I was lucky enough to see the dress rehearsal of DramSoc’s first show of the semester, Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche before it opened to packed audiences for its three-night run on the 24th of January. This production was directed excellently by Adam O’Connor, a staple figure in the UG DramSoc scene and starred Saorla Fenton (Vern), Tara Mackin (Dale), Honor Faughnan (Ginny), Molly Fahy (Wren) and Emma Greaney (Lulie).
Written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, this play is set in 1956 and centres on the “widows” of The Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein on the day of their annual quiche breakfast where the main motto is “no men, no meat, all matters”. What started as an idyllic day sampling the best quiches in town turns to disaster when, just as the winning quiche is announced to the gathered ladies in the community centre, sirens erupt warning of an Atomic bomb strike which leads to the sealing of exits out of the centre. Now facing the possibility that they are the only ones left after the world has ended, facades drop, secrets are revealed, and the ladies all realise what they all have in common, apart from loving quiche, of course!
This immersive theatre experience began the second you entered the Bank of Ireland Theatre with the “widows” themselves greeting and assigning a name to each audience member who became the other society members present in the community centre. The energy in this production was absolutely electric. The continuous breaking of the fourth wall between the cast and the audience was one of the best I’ve seen in a production. It made us all feel like we were an integral part of the story, which, in my case, made me even more invested in the story and the quirky characters. The plot itself was odd in premise but hilariously brought to life by a talented cast who nailed their parts with such wit and comedic flair that had the audience members cackling with laughter throughout. There was nothing I could fault in this production, and I want to commend the cast, crew and director on an incredible production that has kicked off semester two drama in this university with a bang.
