Shorts are in ****

‘Shorts are in’ are two plays by emerging writers, at the beautifully redesigned Blue Room, on until 8th April. All of the plays have brand new ideas for their themes and are cleverly written with plenty of laughs. The show starts with a hilarious bonus 10-minute third play, ‘Benefit of Hindsight’, by Damon Lockwood. Needless to say his zany humour comes through superbly. The story is basically on how to dump your girlfriend tenderly. The cast consists of Veronica Mistry and Sam O’Sullivan as the young couple, with Sam Longley and Mia Martin as their inner thoughts. This cast, along with Phil Miolin, play all of the parts in the three very different plays. They have a variety of characters, accents and styles of comedy to deal with, but win in all cases. Sam Longley’s experience in the comedy business no doubt pulls together the performances. The second play ‘God, the devil and the true history of mankind’ by Travis Cotton ensures that he never sees the inside of the Pearly Gates, unless they let him in for his tremendous talent. With a sex starved God – female of course – who brings a new meaning to a packet of potato chips will having you gasping and laughing out aloud. The third play, by Joshua Lawson, ‘Shakesperealism’ tells the story of Ralph Shakespeare, the truly talented brother of old Will. This play I found the least funny, though the actors in the audience probably found it the funniest. Very cleverly written and with the best possible presentation, it will be appreciated by the acting profession for it’s ‘in house’ humour. Aaron Beach’s direction is skilful and the talented cast kept the laughter going for all three plays. The costumes by Cherie Hewson were both stunning and hilarious (in the case of Sam Longley) A great start to the season, thoroughly recommended.