The Stratford One Act Festival is proud to be returning to the Bear Pit theatre again this year. We have three nights of great performances brought to you by groups from Stratford upon Avon and the surrounding area.
Over three nights, there are nine shows ranging from modern day family comedy to period dramas. There will certainly be something for everyone in our eclectic mix and you may just come across some unexpected treats too.
Do join us to find out more about your local theatre groups and to share in the joy of live performance.
Thursday 9 May, 7:30pm
Small Talk – Phoenix Players – 25 mins
Written and directed by Roger Gowland
Two retired men meet on a park bench and chat. Their conversation is essentially small talk. Whenever they attempt anything of greater depth, humour is used as a means of self-defense. It illustrates the inability of even old friends, especially men, to reveal their innermost thoughts and anxieties.
Cast – Roger Gowland and Dave Molloy
Interval
Ulysses Syndrome – Essex Players – 30 mins
Written and directed by Charles Essex
What are the two hardest things for a doctor to do? To do nothing and say nothing, or say “I don’t know”. Mrs Avison just wants her diarrhoea to be cured. She falls down a rabbit hole as doctors do more tests which seem to reveal more problems. Or do they?
Interval
Suffer the Little Children – Essex Players – 25 mins
Written and directed by Charles Essex
Baby George is rushed to hospital following a 999 call. Inevitably questions are asked about what happened and how the baby became so unwell. Inexorably the matter ends up in court because of child protection concerns and the parents fight to prove their innocence and for the return of George supported by a barrister who tries to counter the case put forward by the authorities.
Friday 10 May, 7:30pm
Pigeon Syndrome – Kineton Amateur Dramatic Society – 35 mins
Written and directed by Ben Keyser
When a husband steps on a bee that his wife has been trying to save, it seems that their marriage really has hit rock bottom. But when he inadvertently gets back into her good books by saving a pigeon that has stunned itself by flying into the window, he finally believes he has found a way to restore their former passion for each other.
Interval
Unfinished – Shakespeare Press – 40 mins
Written by Andy Jaggard and directed by Tony Lawrence and Moira Shepherd
Captain William Jaggard and his son Gerald run the Shakespeare bookshop in 1960s Stratford. In later life, Gerald decides to tell the true story of selling first folios, frauds, forgers, and great ‘finds. At heart, this is a family drama of how Gerald survived his father’s damaging legacy.
Cast – Ensemble
Interval
Boyfriends and Bumfluff – Phoenix Players – 20 mins
Written by Baz Stilinski and directed by Alison Ballinger
A family makes a trip to visit their grandma to celebrate what would have been her son’s (husband and father to the family) 50th birthday. The visit reveals trials and tribulations of growing up needing a father figure and also the introduction of boyfriends. With reminiscing and not knowing what the future will hold, they all realise that the future will hold different places for them now that he is gone.
Cast – Lisa Morris, Katie Protheroe, Baz Stilinski and Dylan.
Saturday 11 May, 7:30pm
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Caramba – 30 mins
Adapted by Kate Guest and directed by Tim and Kate Guest
This is a one-man version of the classic tale by Robert Louis Stevenson. In his search to separate good and evil in man, Dr Jekyll unleashes a horror he never imagined. Now, two personalities fight to dominate one body. Who will win?
Cast – Tim Guest, Phil Sensicle
Interval
Dear Cassandra – Caramba Theatre – 25 mins
Written by Kate Guest and directed by Tim and Kate Guest
Cassandra Austen was Jane’s beloved older sister & she outlived Jane by nearly 40 years. Towards the end of her life, she decided – for an unknown reason – to destroy most of her & Jane’s letters to each other. This piece is a heartfelt dramatisation of that moment as Cassandra reminisces over the letters and her life with Jane.
Cast – Kate Guest
Interval
Black ‘Ell – Phoenix Players – 40 mins
Written by Miles Malleson and adapted by Hannah Perrin; directed by Hannah Perrin and Karen McDonald
It’s August 1916 and Mr and Mrs Gould are delighted when they hear that their son is due home on leave from the front. Their joy is increased when they also hear that he is to be awarded the DSO for bravery. But things do not go quite as expected when Harold arrives home broken and haunted by his experiences on the battlefield.
Cast – Graham Robson, Annie Dixon-Dunn, Bill Welsh, David Dunn, Fiona Robson, Hannah Perrin, Adam Clarke
Tickets
£7.50 tickets (no concessions)
