Theatre to Die For

Garrick Theatre, renowned for its ghost, started 2026 with its darkly themed One Act Season, Theatre to Die For, featuring three very different short plays, all with darker themes.

The first play, Please Wait, is written by award winning local actor and director Thomas Dimmick, and was directed by Siobhan Vincent. An absurdist play, it features three patrons waiting, we eventually learn, to access a restaurant, but as might be expected, the play is about the waiting, rather than the resolution. Director Siobhan takes to the stage as character No. 1, joined by Gavin Crane and Sarah House as unnamed characters No. 2 and No. 3. On a scaled back set that is basically a bench and a door, the trio work well together in this nicely written short work. Graeme Dick lends his voice as a Voice Actor.

From new absurdist work to one of the more famous, our second play was The Actors Nightmare by Christopher Durang, directed, in an impressive directorial debut, by Nera Camponovo. Ben Anderson nicely plays George Spelvin, who finds himself acting in a play that he has neither rehearsed nor read. To make things more difficult, the play itself keeps changing. A hard-working ensemble cast played his fellow actors - over made up and slightly impatient. Good work from Lili Socks Bishop as Meg, Tamar Basini as Sarah Siddons, Lily Wakeling as Dame Ellen Terry Oisin Colley as Henry Irving, Juliette Basini, Candice Preston and Marquis Tajara as the Voices and Patrick Turner as the Stagehand. Relatable for any actor or creative who suffers from “showmares”.

Strawberry Jam closed the evening nicely. Directed by Rob Warner, it tells of two mature spinsters whose father dies six months too early for them to avoid paying death duties. The pair plot to “keep him alive” until a more appropriate date. Fabulous teamwork from Kerry Goode as Hester and Jacqui Warner as Mary, the plotting sisters, with Karin Staflund lovely as Vicar’s Wife Mrs. Sanctuary and Sandra Sando great fun as new-to-town GP, Dr. Varley. A funny little play that thoroughly entertained.

A good selection of shows that offered a varied night of entertainment. Well done to all involved.

Kimberley Shaw