The Sudden Impulse production of Waiting For, a home-grown piece written by 19-year-old student Jack West, caught the eye of GoDA adjudicator Mike Kaiser at the inaugural Lighthorne Festival.
Mike rated it in the top three, together with the Priory’s Lions and Donkeys by Steve Harper and winners Caramba with Chinamen by Michael Frayn.
But it was Nuneaton-based Sudden Impulse’s other Lighthorne entry, The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, which went on to win honours at the prestigious Buxton Fringe Festival a month later.
The edgy drama – in which an increasingly deranged youth invades the privacy of an older man sitting quietly reading on a New York park bench, with hints of terrible happenings earlier at the neighbouring zoo – was nominated for best production and its two actors, Richard Shields as Peter and Liam King as the younger Jerry, were both nominated for best male actor.
Liam King went on to win the award.
Those who saw Zoo Story at Lighthorne will no doubt recall Liam’s low-slung jeans which appeared at any moment to be heading for a catastrophic costume malfunction.
Adjudicator Mike Kaiser said in his judgement that it was sometimes his role to reflect the views of the audience, among whom he had heard whispers that they found the jeans distracting.
But Liam, and Sudden Impulse’s Artistic Director, Simon N. W. Winterman, stuck to their guns and played it at Buxton exactly as they had done at Lighthorne a month earlier.
The Derbyshire judges obviously found the occasional heart-stopping jeans moments added to the overall edginess of the performance – and perhaps a metaphor for whether the character of Jerry was in control, or not.
Director Simon, who took both plays to Buxton, said:”We had an amazing week with incredible weather. We performed each of the plays five times, a staggering 10 performances in the sweltering heat, but it was an incredible time. Both productions received high acclaim.
“Early on we were ‘spotted’ by Robin Matheison who is the husband of Dame Janet Smith, the main festival organiser – he was impressed with Waiting For and insisted on taking us all for a drink outside the Opera House which was magnificent.
“I am also delighted to report that out of 55 separate theatre productions and countless performances, The Zoo Story was nominated for Best Production and both Richard Shields and Liam King nominated for best performance, with Liam King going on to win the award for best performance for a male actor.
“This is obviously a triumph for all of us at Sudden Impulse but I hope Lighthorne can also share in our pride. The Lighthorne Festival remains one of the highlights of a wonderful summer.”
Sudden Impulse, among the very first to support the inaugural Lighthorne Festival, were also amongst those who immediately afterwards called for a re-run in 2014. They are again contemplating running two entries this year.