CityLife

Sitcom Shorts provide new humour

Sitcom Shorts team

FORGET the idea that sitcoms are only for American talent or that they’re all just like Only Fools and Horses. A new initiative of Sitcom Shorts by Manchester Comedy Writers Group is out to change your mind about sitcoms. Running during the Not Part Of Festival, experimenting is name of the day.

That’s not to say they don’t know what they’re doing. Both the producer and director have had substantial previous success, the director Gemma Daubney having recently received a standing ovation for a student production of Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna.

And they’re not scrimping on the acting talent either. Those performing the Sitcom Shorts all have substantial comedy experience as well as having survived an unusual audition: rather than reading a comic text or basic improvisation, the actors were challenged to make comedy out of a BBC Good Food recipe.

The result? 12 actors have been selected for some 23 parts, which is clearly going to demand versatility across the show. Yet despite admitting the scale of the “ambitious project,” producer Jenny Roche remains “more than confident of pulling it off.”

Showing on July 10 and July 11 at The Martin Harris Centre. Find out more from the links on the left.