Audiences for theatre are a bit like church goers. They feel
they ought to go but rarely feel enthused enough to actually attend. Maybe it's
too expensive, too time consuming, hard to follow or just plain boring. Not so for
JB Shorts however. JB is the perfect evening for people who want to dip a toe
back into live theatre, or even engage with it for the first time. Six 15
minute, stand alone pieces – a smorgasbord of drama featuring a range of
characters and mini tales. If you don't find yourself getting into a particular
piece, fret not, there's a whole new story coming along shortly. It isn't easy
to write a 15 minute piece; you have to hit the ground running to grab the audience’s
attention, lay out a scenario and quickly establish characters but, the writers
of JB Shorts 15 by and large, made an impression with every piece.
The Intruder (Diane Whitley) tells of a break-in
that causes two elderly sisters to reminisce about a past event. It's left to
our imagination to decide what happened but the main focus of the play centres
on the effects of Dementia. Thanks to the engaging performances of Joan Kempson
and Melissa Sinden and the warm humour in the writing, this piece manages to
make the audience smile despite the subject matter.
Two women meet for a reunion with their 'wild child' school friend
in A Different Time by Lia Holdsworth. There's clearly no love lost here,
as the former class mates exchange fantastically awful remarks and opinions on
each others lives. This is where the piece is at its funniest, as Linda and Amanda
viciously chip away at each other, expertly displaying the competitive nature
of school reunions. When wild child Samantha does appear, she is a reformed
character who forces them to re-evaluate what actually went on in the past.
Office life can be a battery hen existence, punctuated by
pointless and boring meetings. This gathering is attended by characters that we
can all recognise; the timid woman who somehow became a manager, the
disenchanted go-getter getting nowhere, the skiver and the unbearably smug know-it-all
(a hilarious Will Travis). Peter Kerry’s Humble at times gets a little
too OTT, and even though we know the pay off from the outset, it's a journey of
belly laughs getting there.
If the scene from the Last Supper had happened up North; False Prophet is how it might have
played out. Jesus, a fading star with wannabes snapping at his heels and his disciples
of fans worshipping a new kid in town. It's a clever and funny idea written by
Paul Coates, that the enthusiastic cast wring every last laugh out of.
Build A Bonfire by Trevor Suthers suffered a
little by being the only straight play in a collection of comedies, but it did
raise an interesting point about art and censorship. Should the crimes of the
creative prevent their work from being displayed? However, the characters and their
middle class world were a little clichéd and difficult to sympathise with.
A Labour Party Spin Doctor ends up in a coma after Ed
Milliband fails at the Polls. Fedora wakes up weeks later, only to discover
Jeremy Corbyn is the new Labour leader. Paul Mason and James Quinn’s Party Animals is the strongest and
funniest play of the evening. Fedora is an appalling, outrageous yet fantastic
creation thanks to the combination of sharp, topical writing and a magnificent
performance from Sally Carman who quite rightly got the best reception of the
night.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening of theatre in a wonderfully
intimate venue.
Photos: Courtesy of JB Shorts
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