WRITEFEST has returned to Progress Theatre for its 16th annual event from Wednesday to Friday, November 2-5.
The festival showcases new writing and acting talent by staging a number of short plays together, performed as vignettes with a short introduction by the host.
This year saw six new works of theatre, tackling topics of love and loss, abuse and apocalypse, and each short piece makes the most of Progress Theatre’s practical approach to staging and dedication to storytelling.
As ever, Progress continues to tackle important topics with candour and due consideration, meaning some of the plays feature trigger warnings for sexual violence.
Paul Gallantry’s An Angel With One Wing was based on the true events which took place in early-mid 1500s Caversham as the dissolution of the monasteries came into effect.
Gallantry has a particular ear for antiquated, period-appropriate dialogue that still feels natural, which is a particularly difficult balance to strike.
Considering its short runtime, the depth of its exploration of the rifts that religious or political turmoil can cause is surprising, especially in how relevant to modern cultural discourse it feels.
Heart of Lightness, by Robert Kibble, saw the last two commuters on a broken-down tube train thrown together by circumstance.
The budding romance which develops is a perfect mix of tender romantic development and light-hearted humour.
Lorna, who is blind, is sharply-written and astutely observed, which compliments the slightly anxious, apologetic Harry as he attempts to acclimatise to the dark of the tube train.
Ultimately it is an enjoyable, up-to-date twist on the classic boy-meets-girl story which balances humour and romance excellently.
David Pearson’s Albatross sees two sisters searching for an elusive kraken, setting out to sea to find the mythical creature they were told about by their fisherman father.
Confined to the bowels of a ship, the piece explores the relationship between the sisters almost microscopically.
How Gentle is the Rain, by Philip Mannion, stands out from the rest of the pieces this year in its stark, frank examination of the suffering of women during war.
The piece takes a cautious but important look at the physical and mental horrors that foreign, potentially even domestic, soldiers visit upon women, including sexual violence involving young girls.
Progress regular Juliet England gave a raw and powerful performance as a mother raising girls in a fictional country ravaged by the effects of war.
The use of a Greek chorus allows the all-female cast to portray male characters and to examine the events of the piece almost from the outside.
This in turn allows the audience to consider the subject matter in its starkest representation, to great effect.
Debra J Wilson’s Missing sees two wedding guests stumble upon a farmer waiting for his dog as they search for a missing bride.
The two stop atop a hill and sit with him to rest their feet, weary from high heels, and what follows feels like an almost Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads-esque exploration of character.
The light-hearted and humorous piece compares the lives of the women and the farmer and the relative simplicity or complexity of each in turn effectively.
Finally, Airborne, by David Salisbury, saw an aeroplane co-pilot dealing with an unconscious, ailing pilot on a commercial jet.
As it becomes clear that something deeply disturbing is also happening with the passengers, they are forced to navigate with one of the passenger’s help as the situation becomes increasingly grave.
Both Katie Morton and Chris Moran give excellent performances in an exciting, tense, modern story-in-a-bottle piece that extends far beyond the confines of the story’s small setting.
The sense of dread and duty that the story evokes wouldn’t feel out of place as part of a Resident Evil plot or as a sequence in the Walking Dead.
Overall, WriteFest 16 saw six disparate short stories performed with a love for theatre that Progress continues to demonstrate, making a striking, enjoyable, and poignant display of talented storytelling.
Progress’s next show will be Liar’s Teeth, by Emily Goode, which is also part of the theatre’s festival of new writing.
Liar’s Teeth runs from Wednesday-Saturday, November 16-19.
For tickets to WriteFest 16 or Liar’s Teeth, or for more information, visit www.progresstheatre.co.uk
