After Dinner

It’s always a pleasure to witness enterprising young artists forming companies with the aim to provide opportunities for performers to practice their craft in front of audiences (and critics). After Dinner is perhaps an unexpected choice for an Andrew Bovell staging, but StarheART Theatre deserve both encouragement and applause for taking this comedy-of-nightlife-manners, dating from the late 1980s, and breathing a most enjoyable life into it.

The five characters – two male, three female (plus a waiter played by Lisa Hanson but incongruously referred to throughout as “he”) – are Laura Colella’s Paula (warm, open, generous), Chelsea Griffith’s Dympie (coiled, prickly, hostile), Stephanie Graves’ Monika (high-strung, fragile, striving), Marley Reid’s Gordon (docile, stilted, meek), and Brad McCarthy’s Stephen (slick, slippery, confident).

They may come dangerously close at times to being merely a string of caricatures, but ultimately, the combination of Bovell’s writing and the actors’ interpretation deepens the personalities of all involved, thus making the viewer far more invested in – and/or sympathetic towards – their situation. One truly hopes that at least one character in the play will eventually stand up to the negativity of Dympie, and that Gordon will take the first step toward overcoming the mannerisms that make it difficult to believe he has reached the stage of moving out of his parents’ house, let alone been abandoned by his wife.

The tone is generally kept bright, blithe, and breezy – but there are points where the comedy darkens and takes a tilt toward tragedy (symbolised strikingly by Monika’s eventual resemblance to a tear-stained clown). The costume design tremendously enhances our impressions of these people (particularly the cocoon of Dympie’s turtleneck and the disorganisation of Gordon’s conservative suit with running shoes and inside-out socks), while the make-up and hair styles reinforce a broadly comic effect (especially given the blatantly artificial quality of Monika’s blonde wig).

All performances are engaging and admirable in their own ways. Highlights include Graves – with simply superb timing and impeccable intonation - running away with Bovell’s rich, earthy dialogue, and making quite the memorable meal out of it. Griffith is consistent to an almost frightening degree, yet manages to avoid monotony, while Colella is simply radiant. McCarthy is skilled at embodying the seemingly shallow smooth-talker, yet keeping him genuinely appealing and multi-dimensional.

One must also make mention of a highly satisfactory 80s pop-rock soundtrack; it’s the icing on a cake that’s a tangy treat for Fringe Festival punters looking for a light-hearted lark that doesn’t neglect depth or drama.

Anthony Vawser

PREVIEW AND BUY THE SCRIPT HERE.