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Review by David Munro
FRENCH farce is always silly but Just Desserts is
sillier than most. Bernard discovers his wife, Jacqueline, is
having an affair with Robert.
He therefore inveigles Robert into coming to his flat and cons
him into bringing his, Robert’s, wife to dinner so he, Bernard,
can seduce her .
In fact, Robert brings a prostitute in place of his wife who
herself subsequently turns up. By the end of the play, Bernard
is entangled with all the women in the cast to his great dismay.
Add a hard done by maid and mix and you have an amusing evening.
Only, I must stress, because the principals, Giles Watling,
as Bernard, David Callister as Robert, Malandra Burrows as Barbara
the prostitute and Anita Graham as Marie Louise the maid all play
their parts with just the right amount of validity to make the
absurdities of their respective positions credibly funny and not
too over the top.
Anita Graham, in particular, is extremely funny delivering her
one liners and complaints with deadly accuracy and making a real
character of what so easily could have been a stereotype.
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The two wives, Sabina Franklyn (Bernard’s)
and Britt Eckland (Robert’s), are only there to propel the
plot into even more farcical situations but they provide adequate
support for the principals.
Alan Miller-Bunford’s set provides a vista of Paris in
the background and the obligatory sofas for the characters to
disport themselves on and doors to enter and exit with the apposite
rapidity.
The Director, Ian Dickens, keeps the nonsense going with an assured
hand and some witty business.
There is really little one can say about farce. It either works
or it doesn’t.
It this case it works triumphantly making Just Desserts
the appropriate fare for a very enjoyable summer evening out.
Just Desserts by Marc Camelotti. English Version by
TudorGates.
Directed by Ian Dickens.
Designer – Allan Miller-Bunford.
Lighting – David North.
CAST: Sabina Franklyn; Giles Watling; Anita Graham; David Callister;
Malandra Burrows; Britt Eckland.
Presented by Ian Dickens Productions Ltd.
Richmond Theatre, The Green, Richmond, Surrey TW9 IQJ
Mon 27 June – Sat 2 July 2005
Evenings 7.45.pm
Matinees Wed. & Sat. 2.30pm.
Box Office:- 0870 060 6651.
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