Short + Sweet week 2 review

Reviewed by Regina Su

The Sydney Short and Sweet Festival has been labelled the “Biggest Little Play Festival in the world” and draws an international audience. For it’s 12th year running, theatres in Newtown, Marrickville and the Seymour Centre play host to this influential festival spanning over three months. This year, over 80 original plays will be performed, providing an opportunity for over 800 emerging writers and artists to gain the exposure they need to possibly jump start their professional careers.

This is an amazing opportunity for appreciative audiences, agents and curious townsfolk to come out and sit in on one of these short play nights. Each week offers a different line-up of plays, each running for no more than 10 minutes each. As the festival wears on, the people’s choice will be awarded for the most popular and wild cards will be performed for extra entertainment.

Short and Sweet is an exhibition of dramatic proportions, for writers and artists from regional Australia and as far as Malaysia and India, to showcase diverse ideas and themes while experimenting with the limits of the stage. I arrived to the festival while it had been going full steam – I began my journey in week two. The powerful acting and magnifying glass on the details of life were strong elements that captivated me in short, instantaneous bursts of imaginative insights.

Week two of the Short and Sweet festival presented a uniquely diverse range of short plays, featuring two from Jodi Cramond, winner of the regional sector; the Short and Sweet festival in Dubbo. With high calibre actors and insightful food for thought, it looks like the Short and Sweet festival is running full steam ahead!

“Disposable”, by Jodi Cramond, is borderline existentialist, as a man ponders to jump or not to jump and end his life, while two onlookers debate over the frivolity of his action. The premise of this play was a little predictable, however it was interesting to note influences from “The Importance of Being Ernest” and “Hamlet”, and the intensity of the acting really helped the performance.

Not Quite Cabaret

Not Quite Cabaret - a belly full of laughs.
Not Quite Cabaret has one more night on 5 April before it has a break to return for a second season on 21 June. If you missed this run you must go to the next one, we are already planning when, with family and friends.
So what is Not Quite Cabaret? It is a series of short plays at the Exchange Hotel in Balmain which is amazing in itself. The room is set up cabaret style so you can eat and drink while watching the show.  There are seven plays and two intervals (so plenty of time to talk and top up your glasses!). The same cast perform throughout the evening, which is great for them as they get to show off how multifaceted they are; and they were. It could easily go wrong you only have to have one actor not pulling their weight, or for some reason if the audience didn't take to one of the actors for the whole show to fall apart. Deborah Bradshaw the producer of the show picked well! The plays too were well chosen as she said at the beginning if you don't like one you will like the next. Mind you, I don't think anybody would really dislike any of them. I did have a favourite RAF, which I will need to see again as I was laughing so hard I missed most of it! All the plays were funny so it made for great Thursday night entertainment.
Ghost Writer - So you think it is all about me! I can't say anymore than that without spoiling it!
Sushi Wushi Woo - picking men is like picking Sushi, if you are not quick all the good ones are gone!
Role Play - How to pick up a date!
RAF - whato! Who's Hilter? warning extremely funny, well I thought so!
Sally's Choice - a short farce, regarding we women are just not satisfied in bed!
Young Amazon - When we were young? What did they do?
Pride and Prejudice - the whole story in ten minutes!
I really couldn't fault it, the staging and direction was kept simple which it needed, to keep it fast paced and flowing. The costumes were again good, the sound, well music reflected each of the plays. Bruce Glen wowed the audience with a few magic tricks during the interval at the tables. He has his own showing coming up next month.
Well done Deborah and all the actors you should be very proud of what you have achieved.