Wyong Drama Group: Media Release 3
To: All Media Outlets
By: Peter Deane
Ph: 02-4329-3056
Re: Award winners in “Pass the Butler”
Dt: 26 September 2007
On 8 September Wyong Drama Group hosted the fourth annual Central Coast
Theatrefest, a competition for one act plays. Theatre groups from all around the
state were invited to perform, and despite its postponement from June due to
flooding to Wyong Memorial Hall, eight entries were received. These plays were
all performed on the one day, providing the audience with a veritable theatrical
immersion.
The prizes given are fondly known as the “Woscars” which is simply a
contraction of “W”yong “Oscars”. There was some stiff competition for these
prizes, but Wyong Drama Group itself managed to come away with quite a few,
including Best Production and Best Production runner-up. Wyong also was the home
of Best Male Actor (Duncan Mitchell) and Best Male Supporting Actor (Paul
Ractliffe).
Duncan has been a member of Wyong Drama Group for ten years now, and has
performed in at least two shows a year ever since. His latest project is as the
butler in Eric Idle’s stage play Pass the Butler set to open in early November.
The play does contain a suspicious death, but it is well established toward the
end of the play that the butler in fact, did not do it.
Duncan is looking forward to opening night. “I relish the opportunity to make
an audience laugh”, he said with a wry grin. “Eric Idle’s play gives us ample
opportunities because of the richness of the script. The jokes are often on
multiple levels. The same line might make one person laugh for one reason, and
another person laugh for a completely different one”.
When a member of Monty Python, Eric Idle used to write on his own (Graham
Chapman and John Cleese would write as a pair, as would Terry Jones and Michael
Palin). Eric’s comedy was often comedy of words – the meaning and sound of
different word pictures for great effect. A great example is his sketch Nudge
Nudge, Wink Wink. Pass the Butler uses a lot of the techniques used in Python
and has a lot of one-liners, plays on words, and sharp observations of English
society.
And as well as the technical prowess, the play is a rollicking farce with all
the expected quirks of this genre, such as people getting locked in cupboards,
astounding revelations of unexpected family history, and the odd bit of
gratuitous violence.
Wyong Drama Group audiences will love the show, and so will any fan of
English comedy. The play opens on 8 November, and runs Thursday at 8pm, Friday
at 8pm, and Saturday at 2pm and 8pm for two weeks. For a great night out make
sure you book your seats on 4353-4353 or visit the website
www.wyongdramagroup.com.au which has an online booking form along with a lot
more information about the play
[THAT photo also went out again with this release: including printed copies
to those outlets who get their press release via snail mail].
Hit No
