(Shannon Newton; Carla
Gailey; Zanele Sibiya & Shannon Rose)
Lighthearted, naughty but nice, sitcom with plenty of
laughs. (Review by Keith Millar)
The Bridesmaids, which
premiered at the Seabrooke’s Theatre on the campus of Durban High School last
night, is a lighthearted, naughty but nice, sitcom with plenty of laughs.
It is a story of friendship, loyalty and love. Four young
ladies who are lifelong friends get together for an evening of wine, tequila
and pizza at the home of one of them. Their reunion is a high-spirited and
hilarious celebration which includes plenty of drinking and a party game which
involves reading passages from the book, Fifty
Shades of Grey.
When they were in college together, the girls had taken a
vow not to get married until they were 30 years old. Now five years later, that
is about to change as one of them announces that she has got engaged and asks
the other three, to their consternation, to be her bridesmaids.
The Bridesmaids is
the debut stage production from the pen of Prev Reddy who previously toured with
his stand-up show Wait, You're Indian!? He
has created four distinctly individual and likable characters. The dynamics
between them is the source of much of the comedy in the piece. Reddy is also
responsible for the direction of the production and he makes good use of a
satisfying living room set designed by Brett van Dort. The producer of the play
is Zoë Walsh.
The four young ladies of the cast are all relative
newcomers, and all give enjoyable and credible comic performances.
Zanele Sibiya plays Kris, who is about to be married. She is
a sensible and lovable character who is probably the most grounded of the
quartet.
The sexy, wild-child Belinda is played by an impressive
Shannon Newton, while wannabe pop star Shaylene, who hilariously keeps her
microphone in her handbag, is played by Shannon Rose. Completing the quartet is
Carla Gailey as Stephanie who has recently broken up with her long-term
girlfriend.
This production, by a young and enthusiastic group of
thespians, is not without fault. It is at, 50 minutes, a bit too short. Many of
us thought it was interval when it came to a sudden abrupt ending. I also
thought that the use of red polka-dot pieces of fabric to depict the
bridesmaid’s dresses fell a bit flat.
From a performance point of view I would have enjoyed a bit
more projection as I struggled to hear the dialogue from time to time.
However, there was nothing wrong that can’t be easily fixed
and I think that this young group deserve congratulations for producing an
enjoyable and entertaining theatre experience.
The talent that has been on display from young, new
production companies at the Seabrooke’s Theatre recently bodes well for the
future of the performing arts in our city. Now all that we need are a few
viable venues where they may ply their trade.
The Bridesmaids
runs until March 27 at 19h30 at Seabrooke's Theatre, DHS. Tickets R80 booked
via Webtickets. No under 16s. – Keith Millar
For more information visit Facebook www.facebook.com/TheBridesmaidsPlay
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