[2013122] MKA’s 22 Short Plays
MKA: Theatre of New Writing @ The Producers Garden
8:30pm, Sun 10 Mar 2013
Every so often I encounter a work that makes me so thankful that the Fringe exists; that the opportunity exists to see a work that lies so far outside the mainstream. 22 Short Plays is such a work – there’s little doubt that I would be incredibly unlikely to see this outside of Fringe season.
Mind you, it’s not like there was a massive crowd in tonight, either; a mere handful of people. Still, I got to chat a little with director Tobias Manderson-Galvin before the show… before I strapped myself in for – as the title suggests – twenty-two short plays, all penned by David Finnigan.
And from the quirky opener, Commercial For Jeans, it was clear that the cast of three would have their work cut out for them as they darted from character to character, costume to costume, prop to prop; the playlets were all very different pieces of work, and almost seemed to be ordered to create the greatest possible dissonance between consecutive pieces. They veered from straight-up comedy to grim satire, light-and-fluffy to dark-and-heavy; by the time Conor Gallacher, Tom Dent, and Kerith Manderson-Galvin have made it through to the bizarre closing piece Coat Made Of Eyes, they’ve certainly covered the theatrical gamut – with, it must be said, great aplomb.
And whilst the twenty-two short plays (and two interludes) all had their own charm, special mention must be made of the abstract genius of Beowulf Computer Game – an utterly bizarre (yet completely logical) melding of folklore and video-gaming culture. That snippet alone almost justified the cost of entry; that the other content on offer was almost as good just made for a wonderful experience… and made me feel more-than-happy with my decision to take a chance with MKA.
- Commercial For Jeans
- Communist Anthem 1951
- Cumgoblin
- Westpac A.T.M.
- Disney Channel
- Dune
- Sad Threesomes
- Disease Play
- Preview For The Island
- Pharmacy Security Systems
- Footprints: A Parable Of Man And God
- Teenge Girls On The Railway Platform
- Slave Market At The Top Of A Ski Lift
- Let’s Climb On Each Other’s Shoulders
- 13 Angels
- Your Kidneys
- Sitcom In Three Different Time Periods
- Friction
- The Cigarettes 1965
- Beowulf Computer Game
- Bomber Aircraft
- Coat Made Of Eyes
(122) MKA's 22 Short Plays: short morsels of inspired genius that make me thankful for the Fringe. #ff2013 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) March 10, 2013