My Wonderful Day at Cronulla
Arts Theatre Cronulla presents My Wonderful Day by Alan Ayckbourn from 29 July – 3 September, 2016.
Alan Ayckbourn's 73rd play, My Wonderful Day premiered in 2009. His website states that his major inspiration for writing this play was autobiographical, drawing on childhood memories of accompanying his mother to meetings and social gatherings, where - ignored - he would quietly watch and absorb the secrets and indiscretions of adults.
The play tells the story of 9-year-old Winnie (Alexandra Rigby), who has a day off school as she is unwell, and accompanies her heavily pregnant mother, Laverne (Angela Gibson), to clean the home of Kevin Tate (Brian Jones), a philandering minor television celebrity. Tasked with a homework essay entitled My Wonderful Day, Winnie also only speaks French during the day, in support of Laverne's dream of moving to back to the Caribbean one day soon. Throughout the day, Winnie witnesses and records in her essay the wild shenanigans and bad behaviour of the adults, who believe she is oblivious to what is going on as she can’t speak English.
Tate’s secretary Tiffany (Erin Thomas) arrives and is enchanted by Winnie, but Tate has no qualms in professing he hates children. Business colleague Josh (Haki Pepo Olu Crisden) slinks in, worse for wear following a big night out, and pathetically demonstrates that he has no idea how to relate to either Winnie or his own daughter, who lives with his estranged wife.
Add to all this a sabotaged marketing DVD on which wife Paula (Kerry Turner) announces Tate and Tiffany are having an affair, Laverne's waters breaking on the prized living room sofa and an ambulance taking her mother away to hospital, the antics of this dysfunctional group of adults provide rich fodder for the young girl. When Paula arrives and finds Tate in bed with Tiffany and chases her out of the house clad only in a sheet, Winnie has plenty of material to finish her essay!
The play ends with Paula taking Winnie to the hospital to see her mother and the new baby, where Laverne insists Winnie read her essay. The lights slowly dim on Laverne’s shocked face, jaw dropping to the floor, as Winnie begins her tale.
www.artstheatrecronulla.com.au
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