March 2015

Six and a half years after we came to Sydney, Crash Test Drama is still going strong and returns for the 2015 season. We have brought around 500 new plays to the stages of Sydney, giving many hundreds of writers, directors and actors a medium for their work.

2015 kicked off with a bang, with nine plays never before seen by the eyes of Sydneysiders (or anyone, in most cases!).

First up was "Men At Work" by Xeno Nemos, with Ann Elbourne directing. It starred Joe Garque as Steve, Plamen Chotchov as Molino, Nick Subjak as Jeff and Kat Morel as Daryl (perhaps due to a lower turnout of male actors!).

Next was "Bloody Trevor", co-written by Loueen Winters and Katherine Pratt. Young writer/director/actor Don Lacey directed the piece - and did a walk-on role at the end. Also starring Rosemary Ghazi as Anna and Georgina Neville as Beth.

Third was "The Room Below", written by the aforementioned Don Lacey. Crash Test newcomer Rachael Williams directed James Gallaway as Garret, Coordinator Georgie Edwards as Clara, and she herself played the role of Fiona.

Next was "Conception Control", written and (sort of) directed by Pete Malicki and starring Glenn Groves. This was the true meaning of Crash Test - the script was written at 3pm on the day of the show and on stage a few hours later!

Closing act one was writer/director/actor James Hartley's latest verbatim play, "Oldbluebox VS Achin4baconbegs4eggs". This script was pulled from the depths of the internet and knocked into performable shape - a pretty cool idea for a 10 minute play! It starred Chris Butel, Davo Hardy, Sarah North, Shu Torng Hiew, Edith Huick, Haki Crisden, Debbie Tilley and James himself.

Opening act two was writer Paulene Turner's "Blind Date", directed by TOAST D'Bechamel. It starred Best Actor Runner Up Graham Yates as Fraser, Cyrus Henry as Fraser's inner voice, June Holmes as McKenzie and Best Actress Runner Up Joan Rodd as McKenzie's inner voice. "Blind Date" won a spot in the Crash Test Finals on Mon 6 Jul as the Popular Vote Winner.

Seventh for the show was Peter Tucker's "Alternate Route". Jacque Vickers (Best Director) directed Angela Gibson and Best Actress winner Antonia Zappia. The play came second in the Popular Vote.

Eighth was "Four O'Clock In The Morning", written by Chris Naylor, directed by Adrian Bitel and starring Alan Long as James. The second monologue for the evening.

And finally, we had "Brothers In Arms". Written and directed by Warren Glover, this play starred Leon Joseph as Humphrey and Best Actor Richard Littlehales as William. It won the Judge's Choice award and will be back alongside "Blind Date" for the Crash Test Finals on Mon 6 July.

Results

Our judge tonight was the star of "Maximum Choppage" Kathryn Yuen. Her picks were:

Best Actor: Richard Littlehales

Best Actress: Antonia Zappia

Best Actor Runner Up: Graham Yates

Best Actress Runner Up: Joan Rodd

Best Director: Jacque Vickers

Best Play: “Brothers In Arms”

Popular Vote Winner: “Blind Date”

Popular Vote Runner Up: “Alternate Route”

“Blind Date" and “Brothers In Arms” have both won a place in the Crash Test Finals to be hold on Monday 6 July 2015.