A Royston-based drama group is celebrating after winning three of 12 coveted 'rubber duck' awards at the Welwyn Drama Festival.
Corvus Amateur Drama Society (CADS) entered the competition with their one-act play 'Seven Movies', which was written specifically for the group by local author Roy Maddox.
Seven Movies tells the story of a group of neighbours who have formed a film club, where each month they watch the same film and get together online to discuss it.
However, over the course of the play they learn more about each other than they were perhaps expecting - and more than some of them may be comfortable with.
Their entry won a performance award for actor Kathy Young and a director's award for Michael Young. Judge Walker Ewart also gave a special award to the group for one scene of the play which particularly impressed him.
Michael, who is also CADS secretary, said: "We're really delighted to have had such a great response to our play. We've all been missing the chance to perform during the pandemic and this seemed the ideal opportunity for us to do some proper acting."
The festival took place entirely online, with groups from all over the UK sending in filmed versions of their work.
Speaking of the group's future plans, CADS chair Emma Daintrey said: "We hope to take part in this year's Royston Arts Festival with a double bill of two one-act plays, both based on true events.
"However, we currently don't have a performance space and are unsure if we'll be able to return to KJAR - our usual venue - in the autumn to stage these plays and prepare for the 2022 pantomime.
"We're doing our best to continue drama in Royston, but are frustrated that the town doesn't have any other suitable performance space. Hopefully, a solution will be found and we can go back to doing what we love most, which is performing live in front of a real local audience."
The next CADS event is an online read-through of 'The Blonde Bombshell' - one of the plays being considered for the arts festival in September - on Monday, June 14, at 8pm.
For full details, or to watch Seven Movies on YouTube, visit the CADS website at www.cadsroyston.org.uk
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