Season Two Round One opened this Monday with some more great new plays never before seen in Sydney. It was an enjoyable night all round with quite a few new participants and a stack of new audience members.
Opening the show was Deborah Burdett's "Switch", which Felix Carlyle directed. It starred a cast of Joan Rodd and writer Deborah as the ladies who'd been down on their relationship luck, and Davo hardy and Brandon Lacey as the new 'men' in their lives.
Second was "Humptie de Umptie", written by Ridwan Hassim and directed by Alex Wregg. Michael Smith starred as Humpty Dumpty and Milly Caley was Little Lamb. Ridwan was awarded the Playwright's Encouragement Award for his clever use of classic tales.
Third was "Losing The Plot", written/directed by and starring Warren Glover. Alongside Warren in this clever comedy was Clancy Carraway, Alan Long, Best Actor James Parbery and Natalie Banach. It won the Judges' Choice (and the Popular Vote Runner Up) and will be back again in the Crash Test Finals on 15 Dec.
After the interval was "Write Me!" by Ann Elbourne, which Joy Roberts directed. A writer tries to control her character, but the character has a life of her own. It starred Richard Mason as Charise (well done, Richard!) and Loueen Winters as Audrey.
Next was a monologue, "Fibro Sinkopation". Max Elbourne wrote this play which sister Ann directed. Angela Gibson starred and her smashing performance earned her a well-deserved Best Actress award. A special mention has to go to Max's sink, which was custom-made for Crash Test and definitely the most impressive set piece anyone's made for the show!
Sixth for the night was "The Caryard" by newcomer Brian Haydon. Tom Richards directed Julie-Anne Breen, Carli Carey and Nick Subjak in this cute script about three anthropomorphised cars.
Finally, "Heart Wrenched" by Isaac Owen swept the awards. It won the Popular Vote and a spot in the Crash Test Finals on 15 Dec, Best Director for Michelle Sewell, Best Actress Runner Up for Rosemary Ghazi and Best Actor Runner Up for Victor Popov. Well done, team! Also starring enthusiastic performances by Maz PM and writer Isaac.
The Results
Our judge was Serhat Carradee, actor, teacher and the writer/director of AFI-nominated film Cedar Boys.
Best Actor: James Parbery
Best Actor Runner Up: Victor Popov
Best Actress: Angela Gibson
Best Actress Runner Up: Rosemary Ghazi
Best Director: Michelle Sewell
Best Play: “Losing The Plot”
Popular Vote Winner: “Heart Wrenched”
Popular Vote Runner Up: “Losing The Plot”
Playwright’s Encouragement Award: Ridwan Hassim for “Humptie de Umptie”
“Losing The Plot” and “Heart Wrenched” will be back in the Finals on 15 Dec.
Congrats and thank you to every actor, director and writer who contributed their talents to make the show happen.