From romantic comedies to botched burglaries and attempted murders, the 2009 Short+Sweet season promises to be a fulfilling rollercoaster night out at the theatre!
This year’s season comprises of 30 ten-minute English plays and 10 ten-minute Mandarin plays. Over 200 plays were submitted from Singapore and around the world. This is an 80% increase from last year and a three-fold increase since the first season in 2007.
Short+Sweet Singapore 2009 will feature three weeks of the English Top 30 plays and 10 new plays will premiere each week on 24 June, 1 and 8 July at the Flexible Theatre Space, LASALLE College of the Arts. The Mandarin 10 which will feature 10 Mandarin plays will be held at Play Den, The Arts House from 1 to 5 July. To conclude the festival, the Gala Finals will showcase the best eight plays from the English Top 30 and two Mandarin 10 plays at the Esplanade Theatre Studio from 16 to 18 July 2009.
“We are absolutely delighted that the festival is growing year after year and attracting so much talent. The 2009 season is going to be fantastic with an amazing range of plays that covers everything from a 21st century Hamlet to Facebook fantasies!” says Ms Nicole Stinton, Festival Director for the last two Short+Sweet festivals.
The 2009 season sees the return of previous winners such as Mandarin playwright Dong Xin who won Best Newcomer last year, plus new participants such as well-known Singaporean actress Esther Yap. Among the international contenders is William Kovacsik, who is an award-winning playwright and now teaching at NYU Tisch Asia in Singapore.
“Now into its third year in Singapore, Short+Sweet is so glad to be a part of the vibrant theatre scene. We hope our festival gives both professional and emerging artists a rich platform to explore their creativity, collaborate, and hone their skills,” adds Mr Mark Cleary, International Artistic Director and Founder of Short+Sweet.
Mr Colin Goh, General Manager for The Old Parliament House Limited which manages The Arts House also adds, “We are delighted to partner Short+Sweet International for the second year running in co-producing the 2009 season. We had a successful season last year and we hope that it will continue to this season with more amusing, hilarious, provoking and sensational works from our emerging and established Singapore talents. By providing a strong and innovative theatre platform such as Short+Sweet, we aspire to nurture our local talents and enthuse the new generation of theatre practitioners to come.”
(Source: The Arts House Website)