It’s important to note on the outset that Adelaide Short Play Festival is an amateur production on this year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival programme. As noted by the show’s main writer and director at the start of the performance, the cast has varying degrees of stage experience, with some of the performers taking to the stage for the first time in this production. If you’re looking for a night of polished rep or professional theatre, this show is not for you. If, on the other hand, you enjoy the vibe of community theatre, where stage craft and acting skills are at their genesis... read on!

The show delivers on its promise to present a variety of short plays, or vignettes. If there’s one that doesn’t hit the mark for you, you’re only five to seven minutes away from the next short scene.

There were some standout moments throughout the performance, including a scene with a psychic and his girlfriend at a restaurant. This scene was well written and performed, with great comic timing and general delivery from the trio on stage. Another stand-out was a moving two-hander involving two brothers talking about their connection to the stars in the southern skies. Side by side, the quality of these scenes was a strength of the overall show. The finale contained some well executed choreography, acobatic in some parts, and left the evening on a genuine high.

There was one point, about three quarters of the way in, where the cast lined up on stage to take a bow, which was a bit confusing for the audience. The subject matter in some of the scenes was unneccessary, or felt like it had been written from the perspective of opinion rather than experience. Some of the scenes could well have been left out in favour of extending some of the other scenes that did work. 

Other choices might have benefitted from workshopping the ideas more with the people performing them, to encourage them to find their voice. For example, while the songs in the finale were choreographed well, they were charting when I was in high school. Twenty five years ago. This would be some years before the dancers were born, though I’m loathe to admit. It would have been great to see them dance to something they connect with from their own era of music.

Adelaide Short Play Festival, although being inclusive of new talent, would work better as a Fringe act by refining a smaller selection of scenes, and casting from the more experienced pool of actors to really help them shine on this part of their journey. There is some real talent amongst the ranks who would benefit from sparring on stage with others at the same level of experience in the festival environment.

You can listen to my chat with Scott Hill, director and writer for six of the vignettes  on That Entertainment Podcast.