MADF Easter Festival  Programme 2024
Gaiety Theatre
Saturday 30th March – Thursday 4th April 2024

Full length and One Act plays taking part in competition over 6 days, adjudication to take place each evening after the performances.

Saturday 30 March
Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill – Rushen Players (One Act)

Three old friends and a neighbour. A summer of afternoons in the back yard. Tea
and catastrophe! Caryl Churchill’s convention-defying play mixes backyard tea with environmental disaster, exploring themes of politics, crisis, communication and female endurance. This pleasant conversation is frequently interrupted by the neighbour, Mrs Jarrett, who stands to address the audience for long monologues about an apocalyptic
world.
(Black Comedy)

Victoria Station by Harold Pinter – Parodos Theatre Company (One Act)

Victoria Station consists of a radio dialogue between a minicab controller (or
dispatcher) and a driver who is stopped by the side of a dark park. in Crystal Palace,
supposedly waiting further instructions. The controller attempts to instruct the driver to pick up a client from Victoria Station, but the driver declines to move, focusing on his current client. The Controller’s mood shifts through various degrees of mystification towards irritation and then possibly compassion masking some more nefarious intention of what to do with this Driver.
(Drama)

Sunday 31 March
Lillies of the Land by Lion’s Part – White Cobra (Full length)

Lilies of the Land is an extraordinary piece of theatre telling the story of Britain’s
Women’s Land Army of World War Two. Based on hundreds of actual letters from original Land Girls, the play focuses on four very different women who all come together during Britain’s darkest hour determined to “do their bit” for King and Country.

Monday 1 April
The Father by Florian Zeller – White Cobra (Full length)

Seen through the eyes of a man with dementia, The Father exposes the emotional
toll it has on him and his family. Moving and at times heart-breaking, Andre’s story
will be recognised by all too many families. Blistering honest but ultimately uplifting,
it’s a story of our times. Recently an Oscar and BAFTA winning film starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman, this production includes the founders and stalwarts of White Cobra and original music by Martin Heath.
(Drama)
NB The subject matter of this play could be upsetting

Tuesday 2 April
TWO by Jim Cartwright – Rushen Players (One Act)

A real time, one scene snapshot of life in a local pub one weekend evening. The
action revolves around the landlord and landlady, who run the pub, and different
pairs of people who are customers. It moves back and forth, spotlighting the different
relationships, coming back to the landlord and landlady each time. All the characters
are portrayed by the two actors on stage.
(Comedy/Drama)

Viral by Maria McConville – Platform Theatre School (One Act)

In this ensemble-driven drama featuring an all-female cast, five high school girls
recount a cruel locker room bullying incident that is initially cloaked in secrecy, but
ultimately goes viral online. What happens next forces the students to question their
respective roles in the events that unfolded in that fateful day.
(Drama)

Wednesday 3 April
1984 by George Orwell – Wellington Theatre Company (Full length)

Winston Smith is in prison, found guilty of Thoughtcrimes against Big Brother. As
part of his reconstruction, he must re-enact key moments from his past life, with the
help of other thought criminals, so that everyone can learn from his mistakes.
Including his biggest mistake of all: falling in love with Julia. Constructed almost entirely from dialogue taken from the original novel, this bold and powerful dramatisation restores the blazing heart of Orwell’s work: a doomed love story, with the lovers at its centre.
This is a terrific and terrifying play about what could happen, or is it happening now!
Considering it was written 75 years ago it makes events that are happening today
stunning and scary.
(Drama)
NB The subject matter of this play could be upsetting

Thursday 4 April
Babysitting Calvin by John H. Newmeir – Service Players (One Act)

Calvin, a ten-month old baby (acted by an adult), can still remember his previous life
when he was happily married to Laura, despite the constant attentions of his
womanising friend, Bob. Calvin will lose his blissful memories when he reaches his
first birthday – or speaks – so he determines nothing will make him talk!
(Comedy/Drama)

The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter – Service Players (One Act)

The Dumb Waiter revolves around two would-be assassins waiting to learn what
their next assignment will be. These men, Ben and Gus, are polar opposites: Ben takes orders as they come without question, while Gus nervously awaits new assignments by peppering Ben with myriad questions. The final showdown occurs not between the two assassins and their victim, but between Ben and Gus themselves.
(Comedy of Menace)