Medical mayhem at the Dolman Theatre

There's nothing like a good laugh to banish the post-Christmas blues, and 'Nil by Mouth' by John Chapman, which has been at the Dolman Theatre this week is just the right medicine to cheer anyone up.
The play is set in the fictional hospital of  St Christopher’s on a busy Saturday morning. Everything usually runs like clockwork but on this weekend a government inspector visits and things go hilariously - wrong thanks to under-staffing and confusion over which patient is which.

The cast is brilliant, the timing perfect, and the audience lapped it up. It's the last two performances today - at 2.30 and 7.15 - so if you get a chance go out and treat yourself to a great evening at the theatre.

The photo shows Patients Hilary Keats (John Sheen) and William Graham (Graeme Johnson) receive the very best professional healthcare from the hospital staff: Sister Downing (Elaine Hodgson), Nurse Layton (Jocelyn Guy), Sister Roughton (Caroline Drewett-Mansell), and Nurse Dolores (Fran Keirle).

Festival of Golf Plays Set to Tee Off

The Hole in One Act Play Festival starts next week at the Dolman Theatre. Here's a short video providing a glimpse of the delights to come.

Newport Playgoers Scoop Seven Drama Awards

PICTURED: Members of the cast of ‘Pack of Lies' which won five prizes at the Gwent Drama League Awards: (back, left to right) Caroline Drewett-Mansell, Alex Wilson, Philippa Dixey, Eileen Symonds; (front, left to right) the play’s director Moira Mainwaring, winner of best actress award, Ruth Ferguson, and best supporting actress Dominique Flook.

Newport Playgoers Society received plaudits from judges for three of its productions when it scooped seven of the awards, including best production and best actress, presented by the Gwent Drama League.

In the senior section, the true life cold war drama ‘Pack of Lies”, by Hugh Whitemore, won five awards. Ruth Ferguson was presented with the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Barbara Jackson, and her onstage daughter, Dominique Flook, took the best supporting actress award. It’s another feather in Dominique’s cap as she has recently been awarded a place to study drama at Kingston University, London.

Moira Mainwaring, who directed the play, was given the Adjudicator’s Prize and the production also won Best Décor. “Pack of Lies” also won the overall prize for the best production and will now be submitted for possible inclusion in the National Drama Association’s British All Winners Festival in Woking, Surrey.

Professional judge, Sally Noble, of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators, praised the high standard of the productions included in this year’s competition, “The direction was intelligent and sensitive, and is one of the reasons why Wales leads the field among non-professional companies in the UK”.

NPS’s Dolman Youth Theatre group also won two awards with Best Supporting Actor and Actress trophies going to Connor Corbett and Zoë Preece for their interpretations of Will Scarlett and Meg in their production of “Robin Hood”.

And the success doesn’t stop there! Playgoers member Cathy Morgan has won the Bob McTurk Bursary for Young People at the Gwent Festival of One Act Plays for her portrayal of Mel in “Shakers – Restirred”, which will allow her to attend the Drama Association of Wales week-long summer school.

To catch more outstanding theatrical performances from Newport Playgoers Society, don’t miss the last production of the season, “Brassed Off” featuring the talents of the Markham Colliery Brass Band. The play opens on Tuesday 16th June and runs until Saturday 20th June. Tickets are available by phoning Newport 263670 or 656757.

The Dresser - Newport amdram at its best

I went to see Newport Playgoers' production of 'The Dresser' last night and was again impressed at how good local amateur theatre can be. Everyone in it - particularly Lawrence Llewellyn as Norman, the dresser, and Will Smith-Haddon, as the ageing actor-manager at the end of his career (and his tether) - was absolutely brilliant. Great set to complement the acting and beautifully directed by Ruth Ferguson. Playgoers' next production will be Agatha Christie's classic country house murder mystery, 'The Hollow' - another must-see.