The London One Act Festival is an all-time favourite for local artists to display their work to the community. It is a four day festival of short plays of any genre running 30 minutes or less. This Festival takes place from October 17 to 18. The London One Act Festival began in 1999 with seven plays at the Old Factory Theatre. In 2000 the festival moved to The McManus Studio in the Grand Theatre.
As well as growing in length and number of performances, the Festival has also expanded its focus to encompass more of London’s artistic community, including displays of artwork by area artists and pre-show musical entertainment provided by local entertainers. Nadine Lalonde is a local playwright who showcased her comedic play called “Going Down?”. She explains why it’s important to have this event held in London for artists and playwrights.
“It’s a way to show everyone what people can do in our community when it comes to the arts. It shows that everyone can be involved in theatre, it can inspire people to give it a try for the next year. The festival allows people to jump in whenever they want to, they don’t need to be trained or have experience.”
The festival consists of two nights of previews and two nights of adjudicated performances. The adjudication gives the performers, writers and directors an opportunity to learn from the experience. Christopher Noble is a performer who has been acting on stage for over five years. He shares his thoughts about performing and why he is so passionate about theatre.
“Surprisingly, I tend to be shy in person but I find that stage acting brings out an aspect of me that I don’t normally get to express so it’s a lot of fun!”
A workshop for participants takes place on the Sunday of the festival. The workshop will be followed by an awards ceremony. Each year the awards are made by local artisans. In the past they have had a blacksmith, potter, metal worker and painter create unique and cherished mementos.
The Festival attracts people of all ages, experiences and backgrounds who are interested in the chance to have their work – acting directing, writing, technical skills – seen by a diverse audience in a creative environment.
