{"id":1007,"date":"2017-02-16T13:58:51","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T13:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madf.im\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2017-02-17T19:42:10","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T19:42:10","slug":"reviews-of-the-one-act-play-festival-opening-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madf.im\/?p=1007","title":{"rendered":"Reviews of the One Act Play Festival Opening Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time for the Truth<\/i><\/b> by Lisa Creighton is a two hander set on a station platform somewhere in the south of England. Two strangers are waiting for a train to Slough, and while Kit played by <\/span>Lisa Creighton<\/b> is waiting patiently, Martin (<\/span>Tom Cain<\/b>) would like to attract her attention. How else do you strike up conversation with a young woman travelling alone, but by mentioning they have met before… when she tried to kill him. Kit doesn’t remember (and if it were true – for legal reasons neither would I), but Martin is convinced and does his best to be convincing. He tells her about herself, she’s an animal lover and as we discover, a fearless brawler where our furry friends are concerned. Kit – unsurprisingly – thinks he might be a stalker and looks for the spy camera. Martin keeps trying, and then starts to explain. Turns out they usually meet a week on Friday (stay with me) because Martin does a nifty line in time travel (unless you’re a cat). He’s no Dr Who, the furthest back he’s been is 1942 when he introduced himself to his granddad on an allotment and was cagey about his Nirvana t shirt. We never hear exactly how he explains himself on the allotment, but we do learn Martin cannot recommend drunken time travel, I won’t tell you how it ends, you should have bought a ticket, but it was a simple and effective piece, with sparky dialogue and clearly defined characters. Very entertaining start to the evening.
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\n<\/span>Cafe Society<\/i><\/b> by Colin Calvert was directed by <\/span>Rachel Martin<\/b> who played Pauline, a customer in the cafe. Luigi the waiter (<\/span>Chris Caine<\/b> with an interesting walk) is bemoaning the missing condiments and Pauline is still waiting for the moustachioed Bella (Are you drunk again?) to provide her Fruita de la mer pizza. We never meet Bella \u2013 I think that’s a pity, she sounds interesting, but we do meet Patrick played by K<\/strong><\/span>arl Bovenizer<\/b>. He arrives, cool shoes and a smart suit. After some pleasant conversation, all very normal, and quite a lot of wine, Pauline and Patrick share the pizza. Unusually though their conversation quickly turns into a scene from Brief Encounter which is not something I’ve ever done over Fruita de la Mer. In this version Stan won Celia with a beautifully delivered ‘bugger Geoffrey’ and they grip passionately amongst the chequered table cloths. It all brought tears to Luigi’s eyes, tho that might have been Bella’s cooking. Of course there’s a twist, and it all comes down to a misplaced door. Patrick isn’t quite what he seems (apparently he’s short sighted too). Three interesting characters played very nicely by the cast. Some very sensitive moments contrasted well with the comedy. The setting was clearly an Italian cafe and the ending came as quite a surprise. Would love to know what Noel Coward thought of their version of Brief Encounter too!<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re in another caf\u00e9 for the third play which is <\/span>Waiting<\/i><\/b> by Lisa Creighton. Highly strung Andy (<\/span>Robin Higgins<\/b>) is supposed to be in the gym but he turns up for his filter coffee and is apparently waiting to meet someone. He\u2019s nervous so wise waitress Joy (<\/span>Rachael McWhinnie<\/b>) suggests decaff. Andy has lots of letters from Jules, not Julie his wife, but flamboyant Jules, wearer of the scarlet scarf. He\u2019s never met Jules before, but he thinks he\u2019d like her, seeing as Julie has been a bit mopey recently, what with the miscarriage and being depressed and a bit boring. (Do you like the sound of this guy?). Fortunately neither did fate, because next customer is colleague Richard (<\/span>Adam Braidwood<\/b>) who wonders what Andy is doing over this side of town. Poor Andy, Richard keeps asking awkward questions. He thinks on his feet, no cos he\u2019s house hunting, his elderly neighbours are driving him out with their gifts of trifle. Paula (<\/span>Rachael Webb<\/b>) comes in next, she\u2019s young & pretty, well maybe not that young says Andy (I\u2019m liking him more and more). Poor wise Joy struggles bravely with Andy\u2019s ego, spotting a similarity with her ex no doubt. We do get a flash of Andy\u2019s childhood which answers some questions, and some Kate Bush & turns out Paula is using peppermint tea to subvert her desires for Gothic romance, though it doesn’t extend to cockroaches. Just to make Andy\u2019s day the monster in law arrives Mrs Baxter (<\/span>Lindsay Quayle<\/b>) and she\u2019s class, a spikey mission shopper with no patience and probably a neat right hook. Better still she\u2019s meeting Julie (the wife!) for lunch in the very same caf\u00e9. Does Andy realise what a moron he\u2019s been? Did Mrs Baxter ever get to punch his lights out – we’ll never know, but wonder if we ever got to meet Jules – nice one Linds… Great ensemble effort, great timing, and plenty of energy.
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\nExcellent selection of entries to open the first night of the MADF One Act Play Festival 2017!<\/span><\/p>\n