The Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays

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  • 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.

  • Lighthorne 2017 results

    An Oxfordshire theatre group has won the fifth annual Lighthorne Festival of One-Act Plays with a piece of classic theatre – “The Lesson”, by French playwright Eugene Ionesco.

    David Cooke as The Professor and Corin Lawfull as The Pupil in the Didcot Phoenix Drama Group winning production of “The Lesson” by Eugene Ionesco, directed by Karen Carey.

    Newcomers Didcot Phoenix Drama Group scored the Festival’s highest-ever marks with their production, directed by Karen Carey.

    The still-controversial 1950’s Theatre of The Absurd play – hated by some but hailed as a masterpiece by many – deals with a dysfunctional and disconnected encounter between a youthful pupil and an ageing, lustful professor, which degenerates into violence.

    Adjudicator Paul Fowler, national chairman of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators, described it as:” A fiercely intelligent production, directed with confident brio and acted with thrilling pace, wonderful physicality and great attention to the details of this strange and difficult text.”

    He also spoke of: “David Cooke as the twitching and ranting professor whose murderous meltdown helped to make Didcot Phoenix’s The Lesson such a powerful experience.”

    As winners, Didcot Phoenix picked up a £500 prize – the biggest in British amateur theatre – plus the right to send an identical sum to the registered charity of their choice. They chose Restore, an Oxford-based mental health charity.

    They also won a handsome engraved trophy and the right to be considered for the National Drama Festivals Association British All-Winners Finals, to be held at the Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley, next month.

    Two groups were joint second – Lighthorne Drama Group with the two-hander, “12hr Life” written by Robert Scott and directed by Victoria Pritchard, and the Mayhem Theatre Group from Halesowen, West Midlands with “The Librarian”, written by Stephen Moran and directed by Linda Evans.

    Paul Fowler picked out actors from both plays for special mention.

    He said of the two LDG actors: “Alex Kapila and Peter Reynolds, as the strangers drawn together at the station buffet, produced a pair of beautifully matched and sensitive performances whose on-stage chemistry added greatly to this production.”

    He praised Ruth Cattell in the title role of “The Librarian” from Mayhem for:”A rich and nuanced performance at the heart of this gripping play.”

    June Ronson was singled out: “As the wonderful Marcie in The Allotment – such a calm and detailed performance for Banbury Cross Players.”

    Mr Fowler also made special mention of respected Warwickshire actress Susi Walker, who played the ghostly actress Miranda Yolanda in Parlour Hen’s production of “Moving On”, written and directed by former Stratford actress Sarah Campbell.

    The adjudicator described it as: “A performance of great dignity from an actress blessed with the most wonderful voice.”

    “Moving On”, which came fourth, and “The Librarian” were both also nominated for the George Taylor Award, a competition for new work offered by the National Drama Festivals Association for new plays performed at affiliated Festivals, of which Lighthorne is one.

    They were among 12 one-acters performed over the four-night Festival, which is presented cafe-theatre style with a supper served in the intervals and is recognised as being nationally unique.

    Lighthorne Festival Chairman Rod Chaytor said:” Didcot achieved the highest mark ever awarded at Lighthorne and the next three groups were all marked at a level which would win many Festivals outright.

    “It is tangible proof that the Festival is attracting more and more top-quality groups, encouraging our longer-standing entrants significantly to raise their games, to the benefit of all.”

    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.