Although the first JB Shorts was produced in March 2009 as a one off ‘festival’ of short plays it has grown each year and is now a much anticipated bi annual event presenting 6 short plays over one evening and last night presented its 27th iteration of the format.
Track and Field by Sarah Macdonald Hughes Directed by Martin Gibbons
When two women meet at a local athletics club attended by their children, a friendship develops between them as their cheer on their offspring from the sidelines. Performed beautifully by Sarah Macdonald Hughes and Rosina Carbone this hilarious observation of friendship between women was an excellent opener to the evening’s entertainment. Its darkly comic content performed with great rapport between the two actors observed the mundanity of day to day parenting interspersed with the difficulties of relationship breakdown which then spills into threat and control.
North West End UK Rating:
Old Love by Dave Simpson Directed by Ian Puleson-Davies
Actors Julie Edwards and Steve Hillman captured our hearts as two 60 somethings who met as teenagers, fell in love and were then parted by his family’s emigration to Australia. Fifty years on they meet up accidentally at a Manchester City match and begin to get to know each other again. Touching and beautiful, this piece captured the essence of first love rekindled with great humour and truthful connection.
North West End UK Rating:
Song For Tyso by Peter Kerry Directed by Caroline Clegg
Three friends who met at Polytechnic meet up for a long overdue luxury camping trip. They relive happy and carefree times and in an attempt to dig deeper into their life experiences. They expose wounds and secrets that explore the tensions in their relationships and the pain experienced at the loss of a much-loved son to suicide. Actors Andrew Roy, Richard Oldham and Joe Simpson capture the camaraderie of undergraduate years and indy band ambitions with vibrant energy. Their clumsy attempts at digging into each others psyche feel painfully real.
North West End UK Rating:
They Fuck You Up by Jayshree Patel and Rebecca Ramsden Directed by Nicole Keri
Philip Larkin wasn’t wrong in his views on how parents can affect you and this multi generational piece played out over the coffin of their recently departed mother/grandma/great grandma explores the complex relationships between her family members. Billy Doherty, Jenna Wrigley and Traneise Senior bring great tension to the wake and the dynamics between them feel very real and are easy to identify with
North West End UK Rating:
Departures by Trevor Suthers Directed by Will Travis
Whilst waiting for a flight to Boston to receive medical treatment a man spots a winged angel also waiting in departures. This unnerves him and he becomes obsessively curious about their presence and reason for being there. Liam Grunshaw depicts the man with growing agitation and curiosity, desperate to find meaning in what he can see. Calmed by his patient and supportive wife, Nicola Gardner, who offers the voice of reason, the reality of his situation soon emerges to reveal the tragedy he is not yet aware has happened. This piece proved very engaging and surprisingly moving as the story unfolded before us
North West End UK Rating:
Higher Definition by James Quinn Directed by Adam Cachia
With a definite feel of the Gogglebox culture, we are all familiar with James Quinn and Wendy Patterson play a married couple watching television and chewing the fat over the small details, needs and habits of their life. Their differing viewpoints move beyond the habitual bickering that can creep into a very long term relationship and display hilarious differences between them. It is a piece where little happens but much is explored. The joy of the piece, and it was a joy to watch, is a combination of the clever writing and the things that are not said; the silences and the mini explosions; the moments of thought provocation and the manner in which minor battles are chosen or left for another day. Both actors create an utterly charming, completely relatable comedy of a couple who know each other so intimately yet have such different ways of relating to each other and we recognise and enjoy the dynamic enormously.
North West End UK Rating:
A thoroughly excellent evening of a mixture of small pieces of drama, each unique in its own way and each written, performed and directed with skill and artistry. The audience loved them and it was so great to see new work of such quality being genuinely appreciated and enjoyed. Superb! Long may JB shorts continue!
JB Shorts 27 runs at 53two, Watson St, Manchester from Wednesday 24th September to Saturday 4th October at 7.30pm with matinees on 27th, 28th and 4th at 3pm
Tickets available from: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/manchester/53two/jb-shorts-27
Reviewer: Lou Kershaw
Reviewed: 25th September 2025