Michaél Phelan tells us what’s in store for the upcoming Dramat Short Play Festival.
Dramat are about to launch an exciting few weeks of theatre, and to open their first term productions, they are presenting three original short plays, each written by students of University College Cork in the Dramat Short Play Festival. The Dramat Short Play Festival will feature first time writers, directors, producers and actors. The plays featured in the Short Play Festival are: No Love Lost by Map Perry, In a League of His Own by Mark Griffin and Indie Movie by Enda Kenneally. Also, all three short plays are directed by first-time directors. The aim of the Drama Short Play Festival is to showcase the new talent, to encourage members to get involved with the society and is an opportunity to present fresh and exciting creativity, ability and playwriting.
No Love Lost is written and also directed by final year Drama and Theatre Studies and English student, Map Perry, and tells us the story of Bob and Linda Wimble. All is not right between the couple on their ninth wedding anniversary. As they struggle to reconcile their differences, they learn more about themselves and each other than ever before. But can they ever make each other happy? Do they know what love is? A short play that is full of laughs for all the romantics on campus.
In a League of His Own is reminiscent of the characters everyone's met before, and is written by Mark Griffin. It is also directed by David Lynch. Many people don't get fantasy football. They don't appreciate how it's so much more than trivialities, such as friendships, recessions and natural disasters. However, Eamo does. And it's everyone else's problem, especially that of his chilled out housemate John. And, on that final Saturday, when Eamo's entire league season starts to fall apart, who worse to call by than Mazza, the one person who can't possibly fathom the enormity of the fantasy football league! In a League of His Own is a snapshot into the passion, idiocy and occasional wisdom that constitutes a fraction of the college experience.
The final original writing to feature in the Dramat Short Play Festival is Indie Movie written by Enda Kenneally, and directed by Hanan Sheedy. This play is a glorious rendering of a toaster with a messianic delusion. He trots around the world trying to convert bread into toast. Toast is a magical religion that endows the converted with delicious, crusty godliness. His arch nemesis, Colonel Sliced Pan seeks to undo the work of our heroic toaster by trying to keep the bread soft and white. Will our hero prevail? Actually we don’t know because this play is a parody of the indie movie genre. And the world will explode if you don’t come and see it!
The Dramat Short Play Festival is a great opportunity to see three short plays in less than seventy-five minutes. The festival will be a fantastic event to open what will be the beginning of a great year of Dramat productions at the Granary Theatre. The Short Play Festival will run from Wednesday October 21 to Saturday 3 November at 8pm at Granary Theatre in the Connolly Building on Western Road. We look forward to seeing you there!
Following on from the Dramat Short Play Festival, Dramat will present Stop Kiss written by Diana Son and directed by Carine Natin. Stop Kiss is a story of two friends-turned-lovers Callie and Sarah who are assaulted for kissing. Throughout Stop Kiss, relationships are explored, formed and even ended. Diana Son explores the depths of emotion and compassion is this play. Stop Kiss will run in the Granary Theatre from 7-10 November at 8pm.
