REVIEW
Don't Dress for Dinner
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th May to 3rd June 2017
Don't Dress for Dinner
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th May to 3rd June 2017
If you want a night out, and a good laugh, then buy a ticket for Don’t Dress for Dinner
Rip roaring comedy is taking place at the Palace Theatre with Don’t Dress for Dinner starring Palace regular Damian Williams. The play, written by Marc Camoletti, is set in a French farmhouse and is a French farce, acted in an English style. As the curtains opened, we were impressed by the realistic set, which surprisingly didn’t have the usual number of doors expected in a farce. Marc’s most famous play is Boeing Boeing, and the names of the two main characters Bernard and Robert are familiar from that well known 1960s play.
The production is the kind that used to be standard in the good old repertory theatre days. Bernard (Ben Roddy) has invited his slinky, French mistress Suzanne (Stacey Victoria Bland) for the weekend whilst his wife is away. To provide an alibi he has also asked his friend Robert (Damian Williams) to pay a visit. However, on hearing this, the wife postpones her trip. She has apparently been having an affair with Robert, and sees it as an opportunity to spend the night with him. Add to this mix a chef, Suzette, who is hired to cook the dinner. Robert mistakes Suzette for Suzanne and much hilarity follows. The confusion then builds into many twists and turns of mistaken identity revolving around cooks and mistresses.
The cast were obviously really enjoying themselves, and there was a fair amount of addressing the audience, particularly from Roddy and Williams. It was obvious that they were very comfortable acting with each other and could bounce around the script. In less skilled hands, it could have detracted from the play, but they only endeared themselves to the audience who loved the interaction. They were enjoying every minute of the slapstick, the jokes, the confusion and the ad-libs from Damian who hammed up his part. It is no surprise as he has gained his expertise from years of playing pantomime dames, and he knows how to milk the audience. There was occasional suppressed ‘corpsing’ from the two leads, with one particularly funny moment when Robert was backing away from a knife threatening Bernard and accidentally disappeared off stage into the wings.
I particularly liked Claire Sundin as the delightfully kooky cook Suzette. She adds to the confusion by being told to play different roles and not having a clue what’s going on. She played the part with a strong northern accent, which added to the hilarity. It was very amusing when dressed for work in her waitress outfit, she was told to pretend to be the ‘mistress.’ The men promptly ripped the outfit apart and her skirt lifted over her bra became a tight fitting cocktail dress. From then on, she had to take on a series of ever-more-outrageous personas depending on whom she was talking to. Meanwhile, the real mistress was left to cook the dinner and making a mess of it.
For this first night at the Palace, Sara Crowe was indisposed, so the understudy Hayley Doherty played the part of the wife Jacqueline. She gave a strong, confident performance, especially as she was required to keep her head, whilst all around were losing theirs.
The production was fast paced, and energetic, with verbal fireworks, slapstick and excellent comic timing that had the audience in stitches. Everyone loved it, with people laughing out loud. As they were leaving the full house, there were many comments about how funny the play was and how much they had enjoyed it.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The production is the kind that used to be standard in the good old repertory theatre days. Bernard (Ben Roddy) has invited his slinky, French mistress Suzanne (Stacey Victoria Bland) for the weekend whilst his wife is away. To provide an alibi he has also asked his friend Robert (Damian Williams) to pay a visit. However, on hearing this, the wife postpones her trip. She has apparently been having an affair with Robert, and sees it as an opportunity to spend the night with him. Add to this mix a chef, Suzette, who is hired to cook the dinner. Robert mistakes Suzette for Suzanne and much hilarity follows. The confusion then builds into many twists and turns of mistaken identity revolving around cooks and mistresses.
The cast were obviously really enjoying themselves, and there was a fair amount of addressing the audience, particularly from Roddy and Williams. It was obvious that they were very comfortable acting with each other and could bounce around the script. In less skilled hands, it could have detracted from the play, but they only endeared themselves to the audience who loved the interaction. They were enjoying every minute of the slapstick, the jokes, the confusion and the ad-libs from Damian who hammed up his part. It is no surprise as he has gained his expertise from years of playing pantomime dames, and he knows how to milk the audience. There was occasional suppressed ‘corpsing’ from the two leads, with one particularly funny moment when Robert was backing away from a knife threatening Bernard and accidentally disappeared off stage into the wings.
I particularly liked Claire Sundin as the delightfully kooky cook Suzette. She adds to the confusion by being told to play different roles and not having a clue what’s going on. She played the part with a strong northern accent, which added to the hilarity. It was very amusing when dressed for work in her waitress outfit, she was told to pretend to be the ‘mistress.’ The men promptly ripped the outfit apart and her skirt lifted over her bra became a tight fitting cocktail dress. From then on, she had to take on a series of ever-more-outrageous personas depending on whom she was talking to. Meanwhile, the real mistress was left to cook the dinner and making a mess of it.
For this first night at the Palace, Sara Crowe was indisposed, so the understudy Hayley Doherty played the part of the wife Jacqueline. She gave a strong, confident performance, especially as she was required to keep her head, whilst all around were losing theirs.
The production was fast paced, and energetic, with verbal fireworks, slapstick and excellent comic timing that had the audience in stitches. Everyone loved it, with people laughing out loud. As they were leaving the full house, there were many comments about how funny the play was and how much they had enjoyed it.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
Don’t Dress For Dinner continues at the Palace
For tickets go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Tuesday 30th May – 3rd June
Mon to Thu 8pm plus mats £29.50 £27.50 £22.50
Fri & Sat 8pm £32.00 £30.00 £25.00
Concessions £2.00 off (excludes Fri and Sat 8pm)
Senior Citizen Mid-week matinee special £23.00
Group discount - 10% off groups of 10-19, 20% off groups of 20+
The Tour continues
Sat 10 Jun
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Sat 24 Jun
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
For tickets go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Tuesday 30th May – 3rd June
Mon to Thu 8pm plus mats £29.50 £27.50 £22.50
Fri & Sat 8pm £32.00 £30.00 £25.00
Concessions £2.00 off (excludes Fri and Sat 8pm)
Senior Citizen Mid-week matinee special £23.00
Group discount - 10% off groups of 10-19, 20% off groups of 20+
The Tour continues
Sat 10 Jun
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Sat 24 Jun
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Ask the Audience
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Helen, Alex and John from Basildon
We thought it was brilliant. All the actors were very good and we liked the way Damian Williams interacted with the audience. It added to the fun. |
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Martin from Nottingham
I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. It is the first time I have seen Damian Williams but I have heard about him playing Dames in Pantomime. I came because my girlfriend Hayley was the understudy and this is the first time she has acted with the cast on stage. |