Changing Scenes 3 One -Act Plays

ESTABLISHING RELATIONS…This was an entertaining but very short play, centered on the living room of a house where the son is bringing his new girlfriend home for a meal. The characters needed to establish themselves very quickly which they did, but the whole point of the play hinges on what follows after Dads surprise when he looks out of the window( unknown to us he recognizes her). His surprise was not big enough and fell flat so what followed was a bit of a mystery until the play moved towards its finale. By this time we had realized where the storyline was going and I’m sorry to say I could even write the ending. It was entertaining and  a good set and  realistic costumes added to interest. The star of this one act play was Stella, Elane Retford, a first class performance.

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE… Again this was a very short play. Set a long way off into the future (time travel via   Doctor Who’s Tardis was a good idea) the time traveler is met by an attractive young woman. What follows is a rather inconsequential conversation between then and the introduction of the ‘old sage’ made the meaning of the piece no clearer. The ending was trivial…modern and silly and one wondered what was the author trying to say.  My comments do not detract from the good performances from the three characters; they acted well, spoke eloquently and seemed to enjoy themselves.

THE ALLOTMENT… This was the one act play that had meaning, emotion and depth, hidden among the diverse characters and vegetables.  Five women are serving community punishment orders and are growing the vegetables for soup kitchens on an allotment. The four women are a mismatched group each with a tale to tell but we soon realise we are hearing of their fantasy life rather than real life.  Everything changes with the arrival of their new probation officer who determines to get them to face the truth.  It was a story that in turns had me laughing out loud and snivelling into my hanky with sadness.  This was a very clever piece, well acted and so enjoyable.  Congratulations to the performers and the director.

What a pity you had such low audience figures. I discussed with Lynda Sloan why this might be.  There were probably several reasons...one of which I could relate to. Three one act plays held low excitement levels for me when coming to see your clubs opening presentation of the new season. It’s a bit like watching 3 sitcoms on television one after the other. Perhaps the audience didn’t feel that it was value for money, because the plays were not well known and it was a very short evening’s entertainment. I must say I was misguided a to the enjoyment level, for I thoroughly enjoyed the plays, even the middle one which I didn’t really understand.  It was a brave attempt to do something different, give learners a chance to direct and act and those that missed them missed a treat.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.