TEN MINUTE PLAYS
NUNS
The setting is the back of a convent where three nuns are smoking a single cigarette they have secretly hidden away for their covert meeting. In this convent any vice is fair game, provided you keep it discreet. Drinking, sleeping around, and mild drugs are permitted. But smoking isn't. But Sister Catharine and Sister Rosa have a plan to change that.
Cast
Amanda Stephens -Lee-- Sister Cathrine.
Maite A --Sister Roza
Celia Kelly-- Sister Bernadette.
Director
Uma Kali Shakti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK0HliMqIlw&list=PLdtMXYZAwgOB8IDuIYgD-gSriYcxPTSHy&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB
TEA FOR TERROR
SOME PEOPLE WOULD KILL FOR A CUP OF TEA
Synopsis
It's 4 O Clock, Tea time. For the group of tea addicts, desperately trying to overcome their addiction, it is the worst time of the day. Drugs, alcohol & the occasional glue sniffing barely lessen the pain. But for Rebecca the torment is too much she needs her Tea & biscuits ( and buttered scones with cream would be nice). What starts out as an orderly meeting turns into a hostage situation when Rebecca shoots one of her fellow addicts. Detective McQueen must take drastic steps to resolve the heated situation. He cannot give in to Rebecca's demands but he cannot risk another life being taken.
Cast:
Samantha:................. Margie McCrae
Rebecca: .................Sophie Gregg
Tina: .......................Caroline Downs
Det. McQueen:....... Leo Domigan
Det. McSomeone... Alistair Buchanan
Written by
Robert Luxford
Directed by
Andrew James
The perfect end to such a superb night of the theatre is local playwright Robert Luxford's hilarious satire Tea for Terror.
A cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down. Beating an addiction was never meant to be easy. But was it meant to be this hard?
Directed by Andrew James with lighting design by Grant Fraser, the fabulous cast of Margie McCrae, Caroline Downs, Leo Domigan and Alastair Buchanan as the Detectives and Sophie Gregg as Rebecca, driven to breaking point by her addiction.
Alex Broun
Festival Director
Short+Sweet Sydney 2011
www.shortandsweet.org/shortsweet-theatre/Sydney
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Imagine Festival (2010)
Short & Sweet (2011)
u3a, United Kingdom – (2022)
Manjimup Repertory Club Inc- (2024)
Short & Sweet Dubai (2025)
EXPIRY DATE.
John is quietly having his lunch when he is disturbed by a strange woman who wants to know his expiry date. ( the day & time he will die). He regards this as a personal intrusion and tries to get the woman to leave . She is persistant as she only has an hour to live and wants sex before she dies. Nothing can deter the woman. She offes John a considerable amount of money. He is tempted and may bend, but still reluctant. Will he finally give in to the womans request or will she die a virgin ?
Cast
Andy Guy....................... .......... John
Pauline Kingsford-Smith .......... Marsha
Written & Directed by
Robert Luxford
How could he resist? -
Win Tickets to Week 7 of Short+Sweet
Expiry Date is just one of the short plays that is part of the exciting Week 7 Short+Sweet Festival line-up at Newtown Theatre running from Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th February. The play by Robert Luxford tells the story of a man named John who is minding his own business, eating his lunch until he is interrupted by a woman who says she is about to die. She only has one hour to live and wants to have sex before it's too late. John is resistant but she is persistent. You'll have to come along and watch to find out whether John finally gives in to the woman's request or if she dies a virgin. Expiry Date will feature alongside ten other short plays with shows running at 8.15pm, Wednesdays to Saturdays and 5.15pm on Sundays. Visit www.newtowntheatre.com.au for more information or tickets. – NM
TWISTED TALES AND STEAMY NIGHTS THIS WEEK IN SHORT+SWEET AT NEWTOWN THEATRE
Top 110 Week 7 Newtown Theatre opens tonight
The writer behind one of the most popular plays of Short+Sweet Sydney 2010 (Nuns), Robert Luxford is up next with the hilariously bent Expiry Date.
Marsha, the superb Pauline Kingsford- Smith, has never had sex, and she only has a short time to live. Her solution, seduce the dweeby guy in the park, an excellent performance by Andrew Guy, before she expires.
Presented by Blind Penguin Productions, Luxford also directs.
Alex Broun
Festival Director
Short+Sweet Sydney 2011
www.shortandsweet.org/shortsweet-theatre/Sydney
RESULTS - WEEK 7
The judge's couldn't separate the third place productions with Robert Luxford's Expiry Date tying with Homeless by New Zealand playwright Steve Delux
Expiry Date saw the always superb Pauline Kingsford- Smith, as Marsha who has never had sex, and only has a short time to live. Her solution, seduce the dweeby guy in the park, an excellent performance by Andrew Guy, before she "expires". Presented by Blind Penguin Productions, Luxford also did a great job directing his own play.
Review Written by Leisa Woodman
Short and Sweet
Newtown Theatre, Newtown (Sydney)
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Expiry Date
While there were a couple of groan-worthy gags the thrust of this play was a winner. Well cast and dialogue driven, the light comedy was woven around the intriguing concept of knowing the date of one's own death. The emphasis on sex as the must-experience of a lifetime was a telling reflection of our culture. A simple concept well realised.
LOST PROPERTY
The clothes don't make the man...unless you're Superman and you've had your costume stolen in the locker room of a Sydney train station. To what extremes will the dashing defender go to save his threads and his dignity?
Writer: Robert Luxford
Director: Grace O'Connell
Cast:
Nick Wright (Superman)
Jenae O'Connor (Clerk)
FINALIST IN SHORT & SWEET 2015
CASHLESS
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU WANT TO PAY CASH IN A CASHLESS SOCIETY? THIS IS THE PREDICAMENT A BABY BOOMER FACES WHEN DEALING WITH A MILLENIAL WHEN BUYING A DVD.
WINNER OF THE PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD FOR CRASH TEST DRAMA CRONULLA 2019.
CAST
GRAHAM EGAN, KELLY MCRAE, EMILY PERRY
DIRECTOR
UMA KALI SHAKTI
WINNER PEOPLES CHOICE CRASH TEST DRAMA CRONULLA 2019.
GRAND FINALIST SHORT AND SWEET 2022 DUBAI.
SHORT AND SWEET THEATRE TOP 80 WEEK THREE SYDNEY 2020 @ AMPA TOM MANN THEATRE
SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE 28 FEBRUARY 2020 LYNN BELVEDERE.
CASHLESS
HUGE COMEDY DELIGHT AND VERY ENTERTAINING. TWO MILLENNIAL SHOP STAFF, ARE FULLY TRAINED TO BE ONLY ABLE TO ACCEPT PAYMENT BY BANK ISSUED CARD, AND TO REPEATEDLY BLAME THE CUSTOMER. THE CLEVER AND RESOURCEFUL CUSTOMER INSISTS ON HIS LEGAL RIGHT TO PAY FOR HIS PURCHASE IN CASH, BECAUSE THE STORE REFUSES TO ACCEPT HIS AUSTRALIAN CURRENCY. WHAT ABOUT MY CHANGE.
THIS PLAY HUMOROUSLY EXPLORED THE GENERATION GAP AND THE ANGST AGAINST MILLENNIAL MELTDOWNS. CAST DID A GREAT JOB IN BEING BELIEVABLE IN THIS EASY-TO-FOLLOW STORY.
REVIEWED BY OLIVIA FARAG- WHAT’S ON SYDNEY.
KELLY MCRAE PLAYS THE ANNOYING, UNINTERESTED CASHIER TREATING CUSTOMERS LIKE AN INCONVENIENCE WITH SUCH ACCURACY IT’S PAINFUL. SHE REALLY COMES TO LIFE AS THE PLAY DEVELOPS WITH ENTERTAINING PLAY BETWEEN HER AND GRAHAM EGAN AS THE CUSTOMER WHO JUST WANTS TO SPEND SOME CASH, HIS EXASPERATION CONTRASTS WITH HER INDIFFERENCE IN THIS CLASH BETWEEN MILLENNIALS AND THE CAVE MAN ERA. EMILY PERRY AS THE SUPERVISOR DEPICTS THE ‘I’LL CALL SECURITY’ SOCIETY, FOR IMAGINED AND EXAGGERATED INFRACTIONS WITH CRINGY ACUITY. THE CUSTOMERS HAPLESS PERSONA IS HELPED BY HIS SHABBY CLOTHES, A TIDY FUN LOOK AT THE MIRACLES OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY, AND THEIR COSTS.
REVIEW BY LEE SARICH - THEATRE TRAVELS.
SHORT & SWEET IN WEEK 3 OF THE SHORT + SWEET THEATRE SYDNEY, A DELIGHTFUL ARRAY OF SHORT PLAYS GRACED THE STAGE, EACH LASTING NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES. THIS FESTIVAL, WHICH CELEBRATES BREVITY AND CREATIVITY, SHOWCASED BOTH NEW AND ESTABLISHED PLAYWRIGHTS, CHALLENGING THEM TO CRAFT COMPELLING NARRATIVES WITHIN THIS CONCISE TIMEFRAME.
HERE ARE SOME STANDOUT PLAYS FROM THAT WEEK:
"CASHLESS” BY ROBERT LUXFORD: A HUMOROUS EXPLORATION OF THE GENERATION GAP AND THE FRUSTRATIONS SURROUNDING MILLENNIAL MELTDOWNS. THE CAST DELIVERED A BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE IN THIS EASY-TO-FOLLOW STORY.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Playworks Day 3 - Victoria School Of Arts, Alberta, Canada- (2025)
BOARDING PASS
SYNOPSIS:
DAVE IS LATE FOR HIS FLIGHT AND THE BOARDING PASS MACHINE IS GIVING HIM A HARD TIME. FIRST IT REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS PASSPORT , THEN IT HAS A HISSY FIT WHEN DAVE HITS IT AND FINALLY INTERROGATES DAVE WITH EMBARRASSING QUESTIONS. WILL DAVE MAKE HIS FLIGHT ON TIME?
CAST LIST
ANDREW HALL ( DAVE), KAREN FIRMSTONE (COMPUTER), SAM OWEN (AIRLINE ATTENDENT)
WRITER : ROBERT LUXFORD
DIRECTOR: NEIL MOULANGhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STBnlXmkcvw&list=PLdtMXYZAwgOB8IDuIYgD-gSriYcxPTSHy&index=6&pp=gAQBiAQB
ITC: ARTS THEATRE CRONULLA.
