Best of British Drama 2011 – The 78th British Final Festival of One-Act Plays
- Jul 1st 2011 7:00 pm to Jul 2nd 2011 7:00 pm
The 78th British Final Festival of One-Act Plays
- Type: Festival: Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July 2011. Curtain up is at 7pm. Tickets are £12, with £20 for both nights.
- Group: Hosted by the Western Area of The All-England Theatre Festival
Address
- Address:
Wyvern Theatre,
Theatre Square,
Swindon,
Wiltshire, SN1 1QN
Contact Details
- Contact:: Ticket Office 01793 524 481
Extra Information
A Swindon theatre is hosting the British Final of a national drama competition. The Wyvern Theatre is the venue for Best of British Drama 2011, the 78th British Final Festival of One-Act Plays. Amateur theatre companies from England and Wales will compete on Friday, 1st July, whilst Ireland and Scotland will complete the quartet at the Wyvern on Saturday, 2nd July.
The English team don‘t have far to travel – they‘re from Swindon! The team have beaten off fourteen other companies over four rounds to ensure their place opening the British Final. Their play, The Recidivists‘ by Swindon playwright, Matthew Clift, centres on two prisoners sharing a cell. Frank is a violent homophobic, whilst Honey is a camp homosexual. The pair are forced to confront and understand each other‘s perspective in a surprisingly very funny performance.Each of the remaining three teams have also shown their quality by winning through their various knockout stages.
Second on, the Welsh team brings a sensitive treatment of the devastating effects of unemployment. A Kind of Vesuvius by Gillian Plowman is about three middle-aged, middle-class men, each in his own way trying to cope with being jobless. Their attempts to preserve their everyday lives, warding off depression and rejection, anger and aggression, range from the touching to moments of manic humour.
First on Saturday night, the team from Northern Ireland is the Newpoint Players. Their play is Can‘t Stand Up for Falling Down by Richard Cameron. Set in 1980s Yorkshire, Lynette, Ruby and Jodie are three very different women, strangers to each other. Little do they know that one brutal man will bring their lives together. As we follow these three women through their daily struggles, they show us that even when they feel completely alone it is possible to find strength in the most unlikely of people.
The last play is the Scottish Tryst C Theatre, with an act from Art by Yasmin Resa. This is another extraordinary play, raising intriguing questions about art and friendship. Set in Paris, the story revolves around three friends—Serge, Marc and Yvan—who find their previously solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge buys an expensive painting. The canvas is white. Many audience members will share Serge‘s friends scathing reaction to his pride and joy!
Ashley Heath is a spokesman for the organisers. He‘s also the Festival Director of the Harold Jolliffe One-Act Play Festival in Swindon, where OTTC won their first round. Ashley said, ―This is a great event for Swindon, Wiltshire and the West of England generally. The very best in amateur drama from across Britain are converging on the Wyvern to find out who will be British Champions for 2011. The quality of the acting, production and direction easily rivals the professionals so I‘d encourage anyone to come along and be thoroughly entertained!”
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