Plays are full of the write stuff
ASPIRING writers from across the local area came together to showcase their work at this year’s WriteFest.
Held at Progress Theatre, in
Reading, from September 6 to 9, the plays had a darker, more fantastical feel to them for the festival’s 12th year, with Zombies, an apocalypse, Purgatory, murderers and fairies featuring heavily.
The first play, A Little Nibble written by John R Goodman and directed by Sarah Pearce, combined the everyday situation of speaking to someone with vastly differing viewpoints from your own with something a lot more sinister. Beckie Moir who played Caroline, a well-meaning nurse and voice of reason, did a wonderful job of conveying feelings and thoughts through her facial expressions and her interactions with Theresa, played by Jane Hardcastle, work very well.
Pen, by Ian Petrie and directed by Jake Willett and Ali Carroll, takes a look at the modern world through the eyes of a woman who saw its demise.
Anna tells a young girl, Hope, about the modern world intertwined with memories of both her relationship with her grandfather and his relationship with his love, Vera.
The Last Bus, written by Alison
Hill and directed by Matthew Beswick, is set in Purgatory as it’s being closed down.
The Last Bus follows a couple preparing to catch their bus which would take them to their judgement, combining the everyday with the fantastical and the boring with the illicit.
If It Be Now, by Marie French and directed by Trevor Dale, is a thrilling and high-stakes play about just what it takes to become a killer, while Buried, by Matthew Beswick Ant Appleby, was inspired by Matthew’s experience working in an art gallery.
Fairy Tails, by Debra Evitts and directed by Penny Wenham, bridges the gap between fantasy and reality, and goes to show that sometimes fairy tales can reflect the human condition better than real events.
Showcasing the talent of local writers, directors and performers, WriteFest is a must for any aspiring show-maker. For details on how to get involved in next year’s festival visit http://progresstheatre.co.uk.