AN award-winning theatre group is performing Five Pints and a Pig, two groups of short plays, to ensure their shows continue to go on.
Undaunted by the virus, Twyford and Ruscombe Theatre Group, has amassed a cast of 20 actors for the production.
The plays will be released online, three at a time. Each group of plays will be available for 24 hours at great value – £1 a ticket.
The group has produced the plays as audio versions. That’s something the group experienced earlier this year. They were half way through rehearsing Ladies’ Day by Amanda Whittington when the first Covid-19 lockdown started.
Determined to carry on, the actors met on Zoom and recorded their own parts. Then their former sound expert, David Goddard, now retired to the south coast, put them together and added sound effects.
The group reviewed the production with David. “He can tweak the timings and volume etc to make it sound perfect. He has done this for our current smaller plays as well. We couldn’t have done it all without him,” said group member Jocelyn Robinson.
Ladies’ Day attracted over 100 listeners and excellent reviews.
Jocelyn, co-director of Five Pints and a Pig, added: “This time we are performing five pint-sized plays, a maximum of 15 minutes each. They were all shortlisted in a play writing competition.
“My husband Gavin found a sixth play so we could involve some youngsters.
“Our cast is aged from about 12-80. Audio-only has advantages. For instance, it means you can have a couple, one aged 30 and the other 70. The audience can’t see you.” She says the plays will be fun and entertaining – and available worldwide. Jocelyn has directed four of them and Gavin two.
The first three plays can be listened to from Friday December 11 at 8pm until Saturday December 12 at 8pm. They are:
- Chilled Wine by Dorothy Lambert: Three girls meet in a pub to catch up and discuss their relationships.
- An Awesome Award by Nicholas Rickard: A TV award ceremony a few years from now.
- The Lady and The Tyger by Trace Crawford: A man is reading poetry on the beach when he is accosted by a very unusual woman.
The second three can be heard from Friday January 22 at 8pm until Saturday January 23 at 8pm. They are:
- Menage a Trois by David Evans: A husband and wife are setting off on a charity parachute jump.
- Once more unto the Breach, dear Vernon by Mark Waghorn: Vernon is an actor who reflects on how he reached this point in his career.
- Thirty Love by Dorothy Lambert: Two old pals meet in a pub.
An Awesome Award is by arrangement with Lazy Bee Scripts. The other plays are by arrangement with Pint-sized Plays.
For tickets, visit www.twyrusdrama.org.uk
Normally the group performs at Loddon Hall, Twyford. Their 2019 Cinderella was the National Operatic and Dramatic Society’s best South East regional panto.
