Briefs: One Act Play Season

Gold Coast Little Theatre

Thursday 17^th July 2014

 

 

This weekend saw the Gold Coast Little Theatre’s annual Short Play Season staged at their intimate Southport venue. Interestingly, many of the works were locally written and then directed by the playwright. 

What a great opportunity this is for budding writers to workshop and stage their plays in a “proper theatre” … just a shame the audience didn’t seem to be as supportive as perhaps they might have been. (I counted fewer than 40 people in the house on Opening Night!)

Libby Bancroft and Kellie Eatcok have both been busy ladies with two plays each on the bill. Ms Bancroft’s The Price of Fame was a clever and slightly disturbing look into the way social media may influence our lives in the decades to come and Ms Eatock’s Bumpy Ride amusingly reminded me of why I like to slip on my eye-mask and headphones the moment I take my seat on an international flight!

Other works included Two Men on a Park Bench by Rob Doran, Richard Lamont and Greg Stone (also the director) and The Locker Room, written & directed by Gillian Crow. The afore-mentioned Libby Bancroft also offered us a look into exercises classes entitled Fitter! Faster! … Fatter! And Ms Eatock gave us Is This Considered Bad Luck?

However I will save my greatest accolade for local theatre icon Joel Beskin who had us roaring with his delightful portrayal of James the devoted butler in Laurie Wylie’s classic play, Dinner for One (directed by Claudine Anderson).

I applaud the GCLT for their maintaining the Short Play Season … and I “boo” the alleged theatre devotees of the Gold Coast for not supporting this brief run. You not only gave up a good night out but the chance of being there at the birth of something potentially quite wonderful.

By Glenn T