Beginning in 2002 as a small festival of 10-minute plays in Sydney, Short+Sweet (one of my favourite festivals) is now global. Comprising of new, original work, it provides a platform for new and established artists to concisely showcase their talent.  The QLD finale included Theatre and Cabaret and, at only 10 minutes for each piece, those with short attention spans (me) were in their element.  After viewing all 12 selections, audience members voted for their top two shows for the Audience Choice Award.

 

Part 1 was the Theatre section with seven finalists.  Representing Physical Theatre/Mime was Dennis, a wistful story of a man nervously waiting for his date to arrive for dinner (written, directed, and performed by a masked Clint Bolster) and Quietus a comedy about trying to silence a piercing fire alarm (presented and performed by Caitlin Strongarm).  I laughed the entire 10 minutes of Quietus, may have even snorted at one point, so it was no surprise Quietus received Best Overall Production and Strongarm won Best Actor.  

 

Picking up Best Script, Say Yes (written, directed, and performed by Geena Schwartz) was an interesting tale of Eve being tempted to take her ill-fated bite of a… talking apple!  Adam was dismissive, condescending, and cruel husband, Eve felt guilty for her failure to conceive, and the manipulative talking apple was a riot.  A thoughtful piece.

 

Based on the tragic Greek myth, Hero + Leander (directed and performed by Jamie Kendall and Gina Limpus), used clever lighting and lyrical dance movements to portray a doomed love story.  Making full use of the space, Kendall and Limpus perfected mirrored movement and technical lifts.

 

Wasted (written, directed, and performed by Jace Fleming and Joel Berechree) was a story of male friendship and bonding, beginning with a guitar duet but ending with a cruel payback joke.  Fleming and Berechree gave a relaxed and believable performance.

 

Falling somewhere between theatre and cabaret, Invention No.45 Volume 9, The Remix (Performed by Sim Lovett, Patrick Mu‘a, and Jayne Robertson) was a heightened comedy about two crazy sisters pitching their latest invention “The Drag” (Mu’a) - essentially your very own Drag Queen.  Patrick Mu’a had mesmerizing fluid movement, his vocal commanding, and he was blisteringly funny. 

Hard to find any fault with Murder in the Mansion (performed by Gabriella Flowers, Emily Vascotto, Ben Warren, and Levi Wilcox).  An extremely physical and hilarious drawing room farce, it was well rehearsed and tightly paced.  Samantha Bull (Best Director) did a fantastic job of blocking.  Badly executed, farce can become a complete mess but this ensemble excelled and received Best Play.  I voted it my 2^nd favourite show.

 

After a 15 minute interval, the Cabaret section opened with Rock Pigs (Performed by Drew Lochrie, Robert Zosars, and Amy Currie).  Highly skilled in improvisation, they boldly asked the audience for an example of something a terrible housemate may do.  Someone yelled out “tea on the floor” and the trio launched into Tea on the Floor:The Rock Opera.  I kid you not.  Lochrie’s look and vocal (think Jack Black singing Tribute) was perfect for this type of cabaret, and he won Best Cabaret Artist.

 

Grandma (performed by Shannon Maugham and Kana Nakano) was a self-deprecating story of a young girl who feels like a grandma and her friends all agree.  Maugham, resplendent in a nana dressing gown sang about her boring life and her lack of experience in cabaret.  Another comic treat.

 

Performed by Alastair Tomkins and Dominic Woodhead, Songs for Sarah Connor (A Love Story, TERMINATED!) was my vote for 1^st place.  Looking and sounding just like Arnie, Tomkins performance was polished, professional, and wickedly fun.  Winning the Audience Choice Award, I would love to see his full version programmed.

 

This Could Be You! (performed by Sophie Bannister and Lauren Rodgers) was about a girl looking for her perfect musical duet partner.  Explaining how lucky that person would be, Bannister demonstrated this by singing and acting the counterpart role as well as her own, earning her the Best Original Score/Song. 

 

The final piece, Shoes Wisely (Performed by Geordie McGrath and Olivia Brand) featured a giant shoe-wearing performer blaming his poor techie for ruining his show.  I have a fondness for quirky shows that break the 4^th wall!  McGrath totally engaged with his audience, and won Best Cabaret Act and Best New Talent.

 

The Short+Sweet Festival is fabulous fun.  You can take your bevvies into the theatre and you never know who might rock up to the Powerhouse bar whilst you are ordering.  Willem Dafoe graced the bar on Saturday night!  Check out Short+Sweet next year for its 10^th Anniversary in Queensland.

 

By Lisa Bingham