The Echo

April 2004

CURTAIN CALL REVIEW
DENIM
By Gwen Moulster
  Giles was adopted as a baby but his attempts to find love have been overshadowed by his fears of falling for an unknown sister.
  This is the plot of this wonderful play by talented local writer Jay Saunders which takes us through a mish-mash of complicated relationships
  Under the excellent direction of Peter Trott, making his debut, the whole company gave strong performances.
  These were enhanced by good set and lighting, well used throughout to convey exactly the right atmosphere.

2002

ADJUDICATION REPORT
Prime Directive
By Robert Bogue - GoDA Adjudicator
  What a play! The lead in this play is the modern day equivalent of Richard Briars’ Tom Good of The Good Life; a man living out his principles of life in the defiance of all those around him. Who would have thought that a social commentary could have been developed from the life of a Sci-Fi fan, with so much comedy that it starts to hurt.
  The principle of reviewing a play is ‘Will it act better than it reads?’. With Prime Directive, I truly hope so – because we will have a force to recon with. A new and talented playwright is born.

RN Theatre Festival

2003

ADJUDICATION REPORT
DENIM
By Bill Newman - GoDA Adjudicator
  The relationship between father and son is well defined and one can see the love between them and this comes across well. Excellent in fact!
  The use of the ‘ghosts’ [governed from above] dictating the spells was an excellent idea…
  The mother and daughter [relationship] was beautifully explored. …in analysis the realisation of the situation came carefully and sensitively drawn with an additional frustration.
  [Denim is a] exploration of peoples anguish, although a large portion of the play digs into the limits people are prepared to go to enlarge their ego, transitions and sadness…
  An entertaining script full of fun! There is more in this play and with skilful adaptation of the sub-text and excellent choice for perusal and interpretation. A play of characterisation, with twists and turns. I like it!
  Your flair for writing is un-daunting…

RN Theatre Festival

2003

ADJUDICATION REPORT
Prime Directive
By Bill Newman - GoDA Adjudicator
  I admire anyone who can take a blank piece of paper and turn it into a creation of drama. The ingredients of characterisation, story technique and ultimate entertainment however depends on good direction, casting and full credence given to the writing, particularly the sub-text. It’s a play of relationships. In caring, not only in friendship but even in the face of anger and adversity. It has comedy, jealousy, pathos, sincerity, love, bitterness with the added alignment of science fiction worship; whether this is in fantasy or an escape clause to overshadow life’s predicaments.

2002

ADJUDICATION REPORT
Prime Directive
By John Bromley - GoDA Adjudicator
Where else could we get the chance to see Buffy the Vampire Slayer meet the Goons of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise?
  Prime Directive had an interesting and entertaining theme that was sustained throughout the play. It had a strong sense of style that was necessary for a ‘lightweight’ play.
  The author knew his characters well – consequently their delineation was strong with each character being sharply drawn. The interlocking relationships were sharply written.
  I particularly enjoyed the mother and father. They developed during the play with changing values which altered their thoughts and behaviour by the end of the play.
  All characters were clearly there for the actors to get hold of.