June 2018 meeting – Summer Party

Our summer party

Our Summer Party happened on Sunday June 3rd 2018.

 

The evening:

Drinks, nibbles, good conversation and of course – drama!

News that Sussex Playwright the late Ted McFadyen has left SPC a legacy in his will – more news as it comes.

28 Plays Later challenge: Robert Cohen has achieved his goal of writing 28 scripts in 28 days, on receiving a writers’ prompt each day. Robert, Sorcha, John and Kitty read his play Valentine’s Index – a tight, neatly plotted and funny short play with a highly satisfying ending.

The group had a wide ranging Fringe discussion – who did or saw what at the Fringe?

Sussex Playwrights’ Philippa and Thomas were out and about throughout the Fringe, and have been reviewing productions including:

Cooked
What’s Wrong With Monotony
Bully Beef
– nominated for Best New Play from New Writing South
Franz Kafka Apparatus
Spin City
Anthony and Cleopatra
Whaddaya Know We’re In Love
After: Parenting and the Apocalypse [we also made contact with the writer, Dr Craig Jordan Baker, Brighton University’s senior lecturer in Creative Writing  – Sussex Playwrights continues to be about making connections and joining the creative dots in the region.

Thomas presented a teaser audio trailer for The Teaswell Incident – John Dutton’s winning Constance Cox competition entry.

Should reviewers be banned entirely? Simon Jenner introduced a conversation and brief debate.

Our friends at Brighton Radio Playtime and Brighton Theatre of the Air presented a reading of Dave Patchett’s King Charlie, with Jeff, Mary, Guy, Sue and Anthony followed by an interesting discussion around how the piece would be staged; as audio or theatre? The use of narrator was thought to be quite unusual as was the mix of several different genres – a burlesque-toned start, a static centre, physical theatre, storytelling, monologue and farce, coupled with some quite dark themes.

Thomas presented a teaser audio trailer for Storm in a League Cup, a runner up in the Constance Cox competition.

Robert presented a Monologue, also part of the 28 Plays Later Challenge – a chatty, angry rant about school play productions with a very clearly delineated central character, who rang a bell with several present. A great reading, commenting about education in general. One listener asked if we are perhaps ‘a bit fed up with strong language?’ This piece certainly generated most interest and conversation about teaching, hippies, and how getting jaded after not living up to one’s purpose can lead to bitterness. General intrigue around ‘how is it going to develop …?’

Thomas presented a teaser audio trailer for Rock and Chips, a runner up in the Constance Cox competition.

News: Philippa is appearing in The Comedy of Errors at BOAT at the end of June.