THREE ONE-ACT PLAYS

Royal Manor Theatre,

Fortuneswell, Portland

A TRIO of short plays that challenge the talents of the theatre company also create an evening of varied emotions for the audience.

Top of the bill is the award-winning drama, Five Kinds of Silence which probes the background of the family of a seriously disturbed man who has regularly sexually and physically abused his wife and two daughters.

Chilling in its descriptions of their dysfunctional life, each member of the family talks about their fears and motives as murder strikes on of their number.

Chris Wadley leads the drama as the horrific father Billy who relates how his power hungry nature was formed by an unhappy childhood while his daughters, played by Sandra Madison and Vicky Short are trapped in his dark world with their mother, Lizzie Green.

Directed by Rebecca Chance, the play’s strong story line is enhanced by an amazing performance by Chris Wadley who captures the complex character of a man for whom you can almost feel compassion.

Meat and Two Veg, the second play, is a three handed comedy with Dave Mackay and Len Strom as neighbours who try to outdo each other as gardeners, showing off their beans and boasting about their marrows.

“Size isn’t everything”, says Margaret Frost as Arthur’s wife as they speculate on Albert’s wife sudden disappearance and their neighbour’s sudden obsession with bonfires.

Lighthearted and perceptive, this enjoyable glance into suburban life is directed by Ruth and Tim Bowen is an excellent choice to relieve the tension of the first work.

Lastly, a murder mystery with a difference set in a theatre which is about to be demolished and where the six actors blame each other for the closing of their venue and their preference for pantomime, oh yes it is.

Led by a camp Richard Fielding, the mystery is finally resolved in an observant but somewhat wordy play that would benefit from being ten minutes shorter.

The production continues for the rest of the week.

MARION COX