THE theatrical talents of those involved in last year’s Mansfield Musical & Dramatic Society (MMuDS) production Kid Stakes were recognised at last month’s Border Region Amateur Performance Theatre Awards. The awards night was held in Wodonga on Friday, May 23, with various theatre groups in the North East nominated in what was a highly regarded list of productions. MMuDS being nominated for four awards was a big enough honour, but to take home two awards—one for Best Play Production and the other for Best Rural Community Production—was testament to the efforts of cast and crew, according to director Daryl Hunt. “Basically, the Best Play Production is for all those involved with Kid Stakes, a show that we can all be proud of,” said Mr Hunt. “We were up against some tough competition, including musicals, but overall, the judges thought our play was the best production." The Ray Lawler play, one of the Summer of the Seventeenth Doll trilogy, is a snapshot of Australia in the 1940s. “Amateur theatre is an opportunity to expose audiences to Australian plays or introduce upcoming local playwrights,” said Daryl. Sadly, outside of amateur theatre production, Mr Hunt said opportunities to present Australian content are disappearing with the advent of the big overseas shows. “My motive for doing Kid Stakes was because Australian plays were in the doldrums,” he said. It was the 50th anniversary of David Williamson’s play The Removalist this year, and the Australian playwright was bemoaning the absence of local productions in recent years, said Mr Hunt. However, MMuDS has a 40-year history of pushing the boundaries and trying to bring diversity to its range of different productions. Following on the heels of last month’s Radio Plays LIVE, MMuDS was calling for expressions of interest last Thursday for The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon later in the year. This production is touted as turning the well-known fairy tales on their heads in a fast-paced comedy, with roles suiting anyone aged 11 to 111. The breadth and depth of talent in MMuDS is illustrated with previous stage performers Bernadette Gifford and Meredith Newman as directors, and Maree Cordes as producer for the new show, said Mr Hunt.
