No sooner have local drama group CADS brought down the curtain on the record-breaking 2024 Royston Town Pantomime, than they’re preparing for their next venture.
This one is a one-act play to be recorded for Royston Radio. In August 2023, CADS recorded a version of their award-winning play Strangers on a Film which was then broadcast on the local station and has been repeated a few times since, and they’ve been keen to follow this up with another radio drama.
Their choice this time is a new one-act comedy by prolific local author, actor and director Nick Warburton (who also wrote the play CADS presented at last year’s Royston Arts Festival, Don’t Blame It On the Boots). It’s called Losing the Plot and is set in the cut-throat world of allotment gardening. Amanda is very keen on her allotment and thinks everyone should feel the same. So when Edward appears on the scene she encourages him to apply for the plot next to her own. But Edward has his own rather idiosyncratic ideas about what to do on an allotment, which don’t go down well with the other plot holders…
The group is holding a combined read-through and audition for the piece at 7pm on Monday 5th February in The Old Schoolhouse on Market Hill, Royston. This is completely open to anyone over the age of 18, whether or not they’ve performed with CADS in the past, and you don’t need to prepare anything beforehand – just turn up on the night. (There may well be tea and coffee available, too!)
There are three main characters in the play (one female and two male, probably all around the same age of 40-50) plus one minor role, and there are several scenes set in the committee rooms of the Allotment Association where the script calls for a crowd of people murmuring and muttering, so there’s every chance you might be able to join in. Director Michael Young says, “We had a lot of fun recording Strangers on a Film, and Royston Radio were extremely supportive and encouraging, so we thought we might try it again. And the great thing about radio drama is that you don’t have to learn any lines!”
