Judge ‘blown away’ by drama festival
Covid hit the week before Lorn Drama Festival was due to be staged in March 2020, and the tension had been building as to whether it could be held in Oban’s Corran Halls last week – but (spoiler alert) it all went off brilliantly.
‘It went very well,’ said Mike Rowell, chairman of the Lorn Drama Festival. ‘There is obviously a fair bit of trepidation with Covid, but it all went according to plan. All the teams from far away turned up.
‘The big shift has been the change from March to May, which I think has been a success. It used to be sustainable with local drama clubs, but as we lost Lochgilphead, Dalmally, and Appin, we had to look further afield for participants. This year we had clubs come from Aberdeen, Aberdour and Arran. We had 11 teams over four days. We had plays ready to perform in March 2020. The lockdown happened the week before the festival. We had some good audiences this year – more than we expected – on a par with previous years. We have quite a loyal following.
‘The standard was very high. That has been on an upward trend over the last few years. People are upping their game. They are certainly not afraid to do more challenging work.
‘The Fife team made a demanding, brave choice (Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone, performed by the Aberdour Players). The children’s play (Mark Green’s Bye Baby Bunting, performed by Taynuilt and District Drama Society Youth Team) was quite affecting, about Victorian children down a mine.
‘We do get that variety of hard-hitting stuff, and it ranges to lighter comedies. There is nothing quite like it on stage, especially when you get a laugh,’ concluded Mike, who played Søndergaard opposite Sophie Caruana’s Bunning, in the winning comedy Penguin Diplomacy by John Finnemore.
The judge, Ilona Munro, said: ‘I was blown away by the standard. It was incredibly high. The acting was fantastic and I could see it was a team effort. They were working on these for months beforehand.
‘The children were absolutely fantastic. It was the real emotional piece of the festival. I was not expecting it to be as emotive as it was: children down the mines, losing their childhood. They were so clever with their set, but heartbreaking. The audience were drying their eyes.
‘The winner was absolutely outstanding. Although comedy is a difficult skill, it had such a sweetness and warmth to it. A beautiful and perfect production.’
She said local drama festivals were especially important in the Highlands, where there are not so many touring plays, and people have to make their own theatre. ‘Without people making these opportunities there would be a bigger hole in live performances. Oban is very lucky to have so many communities that are so passionate and generous.’
Mike Rowell encouraged more people to get involved, saying: ‘If people came along and enjoyed it, and thought “I can do that”, all the clubs would be grateful for that. The number of active people is dwindling and getting older. We are trying to get together a panto, but if we cannot get people interested, it cannot be done. All the clubs would love someone to come up and say: “I will do that.”’
Prizewinners
▎ The Robin Banks Trophy (highest marks overall): Benderloch & North Connel Drama Club, Penguin Diplomacy
▎ The Chalmers of Oban Quaich (second highest marks): Benderloch & North Connel Drama Club, Rebel Alliance
▎ The Oban Times Salver (third highest marks): Shiskine Drama Club, Jilted Lovers’ Helpline
▎ The J R Smith Trophy
(highest marks for stage set): Benderloch & North Connel Drama Club, Penguin Diplomacy
▎ Lorn Drama Festival Trophy (stage management): Not awarded
▎ Dan Cleland Trophy (highest marks for dramatic production): Benderloch & North Connel Drama Club, Penguin Diplomacy
▎ The Ardentallan Trophy (Adjudicator’s Award): Vivienne Price and the festival stage crew
▎ A Moment in Theatre Ian MacKay Memorial Trophy: Taynuilt & District Drama Society Juniors, Bye Baby Bunting
▎ A Moment in Comedy Anne Broughton Memorial Trophy: Nicole O’Brien, Benderloch & North Connel Drama Club, Rebel Alliance
▎ The Drama Festival Quill Original Script Award: John Colston, Seil Drama Group, Fork in the Road
▎ The Lorn Drama Festival Trophy (highest marks for juniors): Taynuilt & District Drama Society Juniors, Bye Baby Bunting