DISH OF THE DAY

Help yourself to an enjoyable Dish of the Day at the Westville Theatre Club delectable comedy. (Review by Maurice Kort)

It is refreshing to have the Westville Theatre Club revisiting its illustrious past and presenting a two-act play in its Westville Clubhouse. The Club was famous for its very well-presented, and extremely well attended, plays before the days of television which changed the entertainment world irrevocably. The Club has continued to present musical evenings and it is now bravely mounting the comedy Dish of the Day, written by Christine Woodhead and directed by Coney Bundock.

It is a frothy light hearted evening's entertainment with many good laughs, either scripted or due to the actions or appearances of the cast.

The action takes place in an Italian restaurant in Westville, unfortunately when there has been an accident on the roads leading to it which resulting traffic jam adversely affects the patronage of the restaurant. The inept waiter (Keith Vassard) does his best under the circumstances - which nevertheless leaves more than a great deal to be desired. The diners start arriving. There is the smart businesswoman, Julie, a well-cast Jo Mole who makes the most of the role and epitomises the character beautifully. She is there to meet her blind date, Mike (Charles Grey), courtesy of a dating service. They could not be less suited to each other, Mike being an absolutely pleb, very nicely portrayed by Charles Grey. The prompt helped him a great deal and this was taken in good humour by the audience, and no less by him.

Another group arriving consists of Sheila Harrison (Andrea Zorab) with her elderly mother (Jill Sysum) and husband Henry (Ivor Bundock). Henry was suitably irascible under the circumstances of the inept waiter and Sheila performed the role of the long suffering posh wife well but her performance should be taken down a level as she was too strident throughout. The outstanding performance of the evening was that of Jill Sysum as the mother. She aged very suitably to take the role and her performance was a delight.

A third party, and it is a party indeed, make their boisterous entrance, already rather inebriated and become more and more so as the evening progresses over several bottles of wine. The reason for the Hen Party is the pending marriage of Becky (Andrea Crisswell) with her best friends Mel (Dani Cook) and Claire (Gillian Brunings). Also credited in the programme and starring larger than life is the blow-up doll, Duncan. The three friends portrayed their characters convincingly, without overdoing their intoxicated states, which could easily happen. Gillian Brunings could have started off less smashed, so that there would be room to become more so as she imbibed further glasses of wine. Completing the cast is Mani Steyn as a Practitioner of the Garment Displacement Industry - a male stripper in plain speak.

The set, designed by the Director, deserves special mention. The three well-appointed tables looked very enticing and, with the curtains open before the play started, fitted in very well with the tables laid out in the clubhouse for the audience and indeed brought them very well into the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Kevin Hillier who handled the lighting and sound had his work cut out for him as the tables were at times individually lit as the action moved from one group to the other. A nice directorial touch was the miming that took place at the other tables when the action and dialogue were focused on one of them.

Although not of a professional standard - this is an amateur group, after all, the actors take their roles seriously and provide an evening's very enjoyable entertainment in this light comedy.

Dish of the Day is presented at the Westville Theatre Club, Attercliffe Road, next to the Westville Swimming Pool, from March 4 to 6 and again from March 10 to 13 at 20h00 with the doors opening at 19h00 so bring your own picnic baskets and drinks for a great night out. Tickets R40 (discounted on March 10 at two for the price of one). To book contact Venessa (office hours 031 764 2559) or Coney (after hours 084 581 0690 or e-mail coney@datasupp.com). – Maurice Kort