Film & Theatre

This is my treasured little hoard of dramatic writing and directing.

Vaudeville

Short Play co-written by Janina Arndt & Sonny Pring, performed by St Aidan’s Creative Writing Society (January 2020)

A Vaudeville comedy duo go on an investigation to solve a bank robbery. Dave, who cannot speak, but is brilliant at deduction, is complemented by the slightly less perceptive Buster, who is the only one with the power to understand Dave’s gesturing. They need to prove, convincingly and without jokes, to a perfectly serious police officer, that they didn’t rob the bank themselves. A bowler hat leads them to a familiar face.

The Thing about Midsummer Night

Short Play written by Janina Arndt, performed by Sixth Side Theatre Company (January 2020)

A young lady is offered, by an older, famous actor, an opportunity to play a role in a racing drama. Titania worries the role might be of an equine nature. As the two actors practice the auditioning scene, the young lady dreams, the older man offers her sugar – or something similar. The eventual audition goes slightly off-script.

Keep Calm and Carry Scones

Stand-Up Routine written & performed by Janina Arndt (October 2019)

How else was I meant to cope with my hob imploding, my keys going missing before I even got them and two radiators dying overnight other than to complain about student accommodation and estate agents? For the record, my flatmate baked wonderful scones, and I did get to throw them in her face during my performance.

Puns Intended

Play written & directed by Janina Arndt, performed by First Theatre Company (February-March 2018)

An eclectic number of famous characters from English literature are entangled in a comedy between their fictional worlds. Shakespearean would like to find out why characters are different from real humans, and on his quest, becomes Fitzgerald Character’s old sport. Wilde Character is in search of Ernest, and Tolkien Character has to ask for Austen Character’s help in finding an escaped hobbit. Their plans are slightly thwarted by the sudden appearance of Stoker Character, and the hobbit’s desire to find a proper inn. In the final act, all characters meet in this inn, only to become witnesses to a bitch-fight between a siren and a waitress over a painted piano and playback. But the play reaches its climax when a certain Conan Doyle Character makes his deductions about the unlikelihood of the previous events…

Watch a trailer for the production here: https://www.facebook.com/1016346835060842/videos/2098526960176152

ÜbermIch

Short Film written & directed by Janina Arndt, premiered at Girls Go Movie Festival (2016)

A short film in German featuring Freud’s Ego and Superego fighting it out over who gets to say they are ‘I.’ Played by the same actress, the two roles oppose each other in a classical sculpture exhibition. Who gets to leave as ‘I’ and who to be cast as a statue among all the others?

Watch ÜbremIch for free on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/192364298

Tiffany after Breakfast

Short Film written & directed by Janina Arndt, premiered at Girls Go Movie Festival (2015)

A girl with an extremely large hat is trying to escape normalcy. In the midst of a montage of absurd moving paintings, frying biscuits in a tree, hammering a banana into a wall and using tap shoes to scrub mud off paper, Tiffany fights to keep her hat on.

Watch Tiffany after Breakfast for free on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/132759295

Liquid Lightning

Short Film written & directed by Janina Arndt, premiered at Girls Go Movie Festival (2014), won Special Prize for Category 12-16 years

Watch Liquid Lightning for free on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/groups/258362/videos/100301009

The master of time picks up an ambitious student who tries to learn how to rule time. Numerous experiments (including pink potions, sparks and green fire) take him on a journey along the theory of relativity. The mastery of time turns reality upside down. The master decides the moment has come to meet Time.

Identity

Short Film written & directed by Janina Arndt, premiered at Girls Go Movie Festival (2013), won First Prize for Category 17-25 years

A collage without faces alongside a narrated short story containing the musings of a young lady about society and glamour. She rises, she falls and she realises. The violin did not lie for her. Someone doesn’t need her to lie. It all ends in a poem.

Watch Identity for free on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/92273206