Pint Sized Plays

I was really looking forward to my first visit to this society as their NODA Rep.  We have all missed theatre during the long enforced break, but now, on this warm late summer afternoon, it was lovely to see so many people taking their seats in the gardens of Little Easton Manor to once again enjoy community theatre. 

Eleven mini plays, each lasting no more than about ten minutes (purely a guess – I didn’t time them) but each having a big impact.  My quandary here was whether to mention each play by name or give an overview of the afternoon’s events.  I decided on the former as I think each play and the actors therein deserve a mention, so here goes.

 “Hi Santa, Remember Me?” sees two improbable characters meeting up in a bar.  Adam Thompson as a man who still believes in Father Christmas and Rodney Foster as a dead-pan Santa.  The ensuing conversation, when Santa is accused of delivering an inferior fire engine, is very funny but has an unexpected sting in the tale. Very well done to both actors.

Gillian Williamson and Netti Lomas were brilliant as two cows being electronically milked in “A Load of Bull”. Their conversation on the various methods of milking, getting ‘in-calf’ and CO emissions, had us in stitches.

In a more poignant vein, there were good performances from Luna Austin and Alexander Brandon whose characters find themselves stuck up the top of a roller coaster.  He is terminally ill and has a fear of heights so the ride is on his bucket list. To pass away the time they fantasize about landing in the garden of his favourite actor – hence the title “Michael Caine’s Azaleas”.

“The Intricate Workings of a Sherbert Lemon” was a three hander set on a station platform. Two women, one man and a theory.  Very well done to Marcia Baldry-Bryan, Adam Thompson and Sarah Kingdom.

From intrigue to comedy as Luna Austin and Danny Middleton-Evans take on the roles of cat and dog in the very funny “Dogs and Cats Living Together”. Two very good characterisations, cleverly displaying all the mannerisms of a cat and a dog.   Well played.

Following the interval we were treated to the gloriously funny “Two Woofs for Yes”, with Madeline Harmer as an animal physic displaying some wonderful facial expressions. A widow played by Netti Lomas and whose husband died in prison, seeks help in finding his ill-gotten gains. Could their deceased pets be called up to help?  Very well done to both actors.

“Time Travel Agent”.  Sarah Kingdom is an agent selling Time Travel trips and Alexander Brandon an indecisive prospective traveller.  Enter Adam Thompson in Viking costume expressing dissatisfaction with his latest trip.  The comedy didn’t stop there as we continued on to “The Invisible Cat”.  A vet (Adam Thompson), his nurse (Alice Cooper) and Carrie Cooper as the owner of an invisible cat. It couldn’t have been dafter, but it was so funny.

“Ménage a Trois (10,000 feet)” Two men, one woman and confessions. And all whilst sky diving!  Well done to Alexander Brandon, Luna Austin and Danny Middleton-Evans.  We continue this theme with “Up Close and Personal” It’s Singles Nite and two women get talking in a bar. The wife and the mistress. Good performances by Sarah Kingdom and Lynda Shelverton.

The last play “The Carol Police” involved the whole company and was a great send up of political correctness, as handed out by two “local council officers”.  Very well played by Heather Bennett and Marcia Baldry-Bryan, with Tina Cater as the frustrated choir conductor.  Having got rid of the opposition, Heather and Marcia’s characters showed their real intent by regaling us with a rendition of “It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot like Christmas”. Terrific.

And so we came to the end of a very enjoyable afternoon.  My congratulations to everyone involved in this production and thank you for inviting me

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