Murder Magick Mayhem

Sunnybank Theatre Group has a long history of making theatre accessible to people of all ages and walks of life. They’re continuing this tradition with Shining Lights theatre workshops and performances by seniors. Their first foray onto the stage was Murder Magick Mayhem, a selection of four short plays.

The majority of the seniors in the shows were excitedly treading the boards for the first time outside of their workshops and in front of a live audience. As such, some of the finer technicalities of theatre performance were still new to the group. Everyone who stepped on stage gave it their all and the audience loved them for it. There were many hilarious, brave and moving moments from the actors.

The first play was The Luvvies which was a comedy centred around a theatre group at a trivia night. It had excellent set design and lighting. Nerida Day’s direction was very good, and that combined with funny and relatable characters had the audience in stitches. Stand out performances were delivered by Gail Payne as Eileen and the fearless Barbara Phillips as Hazel.

Next we were treated to the devilishly hilarious Out the Window. The star of this piece was definitely Angela Wise as the clever but taken-for-granted Nana. The script was very funny and a great choice for these performers. The window in the set design and build by Greg Day was particularly impressive.

Following interval, we had Do You Believe in Magick? Diana Fletcher (Elsbeth), Val Ashworth (Maryann) and Katie McKeen (Sarita) presented a well paced and predominantly naturalistically acted piece about witches, love potions and romance. The lovely details in the selections of potion bottles added to the scene very nicely. Direction of this short was excellent. The best moment in lighting for the evening occurred at the end of this play, as Kaiden Day and Tony Ashworth perfectly timed a blackout to the click of a witch’s fingers.

Finally, Failed Investments superbly topped off the evening with its clever and relatable script. The performers all had good commitment to character. Anne Partridge as Angela was particularly excellent, with a great realism and believability in her emotional delivery. This sharp-witted social comedy was a delightful way to end the evening.

Nerida Day and Sunnybank Theatre Group should be commended for their senior theatre initiative. Loneliness and isolation are two major issues facing our seniors, so offering this arena for them to connect, communicate and express themselves creatively is nothing short of wonderful. It’s great for mental and physical health. Anyone involved in the arts can tell you it keeps you young at heart, active and engaged in the world. It was a joy to see their first production. The group meets every Thursday morning from 10:30am and interested seniors are encouraged to join the fun.

Kiesten McCauley