Neil k. Henderson's Positive Reviews Of Recent Work ...

Ray Kohn's  'CAROUSEL ' had a weirdly intriguing religiosity made more sinister by focussing on the detail of the prayer wheels, while the doings of the Piety Council and the Gang - not to say the state of society in general - are largely left to the imagination. A thought-provoking set-up likely to linger in the mind. I enjoyed the light touch of  'CHEERS TO THE INEVITABLE ' by Glenn Francis Faelnar. The gradual reveal through the dialogue worked very well. Tracie Adams’s  'BURNING LOVE'  built up to a delightful surprise. There’s nothing like a bit of spontaneous combustion to warm you up in these wintry days.  QUEEN IN THE CRADLE  by Scott and Nicole MacLeod had a pleasing gentle twist, and threw up interesting thoughts about perceived authorship and shared intentions.

'STAY AWAY FROM THE DEMON'   by  Ammanda Selethia Moore was a subtly understated treatment of blind prejudice masquerading as 'faith', while 'THE APOLOGY' by David Lewis Pogson displayed a weird code of conduct from a bygone era – almost a kind of faith in itself. A Catch-22 situation unfolds, as a non-existent offence is regarded as a real offence, begetting 'procedure' which results in a non-existent apology, which in turn is regarded as a real apology, thus satisfying the code. The absence of unnecessary embellishment or explanation made the absurdity all the more striking. As Winston Churchill said, we don't attend school to be educated. We attend school to be made to conform.  And still with school, 'SECRET SHELTER' by Xingmiao Ma had a satisfying completeness with its moral balancing of scales. I loved the descriptive identifications – Annoying Her, Authority Him.

John Brantingham’s 'AMBLE' had one of those lines you don’t hear every day – ‘the call of the chickadee saying “cheeseburger”.’ Mind you. It depends what you mean by ‘chickadee’… As for standing by a tree to avoid a bear, I imagine that’s a lot less dangerous than carrying a drunk girl past a group of women wielding stilettos, as in Andrew Gooch’s 'NEVER KEEP YOUR PHONE ON AFTER MIDNIGHT'. We live in scary times.

'ANGELO’S ROOM' by DG Walker was poignant and restrained, staying in the mind to bring up after-thoughts.   E. C. Traganas’s  'BITTER MELON' made me smile and wince alternately. People are a funny fruit, indeed. 'CRYSTALLINE' by Beth Sherman certainly captured my attention with the Alice In Wonderland style fantasy, before bringing the stark reality in smack at the end. Very effective.

Ciaran Corr's ‘SHE’ was very well handled, subtly leading on to the surprise ending. Emma Catesby's ‘THE MAZE’ skilfully captured the mental effort to recapture lost thoughts. I don't know if this was a dementia reference, a dream or simply an effort to remember. I recall a radio play about a Russian memory artist, and he had a huge street plan in his mind with key facts/links on street signs which connected references to each other, enabling him to find what he was searching for. Of course, if you don't have the signs, all you're left with is a maze. Andrew Hart's ‘WILDERNESS’ was an amusing take on solipsism. (Or was it my own take reflected through a creation of my mind called 'Andrew Hart'?) ‘PRICKLY LEGS AND CHIPPED TOENAILS’ (Amie Walker) rang a bell regarding the remorseless onslaught of time, while Alan Ford’s ‘BLITZ ON THE RITZ’ was a moving read in itself, intensified by its scary 'Hollywood remake' punchline .

Derek McMillan’s ‘THE BROKEN NUTCRACKER’ was deftly handled – the ending all the more effective for the no-fuss presentation. Simon Collinson’s ‘COUNTDOWN’ was very droll, and his YOU’RE NOT 21 FOR LONG was a great idea. I suppose if you went backward every time, you’d essentially be immortal (but never older than 21). LEPER SOCKS also amused, and Joel Bryant’s ‘KIND WORDS AND HAPPY THOUGHTS’ appealed too, with its satisfying and imaginative revenge motif.

Colin Garrow’s ‘NOT DEAD YET’ was a neat reversal of expected grief rationale, yet grimly believable all the same, while ‘ALL TRAINS CANCELLED’  by Fran Waddington left intriguing unanswered questions. Jonathan Newman’s ‘LIMBO’ was delightfully dark humour – and very nimble time capture, to boot. ‘VIRGIN BLUE’ by Rosa Rogers built compellingly to its liberating conclusion.

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Many thanks, Neil!