The Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays

Category: Festival News

  • RUNNING ORDER – LIGHTFEST 2026.

    TUESDAY JUNE 2 AT 7.15 PM

    Stourbridge Theatre Company.

    “12 hr Life” by Robert Scott.

    Co-directors Michaela Revel-Maton and Dan Price

    Technical Leads Tim French and Ken Gristwood

    Dylan should be going to a conference but, after a chance encounter with Samantha and some forthright discussion, he’s playing truant and having the time of his life. Is it possible to live a life in one day?

    Run time approximately 40 minutes.

    Kineton Amateur Dramatic Society

    “Village Fete” by Benjamin Keyser.

    Director tba

    Technical Lead tba

    In the immediate aftermath of a disastrous village fete, the WI committee meet to discuss what might be done to cause less bloodshed next year.

    Run time approximately 20 minutes.

    Lighthorne Drama Group.

    “Does My Bum Look Big In This?” by Johnny Grim

    Director Steve Farr

    Technical Lead Tom Willcock

    Three middle-aged friends – Donna, Janice and Sharon – meet up before Janice is due to leave to attend her sister’s wedding. Then, unexpectedly, they hear that the ceremony has been called off. Romantic ideals clash with the brutal realities of life.

    Run time approximately 25 minutes.

    WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 AT 7.15 PM

    Dandy Productions, Stratford.

    “The Hairy Biker” by Angela Dandy

    Director Angela Dandy

    Technical Lead Dwayne Dawson

    It’s Lizzie’s birthday and a day full of surprises, some welcome and some deeply unsettling. The Hairy Biker contests (contends) that, in a bewildering and often perilous modern world, human connection, kindness and shared laughter remain the deepest sources of reassurance.

    Run time 25 minutes.

    Clarke and Hunzinger Players, Warwickshire.

    “Where I Lie” written and directed by Imogen Clarke and Elizabeth Huntzinger.

    Technical Lead Oliver Clarke.

    A close friendship group come together for their annual catch-up. Tainted by a tragedy, smiles soon drop as they each admit to not wanting to continue the tradition. The play explores the difficulty of maintaining a withering friendship.

    Run time approximately 25 minutes.

    Monkee Dubonnet , Stratford 

    “All an Act” by Lewis Hills

    Director Benjamin Keyser

    Technical Lead Benjamin Keyser

    A washed-up director decides to stage Shakespeare in the village hall. A highly prestigious evening, can the cast pull off the best production of Hamlet the stage has ever seen?

    Run time approximately 45 minutes

    THURSDAY JUNE 4 AT 7.15 PM

    Banbury Cross Players, Oxfordshire.

    “A Handbag” by Anthony Horowitz

     Director Chrissie Garrett

    Production Manager Debby Andrews

    Technical Lead Lucy Byford

    THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is being rehearsed in preparation for a first performance. As the actors tackle Wilde’s wit, manners and mistaken identities, comedy and reality collide.

    Run time approximately 40 minutes.

    Caramba Theatre Company, Gloucs.

    “RITA” by Mollie Howell

    Directed by Mollie Howell

    Technical Lead Kate Guest, Tbc.

    In a hidden bunker, a grieving father protects RITA – an AI created from the memories of his daughter. Programmed to learn empathy, the one human trait he believes could defeat violence and greed, RITA becomes both his refuge and his greatest risk. As enemies close in, their bond deepens, but the line between machine and child, love and survival, begins to blur. 

    Run time approximately 45 minutes.

    Broadly Speaking, Warwickshire 

    “Mop and Bucket” by Benjamin Keyser

    Director  tba

    Technical Lead tba

    Mr Bucket’s business is failing. After the cleaner finds him sleeping in the office, can a conversation help reignite the workplace ?

    Run time approximately 20 minutes.

    FRIDAY JUNE 5 AT . 7.15 PM

    Phoenix Players Stratford

    “What Lies Before Us“ by Chloe McDonald

    Director Karen McDonald

    Technical Lead Callum McCormick

    Have you ever wondered what faces you after your die?  Will you meet your loved ones again? Or will you meet someone you never expected? Follow Margot as she navigates her first steps through heaven, learning how to appreciate what she had, rather than wishing for what she has lost.

    Run time approximately 25 minutes

    Heckington Players, Lincolnshire.

    “Wise Men Nor Fools” by Kei Bailey.

    Director Colette Buchanan-Gray

    Technical Lead David Whipps

    Comedy duo Roger Salt and Peter Pepper shot to fame in the 1970’s with their TV show, A Pinch of Salt and Pepper. But celebrity status and a gruelling schedule took their toll. We find them in 1989, in the dressing room of a rundown theatre. Where did it all go wrong?

    Run time under 45 minutes

    Lynden Players.  Middleton Cheney, Northants.

    “Rambles on Radio” by Robert Scott

    Director Ben Tutt 

    Technical Lead Jo Bailey

    During a live broadcast which gradually descends into chaos, Christopher is delighted to be performing his play on the radio, with his daughter in a starring role, but others are less content with the casting. And there’s more drama behind the microphone than is going out over the air. 

    Run time approximately 30 mins

    SATURDAY JUNE 6 AT 7.15 PM

    Rugby Theatre, Warwickshire  

    “Day Of Judgement” by Michael Lynch

    Director Mark Rumsey

    Technical Lead Steve Orton

    In a modern day courtroom, a defendant is on trial and the prosecution must convince the audience of his guilt. Ultimately, after hearing the evidence, it is they who will decide whether he is guilty or not.

    Run time approximately 25 minutes

    Criterion Theatre, Coventry.

    TBA

    Free Spirit Productions, Stratford.

    “Whisking Eggs” by Jackie Lines.

    Director Jackie Lines

    Producer Ian McLean

    Technical Lead tba 

    A Vicar’s naive wife finds herself as a lodger to menopausal telephone Dominatrix, Doreen, whose clients include the clergy. Can the truth be hidden or will all be revealed by the outrageous and eccentric Lady Cartingdon Smythe? Mild sexual references.

    Run time approximately 35 minutes.

  • 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.

  • Lighthorne Festival winners 2016

    A touring company from Northampton has won the fourth annual Lighthorne Festival of One-Act plays.

    White Cobra took the coveted trophy with Housebound by Simon Mawdsley, a comedy about a burglary gone wrong, which they entered at the last minute to help the organisers after another group pulled out.

    Lighthorne Festival winners 2016, Housebound by Simon Mawdsley, directed by Paul Fowler, performed by Winners White Cobra Theatre Company of Northampton. Richard Jordan as Bone the burglar, and Kate Billingham as Fiona, the agoraphobic housewife.

    The East Midlands theatre company, previous national champions, had already submitted their first choice, a tragi-comic story behind a Laurel and Hardy tribute act, entitled Another Fine Mess by Gillian Plowman.

    The group performed both plays on the second night (Thursday June 9, 2016) of the four-night Festival in which ten amateur theatre companies presented 12 plays in Lighthorne Village Hall, Warwickshire.

    Second were Great Witley Operatic Society from Worcestershire with the Burnand and Sullivan comic operetta, Cox and Box.

    Nuneaton’s Abbey Players, who were defending their title as the 2015 champions, came third and fourth respectively with their two plays, Boxing Day and Just a Straight Man. The adjudicator was Jan Palmer Sayer who is a Council Member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators.

    White Cobra now qualify for consideration for the National Drama Festivals Association British All-Winners Finals, to be held this year in Hertford at the end of July. Lighthorne is a NDFA-recognised Festival.

    Two local playwrights whose plays were performed during the Festival, Ginny Davis from Lighthorne Drama Group with her gentle WI comedy Arrows of Desire, and Nick Marsh from Rugby Theatre with his World War Two thriller A Frank Exchange, have been nominated for NDFA’s original writing competition by the adjudicator and the Festival chairman, Rod Chaytor.

    DSCF8104
    Arrows of Desire, tells the story of the chairman of a village WI group battling dwindling numbers, written by local playwright Ginny Davis and performed by Ginny herself (right) together with Sharon Bayliss, who played the part of Anna Gold (left), directed by Victoria Pritchard.

    He said:” For the second year running, our top four participants achieved or surpassed a score of 80, which is the Guild of Drama Adjudicators’ benchmark of excellence, and two other groups were as close as possible behind.

    “We have again this year been getting really positive feedback from our village, the wider audiences and participating groups. Everyone seems to have had a fantastic time.

    “Our guests this year included two other GoDA Council members, two national Council members of the National Drama Festivals Association, a national officer and two regional officers from the All-England Theatre Festival plus a regional officer from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association.

    “It is a tribute to our event and the village team which runs it that so many Festival organisers of national significance came from all over the country to see how we do it, just to enjoy it, or both.”

    The organisers paid tribute to the Stratford-based theatre company, Caramba, their inaugural 2013 winners, who also stepped in to fill a breach with a self-written monologue by director Kate Guest; and another Stratford group, Phoenix Players, who managed to shift an 11-hander from one night to another to accommodate forced changes to the running order.

    Next year’s Lighthorne Festival will run from Wednesday June 7 to Saturday June 10, 2017. Expressions of Interest from would-be participating groups are invited to chairman Rod Chaytor on rod.chaytor@icloud.com by October 31, this year.