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The Edinburgh Regional Round of SCDA One Act 2023 got off to a strong start at the Chapel Hill Theater on Friday night with three performances showcasing the versatility of competing amateur companies and the quality of the cast.
It must be said that the description “festival” was appropriate, as the room was filled with moderately partisan followers of each competing company’s offerings, who even cheered on their favorites, but were never rude enough to boo the competitors. There are many reasons to rejoice as there will be a public decision tonight.
Alicia Smith, Pablo López Sanchez-Matas and Susan Duffy in The Infernal Viper. Image: Ellie Henderson
The evening opened with David Gerow’s Hell Serpent, performed by Leithheatre (Kirkgate). This relatively new trio was written for A Play A Pie and a Pint in Oranmore, Glasgow and will premiere in May 2022.
It seemed that the PPP format – a script for less than an hour, small actors and simple scenery – was ideally suited to the needs of One Act Festival. They also have the advantage that they are often up to date.
This is certainly the case in the film, in which Alicia Smith plays Eve and Pablo López Sánchez-Matas plays Adam, a snake-loving young couple who have just moved to the Ayrshire countryside, enjoying a rare sunny day in their garden.
Not only did they befriend a venomous snake that lives under a pile of logs in the garden and a giant boa constrictor lives in their bedroom, but they also started a campaign against a small local celebrity who killed a venomous snake and escaped custody. 400 pounds fine.
A Facebook post calling for recruitment into their new Snake Fanciers Guild elicits a dubious reaction from Lucy, who shows up in their garden and immediately starts luring their whiskey with whiskey.
Susan Duffy had a lot of fun creating Lucy, director Rick Kay did a great job on the opening scene, and the company polished some great sets.
However, the production seems a little on par – the script’s more fun undercurrent tension over the nature of the protest is underplayed in a comedy that needs more varied pacing – though Smith is great when things finally get out of hand. slander.
The second of the Hailstones, Sheila Hodgson’s 1995 play Tunnel Vision, takes place late at night in a London Underground station when everything seems to stop working. Turning on the escalators, the bickering Lelands staggered out onto the platform after a night out on the town.
Susan, the rude Nicola Alexander, and her boyfriend Brian, the humble James Scott, forgo a taxi to wait with their parents for the last train home: Peter, the excellent Lord Trevor, and Serena Park play Angie, who fits the role perfectly. after a shaky start.
It must be said that the visuals are extremely streamlined. An abstract subway map, three bucket chairs, and a yellow line along the front of the stage along the blackout curtains will suffice. And Liz, who ran away from Eirini Stumkow’s house, sits in the corner, adding to the nervous tension.
Tension in Stamkou is heightened by noise and the unfolding story of the tragic death of Angie’s ex-lover in a stampede on a subway escalator.
All five of director Claire Moran’s performers are good, but the whole production feels a little chaotic. Shutting down noise is critical to the success of a play, but it never completely matches what’s happening on stage, except for one very powerful and compelling moment.
So you can never be sure if it’s drama, comedy or horror. A stronger product could be all three, and somehow this one manages to be any of them. Partly it depends on the time frame of the play – the late eighties, if you count – but it is played as if it were contemporary.
There was no such problem with the final performance of the evening, which required two, and it was a new production by Edinburgh’s own Ian Robertson, who directed his own script. It follows the fate of the relationship between Gloria (George Purvis) and Frank (Ruelid Hastie) with five intimate moments over the course of seven years.
Purvis and Hastie go into detail about the couple who first met in Dubai, where she taught English and he studied engineering. They bring out the characters so well that you can’t help but empathize with them and wish them well.
However, you often wonder where the drama is. Perhaps Robertson could benefit from an outside perspective, or if he relinquished directorial duties elsewhere. It all seems a little disappointing: the first draft could have offered more.
As festival judge Kate Stevenson noted in her closing remarks, the excellent use of John McClinden as a waiter in two scenes could be extended to all five. Perhaps each appearance reflects the nature of the relationship of the couple in this scene.
However, it takes two to enjoy enough entertainment, and the staging is certainly strong enough to warrant a race.
Show duration: three hours (including two intermissions). Chapel Hill Theater 33 Morningside Road, EH10 4DR. Friday, February 24, 2023 and Saturday, February 25, 2023 Doors open at 6:30 PM and close at 7:00 PM both nights. Tickets cost £11 for one night and £20 for two. Youth and Blu-ray tickets are £9 per night, £16 for two nights. Tickets will be available at the door or book here
Tags: Alicia Smith, The Lover, Chapel Hill Theatre, Claire Moreland, David Gero, Edinburgh Alumni Theater Group, Edinburgh Dramatic Arts, Erin Steinkou, Georgie Pervee S, Ian Robertson, It Takes Two, James Scott, John McLeandon, Keith Stevenson, Leithheatre, Nicola Alexander, Pablo López Sánchez-Matas, Review, Rick Kay, Ruairid Hastie, SCDA One Act Festival, Serena Park, Sheila Hodgson, Susan Duffy, The Grads, The Infernal Serpent, Trevor Lord, Tunnel Vision
Post time: Mar-16-2023