Curtain up on drama festival

The curtain went up at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on Tuesday for the 61st Maidenhead Drama Festival.

Each evening offerings from a host of local theatre groups will be judged and the final performances on Saturday will be followed by an a presentation of trophies by Maidenhead MP Theresa May.

Once again the event is also acting as the first round of the All England Theatre Festival, with the second round in Leigh-on-sea and the final back at Norden Farm on May 25.

We went along last night (wed) to get a taste of this year’s entries.

Claire's Court- After Midnight Before Dawn by David Campton

This play is traditionally set in the 1700's but as the scene of a dank cell was revealed it was clear the students had chosen to update the drama. 

Sentenced for witchcraft and awaiting death were six chanting figures. Costume had been used to imply a soldier, businessman, innocent servant, middle-class housewife and elderly middle eastern woman.

The Calm Woman, who tempts the others with a satanic allegiance, is the key character and although her air of sinister calm was effective her costume and placement on stage felt a little understated.

Images flashed up behind the actors intended to extend the modern references and were a clever idea which certainly got you thinking but were sometimes a little too brief and distracting.

Overall the acting was good and the tension rose as the condemned battled with emotions and the question arose of what we will do to stave off death. They handled their roles well but there was a feeling the young actors held back slightly when it came to the brutality required to give the play real punch.

Maidenhead Drama Guild- Verve by Mark Lucas

A detailed set was used which immediately immersed you in the world of a warring middle-England couple.

From the moment Mitchell stepped on stage sans trousers there was laughter and his brutal and realistic argument with wife Sally was a delight.

After she leaves him the 'loser' decided he can't go on and grabs his gun. A ridiculous farce unfolds as his suicide mission is interrupted time and time again by a timely knock at door. A host of colourful character appeared each well immersed in their part. Costumes were well chosen but could have been exploited more for comedy value.

Jokes were delivered with conviction, raising many a laugh and genuinely taking the audience by surprise, although sometimes the pace faltered slightly.

I felt they pulled it of well, working as a team and making you really care about what happened.

Progress Theatre- Family Business devised by members.

An ambitious undertaking but a well chosen subject allowed the actors to draw on their own experience.

Family life is explored using the idea of a lecture complete with overly cheerful speaker and imagined power point presentation.

A series of short scenes depicted the problems children face at home and were both moving and funny at times.

The young actors handled the child characters well as you would expect but bad costumes choice did not aid their attempt at portraying parents. Main dress needed to be more neutral with stronger references to distinguish age and lifestyle.

Many moments were truly insightful and the use of adapted nursery rhymes worked beautifully to bring poignancy and explanation to the scenes.

A couple of scenes were a little weaker and lacking in guidance for the audience but overall a thought provoking performance.