Last modified: 10 February, 1996
A distributed drama group (distributed over much of southern England!) with a current membership of 13 who perform mostly new one-act plays in national competitions. The group arose out of sharing accommodation (Flat 4!) at the Liverpool Garden Festival Fringe in 1984.
The main strength of the group is a keen interest in performing drama and a willingness to work hard to achieve the highest standards. Despite their small numbers, usually around twelve invited members, they have achieved an enviable level of success over the past 10 years. They enjoy the thrill of competition and have been very successful in Drama Festivals throughout the country. They have been invited to perform at the prestigious British All-Winners four times in the last eight years and were festival winners in 1989, 1993 and 1994. In May 1991 they represented England in an international festival in Falkirk, Scotland and they have also performed, by invitation, in Brussels.
Many of the plays performed are written by Gillian Plowman, who is also a member of the group. Current group members are: Ian and Jenny Armstrong, Gillian Plowman, David Flint, Chris and Iris Bartle, Karrie Stark, Simon and Lorna Allen, Robert and Frances Iles, Derek Benfield (an equity member as 'Derek Newbury') and Daryl Bennett with an appearance made last season by Sam Jones.
Gillian Plowman's writing receives wide recognition for its ability to entertain and to handle important and sensitive topics with humour and insight. Many of Gillian's one act and one full length play have been published and they are constantly being performed in festivals. Because they are challenging to perform and enjoyable to watch the release of each new play is eagerly awaited by an ever increasing circle of admirers.
Several of Gillian's plays, including The Wooden Pear and Philip and Rowena, have been presented on BBC Radio 4 and a third Into Something Rich and Strange was recorded at the BBC Pebble Mill studio in July 1995. The Purity Game and Me and My Friend have been professionally performed at the Minerva Theatre and the full length Me and My Friend and Tippers were performed by professional groups in North London. Me and My Friend was also televised by Channel 4 in 1991 and was performed in Denmark in September 1994.
During 1993 the group performed A Kind of Vesuvius and came first in the National Drama Festival Association's British All Winners Festival (and also won the Backstage Cup and the raffle!).
The 1994 season included Umjana Land (2nd in the Cambridge festival, unplaced in the Watford festival) and Beata Beatrix (performed at the 60th Welwyn Festival, 10th June 1994, won Best Play, Best New Play, Best Actor, Best Actress and Audience Award, nominated for Best Direction and Best Production). Both these plays were performed as an evening entertainment in Witney on 16th July 1994. Beata Beatrix was invited to the 1994 National Drama Festival Association's British All Winners Festival where it won again - Flat Four becoming the first group to ever succesfully defend the NDFA title.
Fthe 1995 season included Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (performances at the Felixstowe Festival and the Witney Corn Exchange) and a new one-act play by Gillian titled Close to Clapham (Welwyn One-Act Festival). The production for Close to Clapham was unusual in presenting the audience with a radio play. The scene opened in a radio studio with two actors acting the play on radio, as the play progressed the actors put down their scripts and moved more and more into `real life' as the lighting came in, making the studio set disappear and leaving the audience's imaginations to fill the `real' surroundings - as they would do if listening to a radio production. Seems to have really worked too! The play won `Best New Play' at the festival. Close to Clapham won the 1995 George Taylor Memorial Award for new plays.
For 1996 Flat Four are doing another new Gillian Plowman play The Juliet Version.
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