REVIEW: 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

“Remember the rules: No Men, No Meat, All Manners.”

Welcome to the annual quiche breakfast of Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein. It is 1956 in the American South, and 5 fantastically passive-aggressive ‘widows’ are hosting this year’s breakfast. But halfway through, there’s a little bit of a…disturbance…

Lesbians? Quiche? Hilarity? What more can we ask for?

This may genuinely be the funniest play I’ve seen this term, and I see so many plays I’ve probably single-handedly funded Corpus Playroom’s quiche budget for years to come. The comic timing is spot-on, the monologues hysterical, the lesbianism…evident, and the quiches delicious. Audience interaction in this play is a real treat (warning: one person in the front row is really in for it) and the acting is consistently fantastic between the 5 performers. I honestly couldn’t pick a standout performer – Wren, Lulie, Ginny, Dale and Vern are all excellent alone and even better together. Oh, and…’together.’ Yes, you realise quite quickly that the name of the play is not particularly ambiguous.

That sweet sweet quiche

It may just be my intense enjoyment of 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche that made me feel like the ending was somewhat abrupt, but that was my only real issue of the play – it felt like there was more to be said when the play ended (though that’s more an issue with the script than the performance). The dialogue was delivered pretty much flawlessly, albeit occasionally one or two performers would slip out of their accents. There were a couple of small setup issues (the music is at times a little too quiet, and being able to see the back of the door being propped open with a broom undermines the central premise a little) but nothing that really impacted on the enjoyment of the play.

The only way you can not have a good time at this play is if you are comatose. It’s endlessly quotable. ‘Of course she’s a lesbian: she has a saddle, a riding crop and no horse’ is one of my favourites (I’d quote more, but it’s infinitely more funny in person).

Communism, innuendo and baked goods. What’s not to love?

4/5 stars