Friday 16th December 2016.

*If you can only come to some of the performances we would still be very interested in hearing from you!

As a whole I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience. It has been a great opportunity to develop my writing and to see so many excellent performances. It has been great fun and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in drama or writing.

Seeing a wonderful play each night was brilliant and, as I hoped, has developed my knowledge of the theatre world. Mike Tilbury was an excellent adjudicator and I would just like to say a big well done to all the actors who performed this year in the Easter Festival as you have made my experience worthwhile, moving and entertaining.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Easter Festival – White Cobra Productions with their production of Scaramouche Jones.

Thank you Vanessa and the rest of the MADF team for this wonderful opportunity.

• Megan Rossiter, 2016 MADF Official Reviewer

Rehearsals for our performance started at the end of July 2016 and our show, an island premiere of One Man, Two Guvnors, hit the Erin Arts Centre in November.

Back in 2011 I noted the sparkling press reviews of the opening at the National Theatre. I was intrigued, it sounded  “different”, exciting, clever and fun. I stored it in the cupboard marked “love to do this sometime” at the back of my head! Then last July French’s (the theatrical agents), sent out a notice that the play was now available for amateur production. Reader, I grabbed the chance! What an opportunity to present an island premiere of a terrific play. Richard Bean’s script is beautifully written, rollicking with breath taking verbal, visual and physical gags. Every rehearsal has been a joy and a voyage of discovery for both cast and director.

Attempting a local production of a West End blockbuster, with a huge cast and 9 scene changes presented more than a few challenges in the intimate confines of the Erin Arts Centre. Not only is the stage area so small, but the wings are totally occupied by a grand piano either side, leaving not much room for actors, props and crew. Set-wise, I had to think minimally, making major items multifunctional. The solid rectangular table existed as a table with different cloths and settings or uncovered as an outside pub table, also it became a large wooden crate in the scrapyard scene and then blacked-out and behind the bench, it gave a sturdy but invisible platform for an actor to appear to leap into the sea. The bench throughout served as a bench or, covered with a chintzy duvet and cushions, became a sofa. The whole auditorium space was used, with actors legging it up and down the length of two side aisles for many of the entrances and exits. The seating is steeply raked, the stage is floor level, enabling some actors to physically engage with audience members, even at times reaching the back row.

The run at the Arts Centre was such a success that the whole team begged to do it again and to perhaps give it a whirl in the large, traditional theatre space of the Gaiety. Which is why I approached MADF, to see if we could be considered for entry into the Easter Festival. We were absolutely delighted to be accepted. What a Christmas present for us!

Rehearsals recommenced in earnest after February’s One Act Festival (our group’s 4 entries scooped six awards, including Best Play). The space, the glorious space backstage at the Gaiety!! The acting area is enormous and my main concern was, ironically enough, to draw that space in, essential for all the interior scenes so we had the back flats well forward, to give almost the same depth as the Arts Centre. The actors had much more lateral space so they would need to up their energy levels to cover the extra ground. Because of the orchestra pit our lead actor had much more of a journey to get into the audience, disappearing from the stage and hurtling down the side stairs and back again, bringing some of the audience with him. A huge challenge for the actor, but I noted from our audience’s response that they were kept entertained even when the stage was bare, thanks to the actor’s gift for amusing ad libbing and being heard clearly!

The technical equipment at the Gaiety is awesome, and MADF group’s expertise and knowledge even more so. I cannot praise enough their tireless enthusiasm, efficiency, friendly banter and (very, very importantly) always their careful regard for the safety of us all. Backstage at a big theatre is indeed a very dangerous place! I was totally fascinated with how the fly bars worked, setting up the festoon lighting, the cyclorama, attaching some of my large signs to be flown in, at the touch of a button on the instructions from the “corner” to the Flyman, high above. Wow! All these people, all this wonderful equipment all at my disposal. I felt quite humbled and so very, very grateful for it all.

One big concern of mine, was the challenge to the actors of projecting their voices in a space possibly twenty times larger than our home ground. I am happy to report that they did it.

So, all this and the opportunity to be assessed by the adjudicator. Thank you MADF, Friends of the Festival and the Gaiety for this truly wonderful and generous Festival!

• Adrienne Sanderson, Crazed Director of One Man Two  Guv’nors

It was a real pleasure to be back on the Isle of Man and in the exquisite Gaiety behind the most commodious Adjudicator’s desk I’ve ever had provided for me.

Despite the difficulties of getting entries, the new Committee succeeded in achieving a really strong and varied programme. As with most Festivals there were mixed fortunes in terms of production.  Three high quality dramas with some truly outstanding performances and excellent standard of presentation.  Two comedies where ambition and enthusiasm hadn’t taken sufficient account of technique and resource.

I felt there was a real desire to listen and learn and hope that, whilst you will not have agreed with everything I said, there was at least something you were able to take away that would be helpful when embarking on your next production.

A great deal of hard work had been put into this year’s Festival by people new to the job who were learning as they went along ( you’ve done it now, so next year’s Festival will be easy ! ). Without their efforts there would have been no Festival.  They deserve everybody’s support to ensure that drama ( as opposed to musicals ) continues to be represented at the Gaiety Theatre.

Thank you to everyone for making my wife and I so welcome.

• Mike Tilbury, GoDA Adjudicator

The final night of the 2016 Easter Festival presented Wellington Theatre Company with their production of The Flint Street Nativity by Tim Firth. This play was originally a TV comedy in 1999 but Firth rewrote it and added music for the stage production. Flint Street Primary School is based on Stockton Heath Primary School where Firth attended and his mother taught. The events of the play are also based on real events that were collected over a period of ten years by Firth’s family and friends.

The Flint Street Nativity is set mostly in Mrs Horrocks’ classroom free of adult supervision as the children prepare for their nativity. Squabbles arise among the group of seven-year-olds because Angel Gabriel (Kay Bishop) wants to play Mary (Sarah Newall-Lecrivain), Herod (Ben Branson) won’t stop waving to his parents and Wise Frankincense (Joseph Maclean) is verbally challenged by a lisp. There are many mishaps and misunderstandings during the preparations of the nativity and through Firth’s addition of carol singing each actor voices the children’s innermost thoughts, from the Innkeeper’s (John Britton) dad smelling like beer to Mary’s stress of parental pressure to succeed. At the end of the play the actors appear as the children’s parents, maintaining certain characteristics of the relevant child. The audience can see who the children are destined to become.

In the words of the adjudicator, Mike Tilbury, “the line between children and adults is never thinner than during the nativity” which is evident in Firth’s play The Flint Street Nativity. Characterisation is unbelievably important in this comedy as the actors, all adults, have to portray young children and later evolve into the children’s parents. Dan Phillips, who played the narrator, had a strong acting voice with well-marked characterisation. His body language and facial expressions were brilliant throughout the performance and he portrayed his character well, this was carried through to his portrayal of his character’s parent. The Shepherd, played by Cat Fisher, was excellently depicted, this was particularly apparent in her speech about birth, it had excellent comic timing and caused her to receive a great reaction from the audience. Another strong characterisation was Maclean’s Wise Frankincense with a good lisp but the adjudicator advised Laura Delves to develop her character, Wise Gold, further however she did have some good moments showing her character’s childish nature.

As a whole the adjudicator also felt that the Wellington Theatre Company needed to work on pace and rhythm, and in particular the Star (Jack King) needed to concentrate on quickening his pace and his entrances. King did however have very good facial expressions conveying what was important to his character well through his descriptions of real stars and his stories of his Uncle Ted from NASA. King and Britton created a nice contrast between their two characters in the insect scene, King showing the nervous nature of his character whilst Britton presented a more misbehaving, mischievous character. Another good contrast was set up between Bishop’s Gabriel and Newall-Lecrivain’s Mary during the dolly scene and their song where they acted as their parents. The adjudicator suggested that this song needed some work as at times he felt they were over projecting, the song was very funny and I thought that the two actresses showed a good contrast not only between each other but also between their character and their character’s parents. Others also needed to work on their projection and most of them needed to watch diction and audibility. Newall-Lecrivain’s Mary and Branson’s Joseph was a great pairing and they worked well together really highlighting the difference between their two characters. Additionally, the adjudicator advised that the cast develop the relationships and rivalries between the characters, something which I believe improved as the show progressed. The adjudicator thought the Silent Night fight mime was “terrific” with “great action” as you began to see the rivalries between the characters, in particular between Mary and Gabriel. This was a good song choice and the lighting was effectively chosen as it added to the chaotic mood the characters had created.

There was a brilliant choice of nativity costumes, great authenticity and there was a good contrast between them and the adult outfits. In particular, the simple box for the ass’ head really captured

the comic elements of Firth’s piece. The Angel’s (Ali Fear) pink, fluffy wings were brilliantly selected and Fear’s scene about the embarrassment of the wings was handled well with a well-timed cue of the lights in these wings at the end of the scene.

Brian Hughes, the director, created a lovely set for the primary school classroom with the coloured plates as planets, the nativity paintings and of course the star chart of ‘Who’s been good’, where the perfect student Jenny who plays Mary has numerous stars. Along with the over-decorated, lopsided Christmas tree in the back, these were brilliant touches made by the director. The adjudicator suggested that the set could be further improved with more large scale furniture to highlight that we were in the children’s world and to create a greater contrast between the children’s world and the adult’s world. Perhaps, more big chairs and a larger rubbish bin. Hughes’ use of the stage added a different level to the set and the actors used this area well which added interest to the play.

Overall, Wellington Theatre Company’s performance was realistic and there was good characterisation throughout, yet the adjudicator felt that if the actors had “more control and discipline it would be more powerful”. Also the movement of the action needed more purpose and direction, and the grouping of the different characters needed more work to ensure the audience didn’t lose the focal point of the action, specifically in the adult scenes. The stage area was used well and most actors had good comic timing, however some entrance and exits should have been slicker. As a whole Wellington Theatre Company’s production of The Flint Street Nativity was a pleasurable evening with some great rib-tickling moments and was a fun end to the 2016 Easter Festival of plays.

• Megan Rossiter, MADF Official Reviewer

On the penultimate night of the festival MADF welcomed another group from the Isle of Man, the Legion Players who presented Marsha Norman’s play ‘night, Mother. This is a heart-breaking tale of two ordinary women which was first premiered at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is the winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The drama is set in Mama’s house somewhere in America occurring over a single winter evening. The story follows Jessie (Michelle Jamieson), an epileptic divorcee who lives with her mother (Mama), Thelma (Stephanie Gray). On this night Jessie casually announces that she is going to kill herself and as the play progresses we see Mama’s desperate attempts to talk her daughter out of committing suicide. Along the way we learn of all the different reasons why Jessie wants to end her life, whilst she keeps busy completing everyday household chores naturally and carelessly. Norman cleverly highlights the loneliness and isolation of an ordinary woman, captivating a failed mother-daughter relationship in a terrifically effective way.

In the words of the adjudicator, Mike Tilbury, Legion Players’ production of ‘night, Mother was “heart rending” and “moving”. This play requires two strong actresses and that is exactly what we got last night from the Legion Players, the cast of two established an excellent pace and great rhythm from the very beginning. Gray’s Mother had brilliant body language and facial expressions with very heartfelt speeches. She also developed her desperation well but the adjudicator suggested that Gray could lengthen some of the pauses and do more with the emotional blackmail. However, it was a touching performance from Gray with an exceptional, emotional and unforgettable final moment. This moment of the play was described by the adjudicator as “tense and spellbinding” and I believe brought a lot of the audience to tears. The cast of two worked extremely well together and there was very natural dialogue between the two of them throughout the show. Jamieson delivered her seizure speeches excellently and her movement around the stage was very natural and well-marked, directing the mood and dialogue perfectly. Jamieson’s phrasing was fantastic and beautifully timed, something the adjudicator picked up on. Her performance was full of meaning and the audience could see the thought process behind every line and movement, it was brilliantly executed. The adjudicator also described the young actress as “extraordinary” and said it was a “performance of terrific depth, intensity and maturity”. Both Jamieson and Gray presented a heart breaking performance and overall it was a beautifully conceived production.

Legion Players’ set was pleasingly crafted with love and detail, as well as using lamps to set a realistic mood. There was also an outside light in the kitchen window which dimmed as Jessie’s life ebbed away. The playwright asks for a working clock on stage and the Legion Players even stopped this clock during the interval, they have a fabulous eye for detail through the whole production. The adjudicator thought the performance would have been more effective without this interval as it interrupted Jessie’s countdown, however this may not have been the Director’s (Benjamin Heath) choice but the venue or festivals. The costumes were suitable and worked well to portray the difference between the two characters. The final song was haunting and a perfect finish to an impressive and outstanding production by the Legion Players. These choices made by Heath made the production whole as he not only created a great set that made the movement fluid with the wonderful use of a kitchen island but he also shaped a somewhat surreal, but remarkable atmosphere through their production of ‘night, mother.

Overall, last night we saw an extremely powerful performance from both actresses, Jamieson and Gray. Norman’s play ‘night, Mother is a clever piece of writing with an emotive storyline and Legion Players presented an unforgettable production that personally brought me to tears.

• Megan Rossiter, MADF Official Reviewer

Last night we welcomed the Isle of Man’s very own Rushen players to take to the stage to perform One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean. This side-splitting play is based on the 18th century Italian play Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. It revives the commedia dell’arte style comedy play, replacing the original Italian setting with Brighton in 1963. This challenging piece has many elements of comic farce including mistaken identity, characters falling over and door slamming.

The play follows the character of Francis Henshall (John Walker) who is hired by both Rachel Crabbe (Catie Angus), disguised as her dead twin brother Roscoe, and Stanley Stubbers (Michael Williams), Rachel’s lover who in fact murdered Roscoe. Francis is determined to keep the two separated as he enjoys receiving two salaries. To add to the mix, Charlie Clench (Brian Matthews) is the gang boss and his daughter Pauline (Ailish Angus) is engaged to marry Roscoe but plans to elope with the old-school amateur actor Alan Dangle (Steve Blower). Ultimately, Francis drives the first act through his need of food and the second half is directed by his lust for the alluring Dolly (Caroline Jones), Charlie’s book keeper, whilst constantly preventing his two employers from meeting.

Bean’s comedy needs to be executed with “clockwork precision”, something the adjudicator, Mike Tilbury, believed to be a vital element of such a physically comedic piece. Although it was a valiant effort from the Rushen Players, this precision was not evident throughout their performance and more work needs to be put into their comic timing, pace and physicality. However, Walker’s Francis was played well, this role is a big responsibility and Walker had good physicality and great audience contact, particularly through his character’s asides. On the other hand I felt as though he could really push his obsession with food in the first act, which was echoed in the adjudication, and develop his comic character even further, which improved as the performance progressed. In the restaurant scene there were brilliant sound effects for Alfie (Jack Verity), the elderly waiter, falling down the stairs which provided great comic moments. Verity’s Alfie had a good stage presence, brilliantly funny entrances and exits during this scene and his body language was great but it could be developed even more, the adjudicator felt his walk in particular could be more chaotic throughout the action. This scene also provided us with some seeming audience participation with the ingénue character (Sharon Roberts) however it was not believable, Roberts should be much more natural in her cameo role, a point the adjudicator made strongly. This role needs to make the audience believe she is not part of the production and unfortunately was very farfetched.

The major comic scenes need to be improved by working on pace, cue pick-ups, entrances and exits. Overall, as the play progressed we saw the actors settle into their characters and I felt most of them improved through the performance. Jones who played Dolly showed good understanding of her character but she needed to slow her lines down and act with more energy, however her lines about the power of women in reference to Margaret Thatcher were strong and clear. Both Williams’ Stanley and Angus’ Rachel as Roscoe had good stage presence and brilliant acting voices however, the adjudicator pointed out that Williams’ accent needs work and Angus was worse when she portrayed just Rachel and advised her to work on that part of her characterisation.

All the costumes were appropriate for each character, in particular Matthews’ suit for the role of Charlie was brilliantly selected and the costume of Jones’ Dolly reflected her personality and the period well. However, the adjudicator suggested that Walker’s costume and mannerisms needed further consideration as they did not completely portray the roguish nature of Francis. There should be slick scene changes in all productions, especially in such a fast paced piece like One Man, Two Guvnors, but Rushen Players’ scene changes were long, laboured and unorganised. This was possibly caused by moving the production from a smaller stage at the Erin Arts Centre where it was performed before Christmas, to the larger Gaiety stage but can be rectified with more rehearsals for the stage crew. Some of the sets lacked detail, however the set design of the Brighton Pier was excellent as there was a creative use of fairy lights, blue gels and sound to set the mood of the water.

As a whole the Rushen Players’ version of Bean’s play was a gallant effort making an enjoyable experience for the audience. Overall, it was a very daring performance as the adjudicator stated that it is the “most difficult and challenging play” to be presented in the 2016 Easter Festival. The cast has great potential to develop their performance further and it was a really entertaining evening.

• Megan Rossiter, MADF Official Reviewer