The Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays

Author: Rod Inness-Chaytor

  • Festival Results 2018

    Kattreya Sheurer-Smith as runaway bride Kitty and Matthew Squance as quirky zoologist Tom, who finds her stuck up a tree, in the two-hander “Uke Belong To Me”, written by Kattreya and directed by her father, Stephen, which won the 2018 Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays with a record score.
    A Cambridgeshire theatre group has won the 2018 Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays with the highest score the Festival has ever seen.

    Big Squirrel, based in Ely, Cambs, scored an astonishing 90 out of 100 with their production of “Uke Belong To Me” written by and featuring Kattreya Sheurer-Smith and directed by her father, Stephen Sheurer-Smith.

    Adjudicator Chris Jaeger MBE, a leading member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators, said that Kattreya and her stage partner Matthew Squance had “done everything to perfection” in the rom-com two-hander. A score of 80 is considered the GoDA benchmark of excellence.

    Judging at Lighthorne for the first time, he told the audience: “This is a truly unique festival – good quality plays, wonderful food, brilliant audiences and terrific atmosphere. It is a credit to the whole community of Lighthorne. In 20 years’ time, every Festival will look like this.”

    It is the first time a piece of new work, rather than a published play by an established playwright, has won the Lighthorne Festival.

    In second place were Lighthorne’s 2016 winners, White Cobra from Northampton presenting “Blind Date” by Peter Quilter with a score of 86, and Stratford’s Second Thoughts came third on 85 with “Whisking Eggs” by local playwright Jackie Lines.

    Kattreya Sheurer-Smith and fellow actor Matthew Squance, of the Big Squirrel theatre group, based in Ely, Cambs, receive their engraved glass winner’s trophy from Lighthorne adjudicator Chris Jaeger, MBE, GoDA.

    The top five groups, including Stratford’s Phoenix Players in fourth place and reigning British champions, Didcot Phoenix Drama Group from Oxfordshire, in fifth, all hit or surpassed the 80 mark.

    The Lighthorne Festival, now in its sixth year, offers its winner £1,000 – the biggest prize in British amateur theatre – which, under the Festival’s founding principles, must be shared 50-50 between the winning group and a registered charity of the winning group’s choice. They nominated Macmillan Cancer Support.

    Festival chairman Rod Chaytor said:”A score in the mid-to-high 80’s will easily win most Festivals and 90 or above will take the national championships. Whilst every Lighthorne winner in the past has hit the 80’s, none has before achieved 90. It is a ringing testament to the quality of the drama which groups bring to Lighthorne and demonstrates again that, year on year, standards continue to rise.”

    He added: “I saw Kat and Matthew deliver “Uke” last year and went straight up to see them afterwards to invite them to close this year’s Lighthorne event. It is a lovely, heart-warming crowd-pleaser and they perform it brilliantly, including both of them playing the ukulele during the course of the show, on stage.”

    Next year’s seventh annual Lighthorne Festival will take place between Tuesday June 4 and Saturday June 8, 2019. Expressions of interest from potential participants are invited before October 31, 2018, by emailing chairman Rod Chaytor on rod.chaytor@icloud.com.

     

  • National Champions Return to Defend Lighthorne Title

    Reigning British one-act drama champions, Didcot Phoenix Drama Group, will return in June to the Lighthorne stage where their successes of last year began.
     
    The award-winning Oxfordshire group will open the 2018 Lighthorne Festival with “The Bench at the Edge”, a dramatic comedy by Luigi Januzzi.
     

    Last June they won Lighthorne with Eugene Ionesco’s “The Lesson” which qualified them for the National Drama Festivals Association’s British All-Winners Finals, held at the Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley in July.

    David Cooke as the Professor, Daisy Norton as the Maid and Corin Lawfull as the Pupil in the Didcot Phoenix Drama Group presentation of Eugene Ionesco’s classic 1950’s Theatre of the Absurd play, The Lesson.
     
    There, they not only took the top prize in the One-Act section but also took the Youth Section trophy, which was won by 20-year-old Didcot actress Corin Lawfull.
     
    This year’s Lighthorne line-up contains another four groups who have previously won through to the national finals – Abbey Players, Nuneaton; White Cobra from Northampton; Lighthorne Drama Group and Big Squirrel from Ely.
     
    It also includes established favourites such as Armistice Theatre from Kenilworth; Stratford Playwrights; Phoenix Players, Stratford; Second Thoughts, Stratford; Rugby Theatre and Banbury Cross Players.
     
    Newcomers include the Rose Theatre from Kidderminster, who were one of the groups chosen to provide the Rude Mechanicals for the RSC’s 2016 pro-am production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
     
    Lighthorne Festival chairman Rod Chaytor said:” We are delighted to welcome back loyal local groups as well as top-quality newcomers such as the Rose Theatre and Big Squirrel from further afield. There is also an interesting mix of off-the-shelf published plays and new work this year.
     
    “We are looking forward to a really exciting Festival in June.”
     
    In a change this year, performances will begin at 7pm and the cost of a four-night Season Ticket, including supper on each night, has been reduced to £40.
     
    One enforced change from last year – a Thursday night Festival break – has been repeated this year by choice.
     
    Chairman Rod Chaytor added:” In 2017 we had to move our scheduled Thursday night programme to the Tuesday because of the sudden calling of a General Election – our village hall, where the Festival takes place, is used as a polling station.
     
    “However, the Festival Committee appreciated the break. We canvassed participating groups and our 2018 adjudicator, Chris Jaeger, and they supported repeating the exercise, so this year’s Festival will follow the same Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night pattern.”
     
    The Box Office will open to the general public on Monday May 7, for  preference by emailing lighthornefestival@gmail.com or via a link on the website https://lighthornefestival.org.uk or alternatively by telephoning Colin and Ann Such on 01926 651411.
     
    Tickets are £12.50 each including a meal. Vegetarian meals are available but, once ordered, cannot be altered. We regret that limited catering facilities mean that other dietary requirements cannot be met. There is no ticket price reduction for those who do not wish to eat.
     
    The full running order for the 2018 Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays is:
     
     
    TUESDAY JUNE 5, 2018 at 7pm
     
     
    Didcot Phoenix Drama Group. “The Bench at the Edge” by Luigi Januzzi.
     
    Armistice Theatre, Kenilworth. “The Party” by Dan Blizzard and Rebecca Gardner Tildesley.
     
    Second Thoughts, Stratford. “Whisking Eggs” by Jackie Lines.
     
     
    WEDNESDAY JUNE 6, 2018 at 7pm
    Mayhem Theatre Group. “Imagine?” by Stephen Moran. 
    Rugby Theatre. “Consensual Sex?” by Steve Crump.
     
    Abbey Players, Nuneaton.  “Conclusions” by Chris Jaeger.
     
    (This entry is part of the Festival but does not form part of the competition).
     
     
     
    FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2018 at 7 pm
     
    Banbury Cross Players. “Warm, Hot, Getting Hotter” by Lou Treleavan.
     
    Phoenix Players, Stratford. “What Is Normal ?” by Katie Cherry.
     
    Lighthorne Drama Group. “White Lies” by Richard James.
     
     
    SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2018 at 7pm
     
    White Cobra, Northampton. “Blind Date” by Peter Quilter.
     
    Stratford Playwrights. “The Age of Asparagus” by Steve Farr.
     
    Big Squirrel, Ely. “Uke Belong To Me” by Kattreya Sheurer-Smith.

  • Lighthorne Festival winners 2017 become national champions

    Lighthorne Festival’s 2017 winners have become national champions at the British All-Winners Finals.
     

    Didcot Phoenix Drama Group took the top prize in the One-Act section with their entry, Eugene Ionesco’s The Lesson, as well as the Youth Section trophy, won by 20-year-old Didcot actress Corin Lawfull.

    David Cooke as the Professor, Daisy Norton as the Maid and Corin Lawfull as the Pupil in the Didcot Phoenix Drama Group presentation of Eugene Ionesco’s classic 1950’s Theatre of the Absurd play, The Lesson.
    Veteran adjudicator Russell Whitely, GoDA, praised Didcot for their “powerful” performance and said he had never seen an amateur group perform the Ionesco work better. He also said that Corin Lawfull’s portrayal of the pupil, at first coquettish, then confused and, finally, terrified, was “absolute, total perfection”.
     
    Fellow Didcot actress Daisy Norton, 16, was also among the nominees for the youth prize.
     
    Winning Director Karen Carey said:” We have performed in local festivals around Oxfordshire for over 30 years but this is the first time that the group has performed on the national circuit, so to win at this level is a fantastic achievement for the group and certainly one of the high points in its 34-year history.
     
    “I’m extremely proud of the team, both on-stage and off, and very grateful for the support from members and their families. Being surrounded by science and technology industries, the arts in Didcot has often taken a back seat – but I think this proves there’s a lot of talent in Didcot.”
     
    The group won the Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays last month, earning the right to enter the All-Winners Finals. They are the fifth group to go forward to the national championships from Lighthorne since it was founded in 2013, but the first to win it.
     
    The week-long Finals, at the Lamproom Theatre in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and organised by the National Drama Festivals Association, featured nine one-act and three full-length plays and represented a triple triumph for Lighthorne.
     
    Playwright Nick Marsh, from Rugby Theatre, was handed the George Taylor Memorial Trophy for the best new play featured at a NDFA-associated Festival during the previous year.
     
    Nick’s presentation was made by David Waters, managing director of publishers Stagescripts, whose award also includes a £250 cheque and a publishing deal.
     
    His play, A Frank Exchange, was the Rugby Theatre entry in the Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays in June 2016.
     
    The judging panel, comprised of an established playwright and two GoDA adjudicators, said:”It is very well constructed, with several twists and climaxes, building to a strong, telling, harrowing conclusion.”
     
    Lighthorne Festival chairman Rod Chaytor said:”We were aware that standards are building year on year, but this is empirical proof.”
     
    ”We are delighted to share Didcot’s triumph. It is a huge achievement to win at this level. They gave a stunning interpretation of a classic theatrical piece.”
     
    “Equally, the Lighthorne Festival has always encouraged new work within a balanced programme and we offer our warmest congratulations to Nick Marsh.”
     
    Next year’s Lighthorne Festival will be held between June 5 – 9, 2018. Preliminary expressions of interest are invited from would-be entrants between now and October 31 this year, with confirmed entries by January 31, 2018.