It’s getting shorter and sweeter

By AARYAN KAPOOR

The 2024 Sydney Short + Sweet festival of short plays is reaching its climax. 

With eight heats now completed and eight plays selected as the judges’ choice from each, there is one last chance for this year’s entrants to make it to the gala final. 

From April 25 – 28, a handful of plays will be selected across  three categories: Wild Card (one play, Crewcut (two plays), and People’s Choice (two plays). These five plays will join the eight heat winners for the grand play-off (wink) on May 3,4 and 5. 

The Wildcard finals will occur on the April 24 at 7:30pm, and the April 27 at 2pm. 

The plays include Cindy Neilson’s Take the Test, directed by Elyse Zouroudis. A few old friends are having a picnic, with lots of laughter and a few glasses of wine. However, a midlife crisis is revealed, along with an uncomfortable question. 

Another Wildcard entry is Frank Leggett’s And in the End. A couple is breaking up. Sophie has moved out and has a new guy in her life, but Matt can’t let it be.

The Crew Cut plays have a wonderful selection, which you will be able to experience on the April 26 at 7:30pm and April 28 at 2pm. 

Here, you have the opportunity to watch The Medium, directed by Jonathon Soloman. Josephine’s late uncle has a load of money stashed somewhere. She enlists Cassandra, a medium, to contact him and find out where it is. 

Or, you can watch the powerful solo performance by Geraldine Marcellio in A Thing of Hope. This expressive monologue delves into the complexity of a young neurodiverse woman who fashions a passion for the clouds into a way of understanding.

Finally, there’s the People’s Choice Showcase, running on the April 27 at 7:30pm, and April 28 at 6:30pm. 

In this category, some entertaining plays include Chris Naylor’s play There’s a Fly in my Soup. Directed by William Rogut, the title is pretty accurate to the storyline, wherein a couple eat some soup, and end up fighting a war with a fly. 

Paulene Turner returns with her tenth Short + Sweet play,  Shakespeare, Where art Thou? Set in 2077, Juliet has wasted her study time on Spacebook, and, needing to pass her Romeo and Juliet exam, will have to originate her own Shakespearean plot. 

Among the confirmed plays are Sally Bartely’s Three Sides to Every Story, a love triangle coming of age story, involving three teenagers at a house party. 

Also, Fria Kirkaldy’s Main Character Energy. A tour-de-force solo performance by Fance Lafosse, this winning play from Short + Sweet Illawarra, showcases a young graduate in a high pressure job. 

For full list of plays, more information on the festival, and to book tickets, visit: 

shortandsweet.org