By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A mean, feisty cat is obviously a villain (find a cat who isn’t). An old friend from school days is secretly a villain. A man fresh out of jail partners up with a food critic, and a hopeful young woman named Ella Fitzgerald proves herself to be a singer rather than a dancer. A lot can happen in the span of two hours, plus intermission.
On Friday, May 29, 2026, Theatre Burlington on New Street enjoyed a triumphant opening night for its annual Short Play Festival, “Playtime.” Produced by Valerie King and Beverley Heilbron, with the help of the “Playtime” committee, the evening in the revamped auditorium consisted of eight short plays acted out by familiar local performers in the Burlington-Halton community.
At a strict ten minutes each, every one of the eight plays is a showcase of creativity, resourcefulness, and specialized themes. On opening night, the audience enjoyed a variety of playwrights’ personal styles, directors’ visions, and actors’ talents. Here are some of the highlights from the festival.
Outstanding writing
Bite, written and directed by Julia Kollek, has a clever premise. A traditional print-form, middle-aged food critic named Henry (played by Dean Rooney) finds himself pressured by his editor Jessica (played by Laurel Candler) to pull off an unsavoury feat of stunt journalism in order to compete with the rising digital media power of food “influencers.” With Bite, Kollek has penned a witty metaphor for Boomer reporters being aged out of their own craft by an online generation that expects to be entertained rather than informed. It’s also absurdly funny when Henry ropes in a bewildered ex-offender (played by Anthony Deciantis) to help him write his piece.
Anatomy of a Brute is poetic and unravels touching character development in its short span. Written and directed by Layla El Asri, a teacher named Mr. Fortran (Ray Beauchemin) and a wayward student on the verge of becoming a criminal named Axel (Braden Worton) recite moving monologues that express their vulnerabilities and their potential for forming a great, lasting bond over similar hardships and a love of literature. The writing is tender and gives both actors equal spotlight. The storyline’s message is that no one should be written off as irredeemable and that with mentorship and purpose, a person can completely redirect their life. This is an exceedingly kind angle to take in the age of “one strike, you’re out” and “cancel culture.”
Outstanding acting performances
Playing an anti-villain who slowly reveals themselves to be unhinged is no easy feat, but lead actor Greg Porter pulls it off in Seeing Old Friends, written and directed by Gregory Flis. Porter succeeds in duping the audience into believing his character is an awkward but approachable individual — at first. His voice inflections and see-sawing tones keep the audience guessing at how much of his storytelling is sincere and how much is the inventiveness of a corrupted mind. Flis’s suspenseful script leaves it ambiguous as to how evil this character truly is, and it is paired perfectly with Porter’s acting scope.
Anthony Deciantis plays a convincing, pistol-swinging cowboy scoundrel named Sloan in Don’t Go There, written by Glen Benison and directed by Valerie King and Beverley Heilbron. Deciantis spends half of the play shrouded in menacing darkness, casting a shadow over a family he has potentially doomed by agreeing to a gun duel with daughter Lou (Abigail Maher). When he finally speaks in his confrontation with Lou, he is an absolute slimeball and a venomous viper. The audience wants Lou to take him down. In an age where media is shying away from straightforward villains without a sympathetic streak, Benison can be commended for daring to write one, and Deciantis can be commended for playing one.
Outstanding humour
Cats: Not a Musical, written by Kate Racheter and directed by Jay Adams, is a feline-fuelled romp. Cat videos rule the internet, but they also work as short-form plays as well, as proven by Racheter’s wacky script. Claire Shingleton-Smith plays the scheming housecat Watson, and every exasperated cat owner will recognize Watson’s antics. Watson’s hammy declarations of desired world domination, plus classic house pet moves like sticking his butt in his owner’s face while stretching, make for some hilarious comedy. Also, nothing is safe on the couch or table. Watson swipes it right off. The audience was howling on opening night.
Gnomes is a dark character comedy written and directed by Michael Brown and co-directed with Anastasia Saluk. Kidnapped garden gnomes Harrison Gnome (Michael Brown) and George Gnome (Peter Coffey) exchange banter and ponder their existential fates as sentient lawn ornaments who have no control over who buys them and where they live. The ironic humour is in their circumstances. They want to leave their new garden, but can only travel as far as their fragile clay legs can take them. Gnomes is like a spin-off of Toy Story in that its characters lead a bizarre existence as objects with real human emotions.
Outstanding musical talent
In Elia’s Madrigal, written and directed by Julie English-Dixon, Tika McLean plays Ella Fitzgerald winning over an audience for the very first time at a legendary amateur night at the Apollo Theatre. McLean earned an appreciative round of applause for her jazzy rendition of a nursery song, evoking Fitzgerald’s powerful spirit. In the context of the story (inspired by real life), the song is improvised out of stage fright. Fitzgerald’s original plan was to dance. Through McLean, the late Fitzgerald relives her big debut success again.
In We Rocked, written and directed by Tony Corrie, old bandmates Jake (David Cairns) and Simon (Tony Corrie) meet up in the bar where their rock band used to play sold-out shows. However, on that particular night, it’s the waitress Claire (Anastasia Saluk) who wows the audience with her musical chops. Great talent can come from unexpected places, and sometimes it’s those who don’t have big egos who have the greatest potential.
All of the playwrights, directors, actors, and members of the crew should be proud of what they have accomplished once again with “Playtime.” Theatre Burlington’s Short Play Festival will have three more performances: Friday, June 5, 2026, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through Theatre Burlington’s website (click here).
