I went to see the second day of the Minotaur shorts on the 17^th of October, the night consisted of 4 short plays, written, directed and produced by the Minotaur Theatre Company. The Minotaur Theatre Company consists exclusively of Drama students at UEA! There was a buzz as me and my friends waited in the queue to collect our tickets, the lobby of the Drama Studio was filled with friends, families and students alike – a strong sense of anticipation hung in the air as everyone took to their seats and the curtains opened. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at each short!

Knives In: Written and directed by Liz McKenna

Knives In (cleverly named after the acclaimed film directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out), is a who-dunnit style play featuring lots of twists and turns and stars a stellar cast with very well-timed comedic breaks. There were a lot of laughs, Inspector Spectre’s character was very entertaining, and the plot kept us intrigued with lots of surprises peppered throughout!

Minotaur Theatre’s description: “A fifteen-minute murder mystery that’s jam packed with comedy and twists! When esteemed gentleman Winston Ashford’s body is discovered in the drawing room of Grandview Manor, the eyes of suspicion naturally fall onto the mansion’s inhabitants. But who could be responsible? Well, if anyone can answer that, it’s Inspector Spectre.”

Cast List:

Jenkins: Daniel Hall

Reginald: Theo MacGregor

Beatrice: Lizzie White

Inspector Spectre: Joshua Scales

Mabel: Katie Howell

Ashford’s Body: Chloe Giess

Room: Written by Amira Hollis, directed by Amira Hollis and Annika Nolen

The set of Room was simple, with a countdown timer projected above our two protagonists Simon and Nic, portrayed brilliantly by Finn Kennedy Macmillan and Amil Charles respectively. The pair are kidnapped by an unseen individual or group and are held in a room, watching the timer looming above their head, unaware of their fate. Whilst the premise seemed straightforward, as the performance went on, the short took on a more existential tone and our characters started questioning the meaning of life and how we spend our time living and exploring the relationships around us. It was quite reflective and makes you ponder! It ended quite poignantly too, with the characters embracing, fearful of what may be their last moments.

Minotaur Theatre’s description: “Two unfortunate strangers, Nic and Simon, wake up in an empty room, a large timer on the wall counting down from 24 hours…”

Cast List:

Simon: Finn Kennedy Macmillan

Nic: Amil Charles

The Peace Agreement: Written and directed by Erin Muldoon

The Peace Agreement focuses on the Flinn family who have immigrated to Liverpool from Northern Ireland in the 90s amidst the Troubles. The Peace Agreement really immersed me and my friends into the story, both the acting and the writing was spectacular. The short traversed issues pertinent to society both when it was set and now, shedding an important light on an otherwise overlooked part of history.

Director and writer, Erin Muldoon, describes the play as a dark comedy that explores the complexities of Northern Irish family dynamics post-civil war. Erin states that “It’s called the peace agreement because it’s basically a mini ‘peace agreement’. A Catholic mother, Lily (Eloise Sladden) and lesbian daughter, Orla (Martha Haslam-Cook) eliminate religion in the form of a priest, Father Michael (James Moxley) because it only adds to their problems. Getting rid of religion improves their relationship. They went to an extreme to kill this priest if it gave them peace, much like the English government deciding to just draw a line under decades of war. It’s borderline insane, but it’s a desperation for peace.”

Minotaur Theatre’s description: “A dark comedy set in 1993 Liverpool, where the Flinn family has emigrated from Derry, Northern Ireland, only to find itself devoted to God, and devoted to Father Michael. But one night, a particularly tasteless, unlawful and comically tragic exorcism takes place.”

Cast List:

Lily: Eloise Sladden

Orla: Martha Haslam-Cook

Father Michael: James Moxley

Colm: Joe McCloskey

Pony: Written by Harriet Pringle, directed by Harriet Pringle and Sadie Robinson

Pony starts us off during the Christmas period at a nursing home, which although starts off relatively calm, quickly picks up a different tone. This performance had us clutching our sides and featured a hilarious (mock) Magic Mike show which was met with raucous laughter from the crowd. Harriet’s description of the play reads: “After the antics of last years ‘exotic animal’ handler at the Christmas party, the residents of Pelham place retirement home are beside themselves in excitement! (Well, at least one of the residents is excited) for the arrival of the much calmer ‘Semi Tones’ Christmas choir! But an unexpected mix up results in SEMI TONED the Magic Mike tribute act rocking up at the front door (he would be fully toned, but he only goes to the gym half the year) which descends the care home into absolute mayhem. A stripper and a bunch of geriatrics? What could possibly go wrong?!”

Cast List:

Whilst all 4 plays had our eyes glued to the stage, my personal favourites had to be ‘The Peace Agreement’ and ‘Pony’. Whilst ‘The Peace Agreement’ took on a more serious tone, ‘Pony’ was a lot more light-hearted and had us chuckling– both shorts were standouts in my opinion!

The set, lighting and the cast for each play were nothing ‘short’ of amazing, all the actors performed excellently and were accompanied by incredible stagehands. Keep your eyes peeled for The Minotaur Theatre Company’s future performances on their Instagram @minotaurtheatre

Image Credit: Lizzie McKenna