Drama Association’s One Act Festival draws in the crowds

The two-day event attracted large audiences which filled Arran High School’s theatre on both evenings.

Jennifer Scott-Reid, an active member of the local theatre scene for many years, was this year’s festival’s adjudicator. Jennifer brought a great deal of expertise to the festival, drawing on her experiences directing, acting in, and producing several plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Saturday evening began with a performance from the Brodick Youth Group, which performed The Do-It-Yourself Frankenstein Outfit. Written by David Campton in 1975, the play focused on two demonstrators who were showing off a kit for making your own robot.

Finn Popplewell and Daisy Campbell took on the roles of Demonstrator One and Two; Herbie Helliwell was Stage Hand; Mavis Helliwell was The Voice; Keren Beedie was First Robot; Holly Hayman was the Engineer; Eoin Stagg was Agitated Person; Do-It-Yourself Robot was Hector McArthur, and Isaac Stagg was The Other. The play was produced and directed by Sheila Gilmore, and the costumes were designed by Karen McKinnon and Ruby McArthur.

The play was very well received by the audience and it received all three trophies in the youth categories. Jennifer Scott-Reid praised the young actors for their performances and commented on their ability to work together with ease.

After a short interval, Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama performed Lining Up The Ducks, a play written by Arran Drama Association’s chair Andy McNamara. The comedic play, which revolved around two key characters, Hector played by Andy, and Dorothy played by Jo Godwin, saw the work of a con artist unfold. Nickey Summer joined Andy and Jo on stage for the final few minutes of the performance to play Catherine, Dorothy’s mother.

The play was produced and directed by Elanor McNamara who also organised the costumes and scenery on stage. Jennifer described the play as “well rehearsed, with lovely moments of comedy and a twist executed brilliantly.” She also highlighted the cast’s good timing and ability to “bounce off” each other.

Sunday evening included three performances, two from Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama and one from Brodick Drama Group. The first Knock, Knock, Who’s there? was set in the present time in a council flat where Yvonne, played by Beverley Scott, and her husband Dennis, played by Patrick Scott, are living in domestic mundanity. After a series of paranormal events lead Beverley to believe that the apartment is haunted by a poltergeist, a local television reporter and cameraman visit the couple to investigate the hauntings. Stage natural, Katherine Sparshott, according to adjudicator Jennifer, delivered a “controlled and sustained characterisation” of Gail the reporter, while cameraman Jimmy, played by director of the play Allan Nicol, was praised for his synergy with Katherine and for the pace of the play which Jennifer described as “nicely drawn out storytelling”. Knock, Knock, Who’s there? was written by Peter Harrison and received the Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama Golden Anniversary Cup for the best moment in theatre for its twist-in-the-tail ending.

Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama then performed the Devil of a Job by Stewart Boston. Set in Hell and a doctors office, the story tells of a conniving plan by Lucifer, played by Vikki Barbour, and Mephistopheles, played by James Mutch, who are trying to attract a better quality of clientele to hell. As with all good drama, not all goes to plan owing to the astute Doctor John Foster, played by Alastair Milne. Adjudicator Jennifer praised this production for its set, sound effects, and for the “total commitment achieved by the cast”. The production also received praise for its “lovely costumes” and all three actors were commended for their individual and joint performances.

The final play, Brodick Drama Group’s Home at Last, is a comedy written by Eileen Brandon. Produced and directed by Sheila Gilmore the play is set in a castle somewhere in Transylvania. It tells the story of three travellers who find themselves in Dracula’s castle. The three elderly ladies were played by Trevor Helliwell, Rudi Hunter and Stuart McPherson with good comedic effect. Stacey Irvine played Countess Draculana who was commended for her “wonderful facial expressions”. Laura Helliwell’s performance as Vampyra was described by adjudicator Jennifer as being acted “with panache” and she was awarded the Mattie Gillies Plate for the best supporting performance. Jennifer described the play as “bold, not subtle” and praised its set which was both elaborate and detailed.

The festival was concluded with a prizegiving where trophies were awarded. This year’s winners were: Jean Bannatyne Trophy for the best supporting performance in a youth production, Herbie Helliwell for his performance as Stage Hand in The Do-It-Yourself Frankenstein Outfit; Douglas Sillars Cup for the best performance in a youth production, Finn Popplewell for his portrayal as Demonstrator One in The Do-It-Yourself Frankenstein Outfit; Mary Stewart Orr Trophy for best youth production, Brodick Youth Group; Mattie Gillies Plate for best supporting performance, Laura Helliwell; Monie Kelso Trophy for best performance, Andy McNamara; Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama Golden Anniversary Cup for the best moment in theatre, Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama for the ending of Knock, Knock, Who’s There?; Millhill Players Cup for the highest mark for a production, contrasting to that which wins the festival, Brodick Drama Group – Home at Last; AK Wooley Trophy for best overall production, Whiting Bay Club of Music and Drama - Lining Up The Ducks.

This year, the Arran Drama Association joined the Scottish Community Drama Association, so two plays from this year’s festival will go on to represent Arran in the Western Regional finals in Greenock from Thursday April 3 to Saturday April 5.