Another successful Franklin & Friends One Act Play Festival, done and dusted!! 

Congratulations and huge thanks to everyone involved this year, including fellow amdram societies Protea Stage Productions and EADS. To our incredible Franklinites, the dedication you showed throughout the weeks of rehearsals is commendable and we have managed to raise the bar yet again – our OAPF festival keeps going from strength to strength each and every year!

We are very grateful to our panel of adjudicators for generously giving up their valuable time and sharing their expertise – Jonathan Taylor, Kathleen Andersen and Cati Muller – thank you all so very much! We would be honoured to have you on the panel again next year 🙂

Of course, we could not accomplish much without the continued support of our loyal patrons, so a massive thank you to each and every person who came to support the plays – we hope you enjoyed the shows as much as we enjoyed performing them for you.

A donation of R1673 has been set aside from festival ticket sales and will be donated to Barking Mad / Dogtown SA, together with 10% of takings from our forthcoming mid-year and year-end productions – the total of which will handed over at the end of the year. Visit Barking Mad’s website to learn more about this extremely worthy cause.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE AWARD WINNERS:

• Best Overall Production – For the Love of Cheesecake
• Runner-Up Best Production – No Year’s Eve
• Best Director – Steph Nel (Midlife Rendezvous)
• Runner-Up Best Director – Mark Paps / Ashley Nader / Traci Scerri (For the Love of Cheesecake)
• Best Original Script – Ashley Nader (For the Love of Cheesecake)
• Best Actor – Mark Worrell (Magnum’s Budgies)
• Runner-Up Best Actor – Roy Borole (No Year’s Eve)
• Best Supporting Actor – Henry van Niekerk (Midlife Rendezvous)
• Runner-Up Best Supporting Actor – Hendrik Greyvenstein (The Abaddon)
• Best Actress – Seane Mew (For the Love of Cheesecake)
• Runner-Up Best Actress – Avrill Cameron (Midlife Rendezvous)
• Best Supporting Actress – Traci Scerri (For the Love of Cheesecake)
• Runner-Up Best Supporting Actress – Samantha Keller (Lesbians Anonymous)
• Best Ensemble Cast – Midlife Rendezvous
• Best Newcomer – Madelize de Lange (No Year’s Eve)
• Best Novice Production – No Year’s Eve
• Best Cameo Role – Lise Wessels (Lesbians Anonymous)
• Best Set – Midlife Rendezvous
• Best Lighting – Midlife Rendezvous
• Best Sound – Midlife Rendezvous

MERIT AWARDS:

• Merit Award – Best Production – Midlife Rendezvous
• Merit Award – Most Socially Relevant Script – Lesbians Anonymous
• Merit Award – Most Innovative Use of Props on Stage – Midlife Rendezvous
• Merit Award – Best Cameo Role – Roy Wilkinson (Magnum’s Budgies)
• Merit Award – Best Use of Costume – Midlife Rendezvous
• Merit Award – Best Poster Design – The Abaddon
• Recognition Award – Most Diverse Acting Roles – Traci Scerri

ACTING MERIT AWARDS (SCORE OF 75 & ABOVE):

• Acting Merit – Samantha Keller (Lesbians Anonymous)
• Acting Merit – Seane Mew (No Year’s Eve)
• Acting Merit – James Harris (For the Love of Cheesecake)
• Acting Merit – Juan Oosthuizen (Lonely Heart)
• Acting Merit – Michael Shane Brownhill (Lonely Heart)
• Acting Merit – Spencer Rowley (The Abaddon)
• Acting Merit – Traci Scerri (The Abaddon)
• Acting Merit – Lynda-Jane Hinton (Midlife Rendezvous)

This year’s festival showcased a line up of 7 productions, including 2 entries from fellow societies, Protea Stage Productions and EADS.

Download the Programme »

Here are posters of the 7 plays that took part:

LA (Lesbians Anonymous)

Natalie has the perfect life, but there is a bomb she needs to drop, and waiting for the results of a very important test seems like the perfect time to do it… Hospitals, crazy mothers and finding true love… Kicking down the closet door has never been so colourful!

No Year’s Eve

Christmas is over, and everyone was looking forward to the New Year, until the news broke that there wasn’t going to be one. A jilted daughter, a nuclear physicist, a flower shop employee, a wayward priest and a thief all join Mr. and Mrs. Drummond for their final moments on earth. Emotions run high, secrets are confessed, and love blooms in the face of annihilation.

Magnum’s Budgies
(Protea Stage Productions)

Two men from vastly different backgrounds are thrown together in a hospital ward. It is an intellectual comedy of words and action, but their characters change as they reveal their interdependence upon each other and their emotional sides.

For the Love of Cheesecake

One-sided love is never easy… Molly finds herself in a passionless marriage. Determined to ignite the spark between her and Arthur, she reaches out for advice from her neighbour Fran, with an unexpected outcome of disaster. Molly’s desperation takes her on a journey that forces her to ask the question, “Is love worth it?”

Lonely Heart
(Protea Stage Productions)

Set in the South African Embassy in a far-off land. Consul General and his assistant Adam are called upon to help The Bird Brothers to get their brother back with a little help from Smith – an ex Scotland Yard negotiator. Dear Adam gets distracted by the distressed and beautiful Lauren. Will anyone help get her father Bill back?

The Abaddon

A disgruntled Butler, a manic Porter, two extremely confused couples, luggage issues and a seemingly temperamental air-conditioning dial don’t even begin to describe the extent of strange happenings in room number 9 after the Hotel California undergoes a change in management…

Midlife Rendezvous
(EADS)

Loneliness can lead one to make desperate decisions for romance. Thankfully life steps in and has a different agenda.