Review: ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL OF 2026 at The Masque Theatre

ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL: The Black Bird and Bottle Service

The Masque Theatre’s 2026 ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL offers audiences the opportunity to discover four brand-new plays by local playwrights, with each performance pairing two one-act works followed by a discussion with the writers, directors and casts.

The opening pairing, The Black Bird by Clive Myburgh and Bottle Service by Savannah Steyn, provided a pleasing contrast between psychological suspense and warm-hearted comedy.

The Black Bird, directed by Kerith Coulson, is an intriguing and increasingly unsettling piece of writing. A young couple seeking privacy retreat to a remote bird hide, only to encounter an elderly birdwatcher whose perception of what is happening around him becomes increasingly disturbing. As the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, the play develops an eerie, almost claustrophobic quality.

What makes the play particularly interesting is the way it draws the audience into the old man’s reality. The underlying theme of dementia gives the story an added poignancy, but also makes it genuinely frightening: we are never entirely sure what is real, what is imagined and what dangers may actually exist. The result is a thought-provoking piece that leaves an unsettling impression.

The three actors (Patrick Jordi, Gabriella Roughton & Alex Ross) create natural and believable characters, avoiding theatrical overstatement and allowing the relationships to develop convincingly. There were moments, however, when projection needed more attention, and the pace occasionally lagged. A little more vocal energy and sharper momentum would heighten the suspense considerably.

The set is a particular strength. The bird hide is packed with realistic details that immediately establish the environment and make the audience feel that they have entered this secluded space along with the characters. It is an effective piece of design that supports the atmosphere of the play without distracting from the action.

Bottle Service, directed by Andrea Grant, shifts the mood completely. The premise — two men and their babies trapped together in a Mommy and Me class — provides fertile ground for comedy, and the play makes excellent use of the awkwardness and chaos of modern fatherhood.

The two actors (Liam Joseph & Mick Rylin Ganeson) create distinctly different and highly believable characters. Their contrasting personalities provide much of the humour, while the situations they find themselves in are both recognisable and genuinely funny. The comedy works best because the actors play the circumstances truthfully rather than trying to force the laughs.

The actor playing Caleb has particularly good comic instincts, although greater vocal projection is needed as he was occasionally inaudible. Both performers also need to be mindful of picking up their cues more promptly. A few unintended silences interrupted the rhythm of the comedy and allowed the momentum to drop. With tighter timing, the already amusing exchanges could become considerably sharper.

The play succeeds in finding warmth beneath its comedy. As the press release suggests, it becomes more than a series of parenting mishaps, developing into a story about connection and the unexpected bonds that can form between people.

An especially valuable component of the evening was the Q&A following the two plays. The discussion with the playwrights, directors and actors offered fascinating insight into the creative process — from developing the scripts to directing and staging them — as well as into the thinking behind the festival itself. It added another dimension to the experience and gave the audience an opportunity to engage directly with the people responsible for bringing these new works to the stage.

Overall, this was an enjoyable evening of local theatre and an encouraging showcase for new writing. The Black Bird offered suspense, atmosphere and a disturbing exploration of perception and dementia, while Bottle Service provided plenty of laughs alongside its more heartfelt observations about fatherhood and human connection. Both productions show the value of giving emerging local playwrights and theatre-makers a platform — and the post-show discussion makes the Masque’s ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL an especially worthwhile experience for anyone interested not only in watching theatre, but in understanding how it is made.

On at the Masque Theatre from 20 – 22 August 2026.

Tickets can be booked on Quicket.

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