THIS year’s One Act Play Festival organised by the Montgomery Community Drama Association (MCDA) opens at Berriew on Thursday, April 25, with seven plays to be performed over three nights by six different local companies and continues on Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27.

It will include a double bill of two very different, yet exceptional modern plays which have been brought together by Judith Marvin, artistic director of The Actors Studio, and outreach coordinator for MCDA; and Tim Parkes, director of Rebel Alliance, the creative team which presented last December’s highly successful Newtown Nativity show.

The Actors Studio will be presenting ‘Three More Sleepless Nights’, by Caryl Churchill, a compelling and explosive play about human interaction and complicated relationships, through the eyes of two ill-fated couples.

One double bed. Two couples. A tryptych of love-tangled conversations that expertly twist and turn, from existential angst and sci-fi films, to volatile arguments and long silences. As it explores adult themes, this play is not suitable for children.

By contrast, rebel Alliance’s ‘The Portrait of Marie-Therese’, by Tim Parkes and other hands, is a chilling Victorian gothic thriller, full of mystery, intrigue and fear.

The story seeks out the truth behind a portrait that has long been shrouded in a sinister cloak of secrecy.

Who was she? What happened to her? Why does death and misfortune seem to follow the painting wherever it hangs?

Plays will also be staged during the three nights by Guilsfield, Newtown, Llanymynech and Montgomery players, all competing for a place in the Drama Association of Wales All Wales Final against six other Welsh regions.

For details of tickets go to www.ticketsource.co.uk

The Actors Studio and Rebel Alliance will also present their atmospheric performances as a dramatic double-bill at the Wightman Theatre in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, May 1; at Broneirion, Llandinam, on May 2; and at Welshpool Town Hall on May 3.