NEWS: JB Shorts celebrates 10th anniversary with RELoaded at 53Two, Manchester.

JB Shorts celebrates 10th Anniversary with 'RELoaded'

Making engaging, accessible theatre was at the heart of the vision for a festival of short plays by established TV writers, dreamt up over a pint by Manchester writers, Trevor Suthers and John Chambers. Exactly a decade on from their first run, JB Shorts is marking the milestone with ‘JB Shorts REloaded’; a collection of six favourite past plays, chosen from a staggering 120 plays produced by JB Shorts in the past ten years.  The festival’s 21-strong cast has just been announced and is made up of plenty of emerging talent, alongside familiar faces such as Richard Hawley (Coronation St), Arthur Bostrom (‘Allo ‘Allo), Darren Jeffries (Hollyoaks), James Quinn (Early Doors) and Sean Ward (Our Girl/Coronation Street).   Beginning in the basement of Joshua Brooks (the pub that gave ‘JB’ its name) in March 2009, JB Shorts has since moved to the 170-capacity 53two. Throughout, the show has always retained a sell-out popularity and attracted a loyal audience of non-traditional theatre-goers. “One of the many things I love about JB Shorts is its immediacy.” says Roger Haines. The celebrated theatre director – whose credits include national tours of theatre favourites such as The Full Monty and Calendar Girls – has been the Artistic Director for JB Shorts from the outset.  “We live in a fast-paced atmosphere, and thus the 15-minute play is ideal for modern audiences. It allows us to relish an idea and then move on to something completely new. But I would emphatically add that the shorts have nevertheless, at times, been exceptionally thought-provoking and moving and challenging. Short doesn’t mean hollow!” Indeed, the variety of Reloaded’s programme is striking.  There’s ‘At the End of the Day’ by James Quinn, an hilarious satire of football punditry; Banal Encounter by Peter Kerry, a tale of betrayal amidst apparent normality; Blind Date by Dave Simpson, in which mutual ‘catfishing’ spells awkwardness and plenty of comedy; Snapshots by Diane Whitley, looking into the complex truths behind 50 years of ‘happy marriage’; ‘The Outing’ by Lindsay Williams, where Nellie’s hopes for love are threatened by a dark secret; and ‘Can We Stop it There’ by Trevor Suthers, a chaotically comedic look at a play within a play within a play. This mix of mood and genres offers the audience an array of theatrical experiences, as they have come to expect. With audience numbers expanding over the past few years, RELoaded will be a chance for those new to the festival to see some past classics, none of which have been performed since JB Shorts moved to 53two. JB Shorts runs at 53two from Tuesday 19th - Saturday 30th March.  Shows at 7.30pm (doors open 6.40pm), matiness: Saturdays 23rd & 30thMarch at 3pm.  NB: No show on Monday 25th March.