Past Productions
The dark surreal comedy Doublecross, the first play to be co-written by Helen Shay and Michael Yates, was performed in Autumn 2010. It traced our modern lives through their many disguises. It challenged audiences to tell truth from falsehood, to recognise the people they only thought they knew – from sharp journo to judicious legal eagle, from adulterous head teacher to ruthless call girl – as they wound themselves in a chain of sexual and emotional betrayal. Would the chain snap or would they snap first? For, as one character observes: The human capacity to lie is as ingrained as the instinct to survive. Doublecross played at The Carriageworks in Leeds and the Courthouse in Otley in September 2010.
The group's production Money Double was performed in Autumn 2009. It was a double bill of dark comedy, featuring The Malteser Falcon by Helen Shay and Till My Eyes Bleed by Michael Yates, both plays turning the spotlight on the world of work, finance and sexual politics. The show was performed at The Carriageworks theatre in Leeds and at the Theatre Upstairs at Henry Boons in Wakefield.
In Helen's play a lonely woman seeks revenge on her bullying boss and domineering father. In Michael's play the affair between an alcoholic and his best friend's wife leads to tragedy.
In Helen's play a lonely woman seeks revenge on her bullying boss and domineering father. In Michael's play the affair between an alcoholic and his best friend's wife leads to tragedy.
ActOne’s first production Body Double – a double bill of the plays Fit Piece by Helen Shay and Life Sentence by Michael Yates – was performed at Pontefract Library theatre and The Carriageworks theatre in Leeds in 2008.
In 2009, both plays won awards at the Sheffield One-Act Play Festival and also won awards for actors Graham Greensit (Fit Piece) and Joanne Smart (Life Sentence).
In Helen's play, a sinister man menaces a young woman at a gym. In Michael’s play, a furious woman threatens her unfaithful man with a meat cleaver. The award-winning plays were also reprised at The Carriageworks in Leeds in Autumn 2009 by a different company which included the award winning actors. And Life Sentence was later performed in Manchester, again with Joanne Smart.
In 2009, both plays won awards at the Sheffield One-Act Play Festival and also won awards for actors Graham Greensit (Fit Piece) and Joanne Smart (Life Sentence).
In Helen's play, a sinister man menaces a young woman at a gym. In Michael’s play, a furious woman threatens her unfaithful man with a meat cleaver. The award-winning plays were also reprised at The Carriageworks in Leeds in Autumn 2009 by a different company which included the award winning actors. And Life Sentence was later performed in Manchester, again with Joanne Smart.
