5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche staged by Chorley Amateur Dramatic Operatic Society (CADOS) at Chorley Theatre’s Studio, Dole Street, Chorley on Friday, 13th May, 2022.

‘WIDOWS…HOLD ON TO THOSE QUICHES’... this hilarious play was written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, with contributions from Sarah Gitenstein, Mary Hollis Inboden, Meg Johns, Thea Lux, Beth Stelling and Maari Suorsa who invite YOU to become part of the ‘sisterhood’ of The Susan B Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, their motto being ‘No Men, No Meat, All Manners!  We find the ‘sisterhood’ hosting its annual quiche breakfast during which the result of the society’s prize-winning quiche competition is to be announced!  What isn’t known at that time is that their world is about to be turned upside down!  The situation results in the ‘widows’ having to face their fears, confess their secrets whilst staying true to their values that ‘the quiche’ is a ‘mighty thing’ and that we must all ‘respect the egg’!

I arrived at Chorley Theatres Studio not knowing what to expect from this play, having never heard of it, let alone seen it… but now having seen it, along with the eighty-nine other ‘widows’ who attended that night (FULL HOUSE), this ‘one act play’ which lasted an hour and ten minutes was, from start to finish, hilarious, a bundle of fun at which we laughed, laughed and laughed some more at the symbolisms, the sexual innuendoes and the pure absurdity of it all!  Oh yes, we were all given name badges to wear (all the names being female) … I was re-named ‘JOYCE’!

If there was ever a production that required a cast to work together then this was it!  The production was played in the ‘round’, the cast never more than inches away from the audience!  The audience were invited to become members of the ‘sisterhood’ and invited to the societies ‘Quiche Breakfast’. Characters were created within in the audience, especially one young man… re-named ‘Marjorie’ who became more or less a ‘sixth’ member of the cast!  ‘Marjorie’ became the ‘butt’ of so many jokes and inuendo’s and was even accused of not bringing a quiche to the competition!  All the ‘situations’, all the ‘set-ups’ just worked… the interaction between cast/audience was seamless and incessant but never at any point looked staged (which it wasn’t) ... it just worked… it was hilarious!

At the centre of all this chaos were five lovely young ladies all of whom were on ‘top of their game’! All had wonderful stage presence, created individual believable characters with great accents and understandable diction and they all interacted ever so well with each other and the audience…

The Cast:
Amber Tabiner took on the role of ‘Vern’ – the ‘mother hen’ of the group.  Vern was responsible for the building and maintenance of the venue where the breakfast was being held; a stickler for detail… especially those ‘inside seam’ measurements… if you know what I mean!  Robyn Burns played ‘Wren’ the typical 1950’s housewife; wonderful host, very cool under pressure but always with a dash of styleand elegance.  Rebecca Moran played ‘Dale’, the youngest member of the group.  Armed always with a camera… created two stand out moments for me with her ‘detailed monologue’ of her early years and then her ‘final departure’…what more can be said of that… other than to mention the ‘splattering on the window’ which left the entire audience not knowing whether to ‘laugh or cry’!  Steph Threlfall took on the role of ‘Lulie’ the Chair of the Society, a ‘power house’ personality, a leader who always leads from the front, but a ‘leader’ with a very dark secret… a secret that has more twists and turns than ‘spaghetti junction’! Last and certainly not least we had Gemma Nightingale who took on the role of the sweet, eager to please, bumbling English Rose from Manchester ‘Ginny’. Gemma was responsible for probably the ‘Stand Out’ moment from the entire play when she proceeded to ‘dive - face first’ into the ‘prize-winning quiche’ and devour it entirely!  It brought the house down… it was ‘slap stick’ at its best… culminating in a long passionate kiss with Verne… surely there must have still been some quiche
knocking around!

I was afforded the privilege of speaking with the ladies after the production, although ‘Ginny’ was a notable absentee… I believe she was still trying deal with the aftermath caused by ‘devourment’ of that quiche!  It was interesting to hear about the trials and tribulation the girls had dealt with to get this production to stage and how they had become a much ‘closer knit group’ as a result!  There is little or no doubt that this ‘close bond’ helped throughout the show… as ‘individuals’ they were great but ‘collectively’… outstanding!  Be ever so proud ladies… great job!

I also had the privileged to meet and speak briefly with Sean Duxbury the Director after the production and after reading his programme notes about his visit in 1976 to the then new Manchester Royal Exchange, seeing his first play in ‘the round and his ‘ambition’ to replicate that someday… Sean, it only took 46 years, but the wait was defiantly worthwhile, great vision, great direction, great production… congrats Sean, be ever so proud sir!

Staging/Tech… the staging was minimal (table, five forks and an emergency door), with lighting and sound used to create/enhance atmosphere and mood. Props, were apt and appropriate and used well. Costumes were fabulous, in keeping with the era and enhanced the production.  Congrats to Paul Carr Head of Technical Services at Chorley, Rebecca Moran (Props) and Rebecca Dickinson (Costumes)   

I had previously been afforded the chance to visit and look around the ‘The Studio’ during its development here at Chorley Theatre, but this was my first opportunity to see it complete and to view a production, so I was more than interested to see the outcomes and the impact this space could/would have for Chorley Theatre!  Well, having now seen the completed set-up and a production, there is little or no doubt that this is a wonderful space… not only for performing, but also for rehearsals…  well done to all those who have made this happen!

Thank you so much for the invitation and thanks to Paul Carr for his welcome and arranging my chat with the girls and Sean, appreciated!  Really did enjoy the whole evening; it really is always a pleasure to visit you and I hope to see you again very soon!

Stay safe and keep well…

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.