Light Days

Last night I went to see the tremendous production: Lighter Days. This was the second night of a series of productions by Almost Random Theatre

THREE HOURS of thrillers, humour, music and improvisation.

BLISS!

Copied from the programme these were the plays - note how it was a completely different schedule to the previous night:

Why are you still here?

Actors: Mary, Richard                           

Writer: Doc Andersen-Bloomfield

Miriam Dances

Actor: Lixi

Writer: Joel Kaye

Le Type deBrouillard

Actors: Paul, Imran, Angharad               

Writer: Gwilym Scourfield (based on a short story by Birte Milne)

Confessions of an Addict

Actor: Steve

Writer: David Olsen

One minute plays improvised

( Your Order, Birds, I Think Therefore I am)

Writers: Gwyilm Scourfield; Catherine Comfort, David Gregory

Where Fairies Haunt

Actor: Lixi

Writer: Lorna Pearson

                                     

Walking on ice

Actors: Lorna, Richard

Writer: Lorna Pearson

Mad Mary Dancing

Actor: Angharad, ‘Voice’     

Writer: Doc Andersen-Bloomfield

Letter to an MP

Actor: Lixi    

Writer: Chris Sivewright

Dementia

Actor: Lixi, Imran

Writer: Chris Sivewright (But the song is from Youtube)

Now what can be said about the above?

Well, the writers are not beginners. Reading from the programme, many of them seem to have won awards or been short-listed. So, good, tight, interesting scripts. Well, ....OK. It's the Friends Meeting House  which is not that great a venue as there's no blackout,focus lights, sound effects etc etc However overall the evening was just great! Go to the next one at Port Mahon on Monday!

Dark Days

On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of going to see Dark Days, a series of short plays, improvisations and monologues by a bunch of new writers in Oxford. The event was one of a series of performances by Almost Random Theatre .


The schedule was impressive.SEVEN plays + impros in 2 hours. (Actually it ran to three, but that was a bonus not a curse.) Copying from the programme I report that these were the plays:

Improvisation – starring the audience!

The intricate workings of a Sherbet Lemon

Actors: Emmeline, Nicola, Kyran                       Writer: Dr Stuart Lee

Going for Gold

Actor: Mary                                                   Writer: Penny Thomson

My Name is Caroline Korby

Actors: Emmeline, Nicola, Paul                         Writer: Heather Dunmore

Uncle George

Actor: Richard         Musician: Angharad          Writer: Chris Sivewright

One minute plays improvised

(Big Issue, Tomatoes, They Take Our Jobs, I think therefore I am)

Writers: Gwyilm Scourfield; David Gregory; Chris Sivewright

Confessions of an Addict

Actor: Steve                                                  Writer: David Olsen

Wolf

Written and read by Gwilym Scourfield

Would that it were

Actors: Emmeline, Nicola, Kyran, Daria,  Imran   Adapted by Heather Dunmore from a story by Julie Adams


If you want to know more about the actors/writers then go to the showcase on the website.


Now to the plays themselves...


The Sherbet Lemon is a thriller - chillingly accurate and a very neat twist at the end. All credit to the actors (and I think this is a phrase I will be repeating...)
Going for Gold, a marvellous monologue, perceptively written and flawlessly acted. 
'Uncle George' brought tears to my eyes - well, almost, I mustn't over do things here! - as 'Uncle George' related how he was dying and wanted to give his nephew and nieces money.Well cast in having Richard Ward as the Uncle.
My name is Caroline Korby was another slightly spooky story - what is it with murder and mayhem - with a nasty ending.
Confessions of an Addict is exactly what it says, an addict confesses to the audience about his addiction. This was so well received that the confession was repeated the second night and will be repeated again next week at Port Mahon
Wolf was written and read by this person - clearly an enthusiastic writer and performer!
Finally...'Would that it were'. Absolutely flipping brilliant. I am not sure the actors were acting - they were playing people of their age doing (I suspect) what they would do in such a situation. A lot of ad-libbing and at times they seemed out of control. This too is being repeated next week - I urge my millions of followers (am i overstating?) to see it next week!

Go! Go! Go!

You may have read my post about Home Truths.

Well, last night I went to see the three plays:

• The Reading Group (Fay Weldon)
• Sour Graps and Ashes (Nick Warburton)
• The Last Bread Pudding (Nick Warburton)

All three plays were excellent. The acting by Gill Somerscales, Mary Drennan and Claire Winterbottom was excellent. Jon Price was a little shaky, as was David Smith but St Peters Players is an amateur production company and to learn, rehearse and polish three 50 minute plays when you only started in January is to be commended.

I have written a detailed review for Daily Information (www.dailyinfo.co.uk) and anyway a review of one of the plays (performed by different actors) is here.

The plays, apparently, are comedies. Well, there is some laughter (especially for the third play) but in the main serious points are made. The programme notes say:

'These three one-act plays all see buried truths - sometimes troubling, sometimes inspiring, sometimes simply bizarre - finding their way to the surface...'

For £5 (if you get a concession) you receive almost three hours of entertainment.

Incredible value for money.

Here are some of the actors - in other roles...

This time it's POLITICAL!

Made from Scratch Theatre are putting on an Election Night Special!

May 1st at the Cockpit Theatre 8pm.


Tickets are £6.

This is how you get there....

So, what is special about THIS Scratch Night?

• NINE NEW PLAYS
• 
  
• NEW WRITERS
• 
  
• NEW TALENT

Tickets can be booked here....

Made From Scratch theatre's Facebook page is here

Theatre Screen Shot

Theatre


Oooops!

Home Truths

I have suddenly become aware of St Peter's Players (Wolvercote).

It seems an excellent organisation:

St. Peter's Players is a small, friendly group committed to producing theatre which is enjoyable and interesting for both our members and our audiences.

All are welcome to participate either backstage or "in front" without audition. We have no fixed roles within the group and as such all members have the opportunity to act, work back stage or direct, for example, if they so choose.

All are welcome. While not directly connected to the church, we maintain close links with both the parish and community of Wolvercote. Even so, we are not exclusive to Wolvercote with current membership extending from High Wycombe to deepest West Oxfordshire.

St. Peter's Players sprang first into life in the 1930s and were formally constituted in 1955 with the then Vicar of Wolvercote, Michael Ottaway, as Chairman, a post he held until 1981. Since the first production "Mr Pim Passes By", many feet have trod the boards in dramas, comedies and musicals. We now produce three shows a year in Wolvercote, including a musical show at Christmas when we try to involve the local children. We also participate in local drama festivals where productions and individual performances are often commended.

Source...

Go and see their play! In fact THREE plays about secrets and lives.

Tickets: £7/£5


Check out previous productions....

Theatre Names

Here are some:

Academy

Adelphi

Apollo

Arcadian

Aster

Avenue

Bayview (Fine Arts)

Beach

Beaver

Bedford

Bellevue

Belsize

Beverly

Biltmore

Birchcliff

Bloor

Bloordale

Bluebell

Bonita

Brighton

Broadview

Broadway

Brock

Cameo

Carlton

Casino

Centre

Chateau

Christie

Circle

Classic

College

Community

Coronet

Crescent

Crown

Downtown

Eastern s Ltd

Eastwood

Eaton

Eclipse

Eglinton

Elektra

Embassy

Esquire

Fairlawn

Fox

Glendale

Guild

Hart House

Hillcrest

Hollywood

Hudson

Humber

Hyland

Ideal

Imperial

Iola

King

King's Playhouse

Kingsway

Lansdowne

La Plaza

La-Salle

Loew's

Madison

Major

Massey Hall

Mayfair

MountDennis

New Grant

New Strand

Nortown

Oakwood

Odeon

Oriole

Orpheum

Palace

Paradise

Paramount

Parkdale

Parliamont

Photodrome

Pickford

Playhouse

Prince of Wales

Queen

RadioCity

Regent

Renne

Rex

Rialto

Rio

RoyalAlexandra

RoyalGeorge

Royal

Royce

Runnymede

Twentieth Century

Uptown

Weston

York

Given the mission statement suggested in the previous post, though, 'Fusion Theatre' seems like a good name.

Unfortunately, I am not the first person to think that...neither am I the second....(nice website btw). If the words are reversed we even have this one...

So what about Disparate Theatre - no-one else seems to have it...