UK Theatre Network

The NAAA  play reading festival got underway last night showcasing  upcoming work from North American writers. Short Story Long, the sole Canadian  play in the season, is a one act play  about the battle of two women over a legacy.

Famous writer Lincoln Kennedy has died, leaving his money to his wife Julianne(Stephanie Ellyne)and his writing to Amalthea King(Erin Hunter), his former girlfriend . Amalthea is going through a divorce  and wants to avoid another court case  over the unpublished manuscripts.

Julianne, suspicious about Lincoln's decision, makes Amalthea  a deal she can't refuse- sort  through the work together to find the reason being her husbands actions.

The work nicely draws both of the female characters, there is a depth to  the female characters without cliché. Fishbane actually gets his female characters point of view. There are some long pieces of monologue which occasionally slow down the action but when both of the characters are together the plot moves along nicely.

Stephanie Ellyne plays Julianne with such a silky tonal delivery that we’re are never quite sure when she is going to lash out. The character is an interesting mix of grieving widow, astute business woman and borderline agrophobic. Erin Hunter's Amalthea is a  mix of troubled mother,  and a woman with a determination to snap Julianne out of her inertia.
The two actors were a  good contrast to each other and worked well together in the staged reading.
 
Fishbane’s play has already won  the Toronto Fringe New Play contest and was a finalist in FutureFest 2010 with hopes to have a full production in London.

 The North American Actors Association play reading festival 2010 at the Webber Douglas Studio Hampstead  6-11 September 7, 2010