Reviews

Two One Act Plays

MADF One Act Festival of Plays
Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th March 2026
Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin

Review: Parallels

By E. Wood & N. Kinley

Performed by: Rushen Players

Review by: Anthony Lawler

The second play of the evening, Parallels, explores the complicated intersections between personal relationships
and the unseen emotional baggage people carry into them. Moving between a troubled marriage and a counselling room,
the play examines alcoholism, family trauma, and the ways past experiences quietly shape present behaviour.

Set

The set design made excellent use of the stage space. Through clever dressing and positioning, two distinct locations were created:
the couple’s home and the therapist’s office. The use of a split-stage layout worked particularly well, visually bringing the audience
into both worlds at the same time and reinforcing the idea that the private struggles of home life run parallel to
he conversations happening in therapy.

Lighting and Sound

Lighting supported this structure effectively. Spotlights were used to divide the stage and clearly distinguish between the two settings.
These shifts helped guide the audience through the transitions without interrupting the rhythm of the play.

Story

The play balances humour with serious subject matter. Several comedic exchanges between the couple drew genuine laughs,
helping to offset the heavier themes that run through the narrative.

As the relationship begins to unravel, the couple turn to counselling, and the dynamic shifts into a series of therapy sessions.
These scenes feature strong back-and-forth dialogue between the characters,
allowing the audience to see both sides of the marital breakdown.

A particularly effective device is the counsellor’s use of the fourth wall. By stepping out of the scene and addressing
the audience directly, she reveals her own thoughts and reactions to the session as it unfolds.

Gradually, it becomes clear that the counsellor herself is dealing with unresolved issues from her own past,
particularly surrounding her alcoholic mother. These reflections add another emotional layer to the story.

One of the more moving moments occurs when the Serena sings while recalling memories of her father.
The scene reveals both her longing for him and her deep frustration that she went to work on the day he died,
a memory that clearly continues to haunt her.

The play then shifts again to the counsellor’s own life at home, where she is seen speaking to her mother
and expressing years of pent-up frustration. In a striking reveal, the audience learns that her mother is actually dead,
highlighting just how deeply these unresolved emotions continue to affect her.

By the final counselling session, the couple appear to have made progress and found some peace with their pasts.
However, the play leaves us with the suggestion that while the couple may have confronted their ghosts,
he counsellor herself is still struggling to do the same.

Direction

The direction made particularly strong use of the fourth wall, allowing the counsellor’s private thoughts
and fears to be shared directly with the audience. This device helped deepen the narrative and provided insight
nto a character who might otherwise have remained distant.

The pacing of the piece was also well judged, keeping the audience engaged as the story moved between humour,
onfrontation, and emotional reflection.

Writing

The script is sharp, thoughtful, and often very funny. It manages to tackle the serious subject of alcoholism and
family trauma while still providing moments of levity. The dialogue feels natural and the layered storytelling structure
supports the central theme of parallel struggles within different relationships.

Audience Reception

The audience remained engaged throughout the performance.
The well-timed comic moments offered relief from the heavier themes, while the emotional depth of the story ensured
he play remained compelling from beginning to end.

Overall, Parallels is a well-written and well-directed piece that thoughtfully explores the echoes of family history
within adult relationships, delivered through strong performances and a clever use of staging.

Review: Blood of the Lamb

By Arlene Hutton

Performed by: Rushen Players

Review by: Anthony Lawler

The second play of the evening, Blood of the Lamb by Arlene Hutton, was presented by Rushen Players and
directed by Sarah Lockyer, shifting the tone dramatically to a powerful and thought-provoking contemporary drama.

The play explores the complex legal and moral implications of legislation in Texas that requires a deceased fetus
to be carried to term as an unborn citizen of the state.
The staging was deliberately minimal, allowing the focus to remain firmly on the dialogue between the two characters.
A simple set consisting of a table, laptop and two doors created a stark institutional setting, reinforced by sterile white lighting
that reflected the clinical environment of the story.

Robyn Hughes, as Nessa, and Ailsa Harrop, as Val, delivered a compelling two-hander
filled with sharp dialogue and emotional depth.
Hughes portrayed Nessa’s confusion, fear and growing desperation as it becomes clear that her medical emergency
forced the flight she was on to divert to Texas, where she lost her baby but is legally
unable to leave while the body remains inside her.

Harrop’s portrayal of Val, a lawyer tasked with representing the legal rights of the unborn child, was equally strong,
with a convincing Texas drawl and a nuanced performance that captured the character’s internal struggle
between professional duty and personal morality.
As the story unfolds, Val grapples with both the complexities of new legislation and her own past decisions,
ultimately reaching a point where she chooses to help Nessa despite the legal consequences.
While the subject matter is serious and deeply current, the script allows moments of subtle humou
that offered the audience brief relief from the intensity.

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