Review

27 January 2005

Best Performance

The Rondo theatre, Bath

For the jazz divas preparing tonight’s dinner party the blues are a way of life. Relationships are more about the glamour of heartbreak, the passion of being misunderstood and mistreated, and the serene sorrow of loneliness – for an audience of course. Yet underneath the perfect hair and chic blue cocktail dresses all is not what is seems. They have prepared a party for eight but none of the other diners have arrived and their friendly banter masks a bouquet of barbs as they try to out-sexy and out-blues each other. They share songs and moments as the Knife and Forkestra play and they perform the knife and fork dance. Etiquette is maintained to the highest level as recipes the perfect party are served along with the recipes for a perfect life and a few secrets. As with Stepford Wives and Desperate Housewives the façade conceals a multitude of sins and the chronic schism between the two is ignored in favour of a display of doing things properly. A delicious live jazz score accompanies an intriguing combination of physical theatre, performance poetry, and humour, from baby blue to deepest indigo, culminating in a startling denouement.

Sarah Jane Downing
The Big Issue