The Globe theatre’s production of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, is as pin-sharp as a pincushion.
It is 1956, somewhere in the American deep south, and the ladies of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein gather in a basement for their annual quiche breakfast.
The gingham tablecloth is freshly ironed, and the quiche is cooked to perfection.
As the ‘‘widows’’ gather, the virtues of the divine egg are extolled, and the ladies are excited to taste the winning quiche.
This being the 1950s, the basement has been given extra special protection against the communists with their atomic bombs.
When the big one hits, these ladies are ready to survive, and forget the gents.
Some very satisfying chit-chat with the audience provides a chance to introduce the characters, set the scene and get us in the mood for some southern hospitality.
The five ladies — Louisa Stabenow (Ginny), Annise Boothroyd (Dale), Jess Keogh (Vern), Sheena Townsend (Wren) and Mel McCosh (Lulie) — work as an excellent ensemble, keeping up a cracking pace and some very well executed audience participation.
I was in particular impressed by Jess Keogh as Vern who was a commanding and confident presence, helping the audience feel quite at home in small-town America.
Director Rosemary Manjunath, who also took on costume and set design, has created a deceptively simple, yet stylish production.
I liked the use of some well-executed sound and practical effects.
The play is a perfect parody of small-town sensibilities, secret societies and a simpler time when men were men and women were, well ... not always interested in the men.
You might leave craving quiche and perhaps (ahem) sapphic pleasures.
An excellent production, that cracks along with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
