CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR EX

Clever script by Gail Snyman includes much humour, beautifully delivered. (Review by Maurice Kort)

Conversations with Your Ex is a two-hander presented by Gail Snyman and Chantal Snyman on the Musho Festival.

The play is set in the very comfortable homely lounge of the widow, Mrs Ogle (Gail Snyman), which opens with an exhausted Mrs Ogle soaking her aching feet in a washbasin of water having just celebrated the wedding of the younger daughter of her three children - Delia, Lloyd and Donna. Tired she may well be, but very cheerful over the wedding as she is joined by the other daughter, Delia (Chantal Snyman) who enters carrying a large box of wedding presents.

They happily relive the joy of the wedding with the two enacting the antics of various wedding guests, notably Chantal Snyman as the exuberant dancing Angela at the wedding.

Chantal Snyman describes her irritation at her relatives at the wedding harping on the fact that she is not yet married, an all-too familiar scenario at weddings, and this leads to her giving her reasons why this is the case. These include her disastrous sex life with Roger, the first great love of her life, at ten years old with little Joey, and David, who was very quirky, to say the least.

Gail Snyman reminisces about her 32-year marriage with her late husband, Frank, including how they initially met, which gives her the opportunity of giving a very sweet rendition of Love Me Tender. In this way the two share their thoughts, memories, insights, philosophies and dreams about their relationships. These include failed liaisons, unrequited love and dodgy affairs. This is done most convincingly in the clever script by Gail Snyman, which includes much humour, beautifully delivered.

The play is rather short at about 40 minutes and it could be expanded with these vignettes being fleshed out or more being added. Like all good plays, humour is followed by pathos and sadness - again beautifully presented. The result is a very enjoyable, thought-provoking and well performed and written play.

The two performances of Conversations with your Ex at the Musho International Festival are on January 15 at 20h00 and January 16 at 18h00 at the Catalina Theatre, Wilson’s Wharf. – Maurice Kort