THE 38th Annual One-Act Play Festival opens on 3 July at Noosa Arts Theatre, showcasing the three finalists of the 2015 Noosa Arts Theatre National One-Act Playwriting Competition.
The annual festival is a must-see, attracting entries from playwrights throughout Australia and many other countries, vying for the $6000 prize pool.
This year’s festival will open with ‘Dotty’s Inheritance’, by Queensland playwright Debra Chalmers.
Reinvigorating the genre of farce, Dotty’s Inheritance explores the conflicting yet humorous relationships between a family struggling to agree on the way forward for the family business.
Yvie Somerville (Dotty), Jannine, Ritchie (Rachel), Tracey Simpson (Joan), Julia Verbught (Debra), Callum, Hamaeck (Robbie), Wayne Neuendorf (Trevor), and Loretta Kung (Candy) will all star in the performance to be directed by Tania Nash.
The second play is ‘Needle in the Haystack’, a drama written by Damon Lockwood of Western Australia and directed by Paul Ritchie.
This intriguing play is inspired by events in September 2009 in Ohio, America, in which a man was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Frank Wilkie (Dr Robert Allusz) and Steve Mitchell (Richard) portray challenging and thought-provoking roles.
The third gem to this year’s quality line-up is ‘Drowning’, a clever farce by Ian Robinson which follows the struggles of a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka (Mohammed Shamim) who has his hopes of settlement in Australia dashed when an immigration officer (Shaun Bennett) sends him to Manus Island.
Expertly directed by Melanie Myers, Drowning is certainly a play with a topical theme.
During the festival, audiences will have the opportunity to vote for the ‘Nancy Cato Audience Choice Award’ to be presented after the final performance.
Tickets to 38th Annual One-Act Play Festival are adults $31,concessions $27, member/groups $25, child (U17) $22.
Cut-price preview tickets are also available on 2 July when all tickets are $22.
For more information or to make a booking contact 5449 9343, visit www.noosaartstheatre.org.au or drop by Noosa Arts Theatre, Tuesday to Friday 9am to 2pm on Weyba Road, Noosaville.
