Short+Sweet, the world’s largest short-form theatre festival and competition, is back in Sydney for 2025.
Heat 7 presented 10 ten-minute plays inspired by William Shakespeare. Three were selected to progress to the semi-finals. The performances showcased a diverse array of talent from writers, directors and actors, making for a night of irreverent comedy, profound tragedy, and deep reflection.
Shakespeare Week was directed by Ali Bendall and curated by Jo Bloom from the Come You Spirits theatre company. It was a testament to the sustained relevance of the Bard in contemporary theatre, and to his enduring cultural value. Writers, directors and actors seamlessly incorporated direct references to his plays or relied on his foundational tragic or comedic tropes. Some challenged his preeminent position in the Western canon, or humorously undermined his authority through slapstick and farce.
Rami & Mira, the opening performance written by Heather Tliege and directed by Isabelle Nader, set the bar high. Surprisingly, as the only direct adaptation of the night, Tliege placed Romeo and Juliet in a contemporary Western Sydney context. The paradigmatic love story gained new cultural and political relevance through the legacy of the Lebanese Civil War. Supported by the setting of the black-box as a liminal space for infinite re-inscription, the play challenged Shakespeare’s cultural dominance. Rami (Ash Sakha) delivered Persian Sufi poet Rumi’s The minute I heard my first love story in Arabic and English alongside the famous duologue of Act 1 Scene 5, decentering Western authority over classic love poetry.
In Shakespeare’s Publicity Shoot, director and lead actor Don Ferguson delivered a monologue while sitting for his portrait, mysterious gold earring and all. Evocative of Shakespeare in Love, Will was represented as ‘peaking’ in his career. References to ‘Romeo and Jennifer’ were plentiful and never failed to get a laugh. The staging was subtle, but enough for Ferguson to work with and filled out well with lighting. Playing with the playwright’s vanity, Shakespeare was humanised and humourised in a performance that also seemed faithful to the well-known Bard.
Next was Unfair Verona, a metatheatrical satire on the undervaluing of the arts. Two amateur actors and their manager must share the entire cast of Romeo and Juliet between themselves when their funding is cut for the production. Cues were missed and scenes were cut. Jaded Juliet, played by an understudy (Isabel Vanhakartano), slammed the unquestioned veneration of Shakespeare by theatre donors. Despite the digs, the cast’s performance of the lovers’ famous first encounter was performed with chemistry and a precise realisation of Shakespearean iambic. This highlighted not only the beauty of the original script but the talent of the actors, and their potential. Director Edward O’Leary showed us how much society has to lose if arts funding continues to be slashed.
The night’s standout by far was Willa King’s one-woman performance in The Rise and Fall of the Fairy Queen, written by Helen Hopecroft. We follow Tabitha, an older actress who “desperately wants to be the star of her own show.” King spoke directly to the audience and used them effortlessly throughout her performance. We sat in hushed awe as she led us through Tabitha’s childhood experiences on stage with masterful levity and grace that made the finale that much more devastating. Staging was simple and concise; King was alone centrestage under gentle lights, evoking lonely melancholy and fragile hope. The sparse set demanded the audience give themselves entirely to the protagonist. In this sense, Tabitha’s longings were fulfilled despite the play’s tragic ending. I felt privileged to be a part in giving her that dream. The performance deservedly won Judge’s Choice.
Act 1 ended with Bianca Watkins’ parodic interpretation of Hamlet, reimagined as Alas, Poor Mummy! No role was underplayed — quite the opposite. Lead actor Victor Xu maintained a captivating stage presence as he deftly combined a farcical representation of Hamlet with the deep-seated issues of vanity and misogyny that pervade Shakespeare’s original. The ensemble navigated the absurdity and over-dramatisation of the script in a way that avoided any awkwardness. There was non-stop laughter from the audience.
After a brief intermission, Shakespeare’s Heroines at the Gynaecologist continued the hilarity. Director Rhiannon Jean transplanted Shakespeare’s proto-feminist heroines into the setting of a modern OB-GYN office, ‘manned’ by Twelfth Night’s Viola. Shakespeare fans recognised the issues of female sexuality and ambition that are raised throughout his work, but the insertion of modern concerns about contraception, abortion, beauty and aging extended the headstrong personalities of tragic heroines into a modern feminist landscape.
Number seven was Dying for Will. While there was a charm to Peter Gizarioti’s one-man delivery, the performance fell short as the script lacked structure and struggled to articulate a cohesive idea. However, Number Eight, Will’s Dramaturg, also failed to reach the audience at a meaningful level. Though the jokes were well-written, they became formulaic.
David Berry’s Shakespeare Upon Tinder relivened the atmosphere with a witty performance drawing on classic Shakespearean comedic tropes. Dramatic irony, miscommunication and misinterpretation shaped this love-triangle between the Bard, his assistant Christopher (a Fair Youth?), and Beatrice, a beautiful woman Shakespeare met ‘scrolling’ through Tinder (literally scrummaging through physical paper scrolls).
The final performance, Don’t <Blank> The Messenger by Emily Saint Smith, earned Crew’s Choice with its impressive conceptual originality. There’s a reason why none of the crucial messages sent in Shakespeare’s plays are delivered as intended. This play imagines that all of the messengers operate via the same poorly-organised company, replete with an apathetic receptionist, outdated technology, and drunk employees. Willa King was again a star. The story was concise and well-directed.
Short+Sweet’s Shakespeare Week ran from April 3rd to 6th at Turner Hall, Ultimo. The Gala Finals featuring the People’s Choice, Judge’s Choice and Wild Card winners from the Semi-Finals played from May 16th to May 18th. Further information on sessions and ticketing can be found here.
