So my first venture into a theatre in 2013 ended better than it began. Have you ever tried to find King Street Theatre in Newtown? Talk about hidden away; it’s not even on King Street! But I made it, on time (which is more than can be said for some), and the hunt for the theatre turned out to be a real treasure hunt.

So this first week of Short+Sweet Sydney for 2013 started with a lot of energy. Pete Malicki’s Checkout is a little preachy perhaps, but nonetheless engaging and its four performers delivered Malicki’s strong characters with integrity, making for a strong start to the evening. I was impressed by Kerry Bowden’s monologue Handyman, which has forever given me a new (and improved) association for the Bunnings jingle. Emily Kivilcin hit just the right note between ditzy and cunning, which I’m not sure is a note I’ve ever heard before.

Miranda Drake delivered an impressive monologue also, and though its focus was a distinctly female experience, I was impressed with the manner in which it engaged male audients in the female perspective of the experience.

Though there was a lot to like, the two greatest moments came immediately before and after interval. The last play before interval was My Name is Cine-Ma, which was devised by Stray Factory and has been awarded in the Mumbai, Chennai and Kuala Lumpur Festivals. Taking the Bollywood tradition as its inspiration, this energetic piece focused on the story of a girl who was a little too obsessed with film. Somewhat reminiscent of the Chooky Dancers in flavour if not style, the exotic and prosaic sit hilariously side by side, which always tickles my fancy.

The Fox and the Hunter, though, is a truly inspired piece of theatre. Taking the mickey out of English sacred cows always gets me laughing (see what I did there?), but I think Simon Godfrey’s script is a work of pure genius, taking the moment when a clever fox meets the hunter who has pursued him for an eternity, and exploring just what happens when gentlemen and foxes engage in a truly meaningful dialogue. It rides splendidly on the talents of James Hartley as the pompous hunter and Tom Green, whose fox genuinely inspired the willing suspension of disbelief.

If you haven’t been to see Short+Sweet Sydney 2013 in week one, it’s too late and you’ve missed out, but don’t despair; there are several more weeks, including the presumably perfect week 4, when my play The Commuter gets another airing.

Related articles

• Short+Sweet Week One dissected by me from Shit on Your Play
• Short+Sweet Sydney 2013 (Week 4)