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The 2019 Festival was covered by committee member Ken Eason, who had the unenviable task of summing up the previous days performances into small soundbites which we posted on social media.
We thought it would be fun to include them on the website, just in case you didn’t see them.
Thursday evening
A great opening night of the Festival – with two contrasting plays.
First there was “Jesus, My Boy” presented by Tiger Theatrical Productions, giving the life of Jesus from birth to death, but through the eyes of Joseph. A sometimes amusing and sometimes horrifying window on the familiar bible story. This was followed by “The Taxi-driver’s Princess” from Waterbeach Theatre Company – WTC, a modern story of a father’s love for his daughter and how this changes as she escapes the restrictions of home life – with tragic consequences.
Friday evening
The second night of the Festival had three plays performed in a fascinating range of styles.
St John’s players started the evening with a beautifully-presented original work “I Did it My Way” where the action takes place at the funeral of a drug baron – but where did he leave his wealth? This was followed by “The Play’s the Thing” from Over Players with two rival drama groups fighting for supremacy in the words of William Shakespeare. The evening finished with Caryl Churchill’s “Escaped Alone” performed by Combined Actors of Cambridge a fascinating piece for four actresses which engaged the audience as they discuss their lives and the world they live in.
It was wonderful to see such a full audience enjoying the delights of local drama.
Saturday afternoon & evening
Saturday and the final two sessions of the Festival each with two plays. The afternoon session kicked off with a new play, “The Portrait” presented by Corkscrew Theatre Company and based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol. This was a very imaginative display of physical theatre. It was followed by another new play “Killing Hm Softly” by Sean Baker and presented by Bawds. A successful author faces writers’ block – whilst his creations suffer the consequences! Both plays were well received by a small, but very appreciative audience.
The final session of the year’s festival began with “Role Play” by WriteOn in which a married couple invent stories of ever-increasing absurdity in order to spice up their lives – a hilarious charade ultimately having serious consequences. The last play of the festival was “Shakesperean” by Lynne Livingstone and presented by Shakespeare at the George. This play used the words from Shakespeare’s plays (apparently all 37!) to weave a new story of love, death, cross-dressing and separated twins! A very clever piece of writing and of Shakesperean research!
In his summing up of the festival as a whole the adjudicator Chris Jaeger praised the festival’s organisation and friendliness. He particularly commended the fact that teams supported one another and were clearly there to make the festival a true celebration of theatre.
What did you think about our Festival in 2019? Leave a reply at the bottom of this page.