5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

Marina Carvin
25th Mar 2017

The world may be in the grip of disaster but the Susan B. Anthony Society For The Sisters Of Gertrude Stein are determined to gather and celebrate their annual Quiche Breakfast. Nothing could stop these five tenacious widows, Lulie Stanwyck (Catherine Alcorn), Vern Schultz (Lauren Jackson), Wren Robin (Lauren O’Rourke), Ginny Cadbury (Ashely Lollback), and Dale Prist (Bianca Zoupass) from meeting with their fellow sisters to honour their founder.

5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, is very funny, farcical and fun. The interaction begins as soon as you enter the theatre foyer as each audience member is given a nametag. Throughout the play the five widows playfully engage their audience with their energetic and exaggerated characterisations, in a very silly night of physical theatre. This absurdist and fast paced play is loaded with Double entendres.

The play is at times hilariously funny and at times poignantly sad. Set against a background of mid 50's America where fear of communism and impending nuclear attack was a reality, the play highlights sexual repression as a fact of life for these five widows (or are they?) Regardless of what happens on the outside the sisters are safe in the in their refurbished society’s rooms - now doubling as a fallout shelter! As long as the quiches are safe, all will be good.

Though the shrillness of high pitched voices, shouting in unison, made it difficult to hear at times, this highly skilled ensemble cast of women was impressive in their ability to sustain characters and fully engage us in a highly entertaining night of interactive theatre. Directed by Nathanael Cooper, this play is a very cleverly staged with a simple but creatively manipulated set.

For these girls the egg is the embodiment of all that is and the quiche is the essence of their identity.

Stand out performances were Pig-tailed Dale Prist (Bianca Zouppas) whose powerful monologue had us belly laughing one minute and crying the next and newly arrived Englishwoman Ginny Cadbury (Ashlee Lollback) whose physical gymnastics with the prize winning quiche left little to the imagination. How can we ever look at quiche the same way again!

With the motto of “no men, no meat, all manners” and with prize winning quiche at hand what could possibly go wrong?

Playing at the Glen Street Theatre for a short season it is well worth putting on your high heels and frocks for a night of fun. See the Sydney Scoop calendar for performance times.

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Belrose
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