Skip to main content

The Flash Festival Review 2014 held at the Looking Glass Theatre and the Royal & Derngate, Northampton

The experience of seeing eleven productions in the 2014 Flash Festival was a delight and something that I am glad I was able to make time for. The quality of the organisation, the quality of the plays and most importantly the quality of the University Of Northampton's young acting students has been something to behold.

The venues themselves have also been a delight, with the Royal & Derngate Underground space familiar to me having attended previous on a few occasions. However the Looking Glass Theatre came as quite a surprise with my first visit early morning on the first day of the festival. Two very helpful staff (ignorantly never asked your names) with tea, chocolate and more often than not coffee at the ready.

 Of the eleven plays that I did manage to see, I can safely say that there was not one that I didn't enjoy. I offer my apologies that I simply was not able to see The Fig Tree, The Homeless Heart, The Weigh In and Don't Look Me In The Eye, but there sadly was just not quite enough time in the week for me.

 So as I said, once again, you were all brilliant but like all awards ceremonies there must be a few winners (try not to look grumpy if you have missed out as the camera might just be on you as you pull that face) and rest assured Olivia Colman actually won't win an award here.

 So here are my personal awards:

Top Male Performers (Top Three Unranked)
  • Joseph Derrington from Marbleglass for Sell By Date
  • Marvin Freeman from Lost Fragments for The Show Must Go On
  • Steven-James Leonard from Rising Persona for Vallence Road
Top Female Performers (Top Three Unranked)
  • Danielle Gorman from Black Jack for Taciturn
  • Zoë Harbour from Between Two Worlds for In Her Reflection
  • Brigette Wellbelove from Between Two Worlds for In Her Reflection
Best Technology Use
  • Marbleglass for Sell By Date
Best Physical Theatre
  • Sell By Date from Marbleglass starring Marcus Churchill, Ashley Cook, Joseph Derrington and Sophie Murray
Best Set
  • Oppossed from ViceVersa starring Lindsey Davis and Reanne Lawrence
Top Theatre Groups (Top Three Unranked)
  • Between Two Worlds featuring Kathryn Belmega, Zoë Harbour, Katherine Hartshorne and Brigette Wellbelove for In Her Reflection
  • Lost Fragments featuring Tré Curran, Marvin Freeman, Liam Harvey and Karis Lewis for The Show Must Go On
  • Marbleglass featuring Marcus Churchill, Ashley Cook, Joseph Derrington and Sophie Murray for Sell By Date
Top Plays (Top Three Unranked)
  • Sell By Date from Marbleglass starring Marcus Churchill, Ashley Cook, Joseph Derrington and Sophie Murray
  • The Show Must Go from Lost Fragments starring Tré Curran, Marvin Freeman, Liam Harvey and Karis Lewis
  • Taciturn from Black Jack starring Danielle Gorman, Oliver Leonard and Matt Thompson


And then it was all over. A final thanks to the staff at Looking Glass, Royal & Derngate, Flash Festival Organisers, Platinum Events: Sophie Bridge, Louise Stidston, Libbie Cooper, Justyna Smugala, Shaunagh Dunlop and Bryony Denison and also thanks to Jim and Lynne Holden. Roll on 2015.



Popular posts from this blog

Review of Mary Poppins at Milton Keynes Theatre

The 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins is one of the most fondly remembered family films and has been a staple of many children's childhoods ever since its release. Adapted from P. L. Travers's book series featuring the famous nanny, it took until 2004 for the show to reach the stage, with this musical adaptation featuring a book by Julian Fellowes. The stage musical used the familiar songs from the film by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and added new ones by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, all under the watchful eye of co-creator Cameron Mackintosh. It is safe to say that many people were involved in bringing this show to the stage. The story, of course, tells of the family Banks—father George, mother Winifred, and the tricky-to-handle children Michael and Jane. Following a job advertisement thrown into the fireplace, a nanny named Mary Poppins arrives at their home, and the Banks' family experiences a very different world than they have ever before. Touring to sele...
Read more

Review of Jesus Christ Superstar (N.M.T.C.) at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The now-legendary Jesus Christ Superstar , written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, initially struggled to find backing in 1970, so its first airing was as a concept album rather than the now mainly recognised stage show. Now, 55 years later, the legendary Northampton Musical Theatre Company, at least in Northampton, brings the show to the Royal & Derngate once again, after last performing it in 2010. The story, I suspect, needs little introduction, so I leave you to ensure you know the story before heading to the theatre to see the show. And what a show it is: this is the N.M.T.C., almost at the top of their game, assembling the cream of their group and a vast cast supporting the main players. As lead, newcomer Linden Iliffe takes on the weighty role of Jesus of Nazareth, and he is terrific in the challenging part, depicting the innocent power imbued in him and his desperation and disappointment as his life unravels amid bitter betrayal and disownment. He has a powerful voice,...
Read more

Review of Death on the Nile at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Agatha Christie is a name synonymous with crime fiction, perhaps the most famous, and her 1937 novel Death on the Nile is among her most notable. Adapted often for the screen and previously also as a stage play back in the forties, here Ken Ludwig brings a new adaptation to the stage, first performed in 2024 and arriving now at Royal & Derngate as part of an extensive UK tour. For this production from Fiery Angel, we return very much to the team that brought Ludwig's Murder on the Orient Express recently to the stage, including director Lucy Bailey. That was a solid adaptation, so, as we cruise the Nile, is it more of the same standard? Heiress Linnet Ridgeway and her new husband, Simon, are on honeymoon aboard a luxurious boat cruising the Nile, their journey shadowed by a priceless Egyptian sarcophagus. Tension simmers among the eclectic mix of guests, including Simon's vengeful ex-fiancée, a watchful MI5 agent, the British Museum's enigmatic Egyptology curator, and P...
Read more