2026 One Act Play Festival - 3.5 out of 5 stars
Marion Cultural Centre
TICKETS: https://marion.online.red61.com.au/event/318:832/318:1204/
St. Jude’s Players, Deadset Theatre Company and Galleon
Theatre Company unite once again to present a One Act Play Festival in the
Domain Theatre at the Marion Cultural Centre. Across their various productions,
they become a solid unit of enjoyable theatre. While St. Judes’ and Deadset’s
entries focus on serious themes, Galleon’s entry allows us to breathe for a moment
and enjoy the second-hand embarrassment of Sam and Katie as two 5-year-olds in
love.
St. Jude’s Players presents “What’s the Matter with Mary
Jane”
Originally written by Wendy Harmer as a one-hander, Director
Larry Waller, Zoe Battersby and the talented cast have reimagined the text by splitting
the role into three, while remaining the one character. The longest of the 3
productions on display, cast members Jade Cooper, Chanelle Le Roux, and Lana
Adamuszek cover the monologue in a clever fashion, allowing crossover and
personality between the artists.
Individually, each cast member provide believable personalities
within the singular character. Collectively, they operated and moved as a single
unit. The blocking was synchronised and well thought out, and the overlapping
dialogue to ‘pass the baton’ was smooth and crisp.
The text explores the character’s painful history of living
with anorexia and bulimia, taking the audience through the agonising mental
process of her eating disorder, showcasing her harsh inner critic and the
desperation of being trapped. Being able to have someone in the community to ground
the text and the eating disorders, ensuring the actions and decisions made are
based on fact make this production further impactful.
By the end of this play, I was needing the first interval –
not because of any negative connotations, but because of the heavy weight felt
from the discussions happening within the production.
Deadset Theatre Company presents “Deep Clean”
An original piece written by Adelaide local, Isiah Macaspac,
who is getting around the Adelaide theatre scene in 2026, having appeared in the
past two PitchWhite Production pieces, explores two siblings packing up their childhood
home, where grief turns into conflict, memories into battlegrounds, and where
nothing stays buried for long.
Macaspac has a solid foundation to continue as a playwright should
he wish, and would do well in the various writing workshops and competitions
on offer annually. In addition to the writing credit, he lends his acting skills to
sibling Sam. I understand writing a script with the vision of yourself within a
character, however this play may have been further sharpened with another artist in the onstage role while Macaspac maintains the writer’s role. Nonetheless,
he does a great job in portraying a sibling who needs to help in sorting out what
should be kept, tossed and donated, despite not wanting to move.
The other sibling, Bill, is played by Hannah Goodburn. It
seems the acting gene runs deep in the Goodburn household, having just caught
Oliver two weeks ago. Regardless, Hannah holds her own in this production,
adeptly acting opposite Macaspac and becoming the dominant on stage ensuring
the action is moving.
While only featuring via video work, thanks to Charlie
Butler, Kaila Barton and Tim Stockel portray the parents, appearing on a questionable
NSFW home video. The audience learns early in the story that the mum has passed
away after losing her battle to cancer, however the fate or the whereabouts of
the dad is unknown and unexplored, leaving room for personal interpretation.
Deadset Theatre Co-Founder Matilda Butler directs this
production, delivering a story that swiftly brings us through to our second
interval.
Galleon Theatre Group presents “Boy Meets Girl (A Young Love
Story)”
After two productions focused on eating disorders and grief,
I was thankful we were treated to a sweet, comedic short story about Sam and
Katie as they go through the trials and tribulations of love at the tender age
of five! Directed by Andrew Clark, the play explores how children mirror adult
behaviour in love, highlighting the absurdity and innocence of young love.
There is something about this production that gave a warmth
within, unable to remove the smile from my face and being compelled to repeatedly
sing that song we all know from Barney and Friends… you know the one!
Aled Proeve, returning after last year’s One Act Play Festival,
plays Sam while Dora Stamos portrays Katie. Together, they create a believable
couple of 5-year-olds, that would inevitably become ride-or-die friends had we
continued their journey for years later. Proeve and Stamos work well together,
and Deborah Proeve’s choreography is one of many highlights in this within this
play.
Overall, this is a well spent 2 ½ hours featuring short
plays that deserve equal standing to full length plays. Kym Clayton and Scott
Battersby have done well to coordinate and manage the overall festival,
ensuring smooth setting and striking between each production and ensuring an
array of themes are covered that would speak to members of the audience.
- Andrew Broadbent
Comments
Post a Comment