Hassles and humour

The great thing about Cultural Exchanges week is the opportunities it provides to do something that you might not under ordinary circumstances. You are able to meet and listen to wonderful people and experience exciting, unique events. In order to experience something I usually wouldn’t, I attended The Meltdown Test.

It consisted of six unique plays, written by MA students in TV Scriptwriting, exploring ‘the stresses, strains, hassles and humour of modern day British life’, all performed by drama students.

It was a fantastic event, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Awkwardly, I arrived half an hour early by mistake. That was fun. 

 

However, it was worth the wait, and when the sketches finally started I was really impressed by the collaboration between actors and writers.  Each short play explored a different - sometimes unusual - circumstance in daily life, tempering serious moments with comedy. My favourites were Rock and Roll by Pamela Hallam, in which a suspicious, wittering old man murders his grandson, and Stuck by Ellis Di Cataldo, a story examining the similarities between two strangers placed together by fate.

I thought the event was a brilliant idea, bringing together students to create successful and original performances. I would certainly attend an event like this again.

J.Wedgbury