Hello and welcome to laid-back Lighthorne and the Festival where no rules rules, OK?

Well, that was the original plan.

In the free-wheeling spirit of this village, we wanted a relaxed and friendly event, devoid of petty regulation.

But interested groups told us there must be rules so they could see what they were getting into. We googled festivals from Buckingham to Baltimore and were horrified. Rules ran for pages with draconian penalties for 30-second over-runs, etc.

We agreed to have a few rules to make sure no-one was unfairly disadvantaged, but no more than ten, contained on a single sheet of A4. A year on, we still have ten, but they have bulged to accommodate unforeseen issues, and our additional briefing document ran to pages – though without threats.

Our founding principles remained intact – this Festival is professionally adjudicated with half the net ticket money going to the winning group and the other half to the charity of the winner’s choice.

However, organising the drama proved a piece of cake compared tot he food and car parking. Earnest discussions went on deep into the next bottle of red. Occupancy of the actors’ table was subjected to actuarial algorithm. Upon enquiry, I found myself emailing Shanghai (where our front-of-house manager was on holiday) to ask whether the veggie food option contained cheese.

Hopefully, the easygoing ethos of Lighthorne will still illuminate our inaugural Festival. We love our atmospheric and intimate cafe-theatre. We hope you do too.

Your most-asked question (food issues apart). Will there be a second Festival? Your feedback will decide.

Thank you for embracing the Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays. We hope you have a wonderful time.

Rod Chaytor,

Chairman,

The Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays.