Entries for the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival 2007 were as follows:

Old Town Theatre Company (OTTC)

Autumn Terror

An original drama by John Nash

Autumn Terror is a dark drama following a group of people living and working in Whitechapel in 1888, in the shadow of Jack the Ripper. We meet women who may or may not become his victims, and men who may or may not be the killer. And we see how ordinary men and women cope in the shadow of poverty, fear and death, salvaging hope and love along the way. But can love and hope be enough to stave off murder? How far do the ripples spread in a lake of blood?

This play is the winning entry in the Playwrite competition run by BBC Radio Swindon and the Swindon Advertiser. Autumn Terror won a public vote to be performed at HJ'07.

Further Information

See the OTTC website (www.swindonweb.com/ottc).

Junction 16 Theatre Company

Mother Figure

A comedy by Alan Ayckbourn

When Rosemary calls on Lucy, all is clearly not well. Lucy is still in her dressing gown and pyjamas and says she hasn't been out for weeks. It seems to Rosemary that Lucy hasn't spoken to another adult for weeks either. Lucy is totally preoccupied with her three children and pays scant attention to anything Rosemary has to say. When Terry, Rosemary's husband, turns up, things take a turn for the worse: all is not well in their house either. Lucy is really in no fit state to cope with their traumas and responds in the only way she knows how!

The Nancy Boys

Newton's Third Law

An orginal drama by Matt Kelly

Richie, Dan and Will gaze in shock at the smoking ruin that used to be their flat. To make things worse, much worse; their fourth flatmate lies dead inside.

Each is torn by the suspicion that he may have started the fire and the desire to blame someone else.

This play was written by one of the actors.

Pewsey Vale Amateur Dramatic Society

A Kind of Justice

A drama by Margaret Wood

Further Information

See the Pewsey Vale Amateur Dramatic Society website (www.pvads.net).

The Clarendon Players

Have a Nice Day

A comedy by Lynn Brittney

Junction 16 Theatre Company

The Allotment

A drama by Gillian Plowman

Four women serving community punishment orders are growing vegetables on an allotment. Today is the first morning for Probation Officer Daisy, and she is full of new ideas for rehabilitation but a dreadful event from her past is about to catch up with her.

Further Information

See the The Clarendon Players website (http://uk.geocities.com/clarendonplayers@btinternet.com).

Sodbury Players Youth Section (Spys)

Dickens' Children

A Youth Drama by Nick Warburton

Dickens' Children is a pastiche of scenes from his novels, sensitively adapted by Nick Warburton. The common thread is Charles Dickens' depiction of the plight of children in Victorian post-industrial society. We can expect a delightful journey through a variety of works including Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, Bleak House and David Copperfield.

Further Information

See the Sodbury Players website (www.sodburyplayers.org.uk).

The Commonweal School

Deadline

An original Youth Comedy written by its cast

The play charts the experiences of an unfortunate work experience girl, lost in a television studio. Everyone seems oblivious to her, until something goes wrong and she seems the obvious target!

This play is the result of a real life work experience programme between Commonweal students, arts bodies and theatre professionals.

Further Information

See the Commonweal School website (www.commonwealarts.co.uk).

Pewsey Vale Amateur Dramatic Society Youth Section

Two Women and a Chair

A Youth Drama by Michael Olsen

Two actors, Jessie and Martine, arrive at an audition to discover only a bare room with a mysterious black chair. The only instructions on what they should do are contained on the flyer advertising the play, and it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary audition—or is it an audition at all? Will they obey the cryptic instructions? What of Damian, the director? Is this all a plot to get back at Martine, or is there something else? The answers, as always, lie in the choices Jessie and Martine are about to make.

Further Information

See the Pewsey Vale Amateur Dramatic Society website (www.pvads.net).

The Sodbury Players

Is There Anybody There?

A drama by Lee Flewitt

The last moments of a murdered prostitute's life are relived at a Victorian séance. One of the participants is the killer but who is it?

Further Information

See the Sodbury Players website (www.sodburyplayers.org.uk).

The Athelstan Players

The Nightingale and Not the Lark

A drama by Jennifer Johnston

The Athelstan Players are the returning Festival Champions of 2006.

Further Information

See the Athelstan Players website (www.athelstanplayers.org).