Shakespeare and Murders for Drama We

'She' is Isabella Valcnzuela, sea soned actress and debutant director who — after a short but intense stint as co-director to Abigail Ryan Wallace in last summer's drama workshops for kids productions is all geared up to fly solo with the funny black comedy Nasty things, murders!,by Arthur Lovegrove — a play in which three elderly ladies discover that life is more blood curdling than fiction when their television set breaks down!

Isabella, whose ambition is to be cast in a professional production, got busy with drama as soon as she landed in Gibraltar and imme diately made herself known for her high-level of aptitude and dedica tion, besides her chameleonic abil ity to feel at ease in any character's shoes — from the bossy know-it-all Primary Care Centre nurse she played in joe Gomez's original comedy El Tili, to cross-dressed sword-brandishing Beatrice in multi-nominated A senmitfor two masters by Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni,which earned her the best actress accolade at the 2006 Royal Navy Drama Festival.

Isabella is now working with a cast of veteran actors,three of them with sound directorial skills, who, as a Trafalgar Theatre Group staple member and local drama guru Christine Thomson explains,"don't keep their mouths shut and give her plenty of advice, just to make things more difficult for her, re ally", because each of them would carry the scene with a completely different style!

But Isabella "wouldn't have it any other way", in fact the directorial suggestions she gets from Christine, Jean Penney and Margaret Seed (best known for her pantos)are helping to pull together a real up-tempo theatrical delight which will keep the audience riv eted to their seats until the chilling final twist.

In their turn, Christine and Jean are the directors who lead Isa bella and five other young actresses in the modern and ironic When Shakespeare's ladies meet by Charles George, an imaginative lesson in true love by Shakespearean roman tic epitome, Juliet.

As they often have difficulties in recruiting male actors, this year

the group has decided te go for two all-female short productions,which promise to be entertaiplpg without being silly or shallow

the group has decided to go for two all-fomale short pro ductions, which promise to be entertaining without being silly or shallow. One counts on fi ve accomplished 'professionals'

(Ana Maria Anes and Liz Gon zalez complete the cast, playing Louise and Matron respectively) and the other play counts on six up-and-coming promising actors of local drama.

When Shakespeare's ladies meet is set in a surreal situation, featuring some of the most fa mous and tragic Shakespearean female characters who gather to give their in-character advice to lovesick Juliet, played by young and talented Lijianna Marsden, a familiar face on Gibraltar stages.

So, Portia (Isabella Valenzuela)from the Merchant of Venice, rationally explains to her all the legal implications of mar rying someone against their parents' will; Cleopatra (Lucy UjiauM iThe play is in modern English with accentuated American idioms and the odd Shakespearean verse thrown in,obviously out of context, and in its svelte format is accessible to all audiences.

Porro)from Anthony and Cleopatra tells her the tricks of the trade for winning all men and forgetting about her obsession with Romeo; Desdemona(Kelly Bensadon)from Othello warns her on the hazards of jealousy, while Hamlet's Ophelia (Anna Felices) roams the stage in her insane delirium, and Taming of the Slmno's Katherine(Bryony Bawson) completes this supermarket of unsolicited advice — until wise Juliet, stating she is determined to fulfil her romance whatever the price, demonstrates to them that theirs isn't unconditional love, on which subject she has more to teach them than vice versa.

Likewise, Nasti/ things, murders! is a gripping piece set in a classy retirement residence, where three friends — sardonic and rational Ethel (Christine Thomson); her antithesis, the emotional and prone tojump to conclusions Louise(Ana Maria Anes); and down-to-earth Madge Penney) who keeps the balance between these two extremes — are joined by ladylike, prim and proper, shy newcomer Mary (Margaret Seed).

Soon it becomes clear that the newcomer is hiding a secret,spark ing the hilarious ping-pong of conjectures in Louise's mind that Ethel dismisses and confutes one by one — but Madge gets slowly but surely convinced when Mary foretells the end of a gory murders programme on TV,in perhaps sus piciously too much detail, but the party cannot finish watching due to an electrical fault impromtu techni cian Madge isn't able to fix.

Still confused? Then the only way to clear up your thoughts is to go and watch these two comedies which the Trafalgar Theatre Group is entering in this year's Drama Week, to be held at the Ince's Hall at the end of the month.

For info, detailed programme and ticket sales, watch out for the official poster or contact the Ministry for Culture, 310 Main Street, telephone 41687 or 48063.

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