My last experience of live theatre was when I saw my little brother’s school concert so I was very excited to go see ‘The Women’ currently on at the Silo Theatre.
Being more of a DVD and popcorn kind of a girl I really didn’t know what to expect from this play directed by Katie Wolfe who was last seen gracing our TV screens behind the helm of joke-reality show ‘Living the Dream’.
The Women is based on an old 1940s movie that starred Joan Crawford and more recently was performed in New York with a cast which included actress Jennifer Tilly and Cynthia Nixon from Sex and the City.
As the name would suggest, the actors are all female and the action takes place in wholly female domains like fashion houses, beauty parlours and powder rooms. The story follows a group of ‘friends’ but I use that word loosely, as these ‘ladies’ are all twisting the knife in each other’s backs.
The plot centres on Mary Haines – a nice woman with a nice house, a nice family and an all around nice life, until a vicious gold digger hooks her claws into Mary’s man and friendships and fidelity fly.
The snappy, catty dialogue delivered in a range of American accents is so clever you’ll find yourself wanting to write it down for future use.
If the cast looks familiar that’s because there are a few ex-Shorty St stars in there. Anna Hutchison steps up a notch from the character of Delphi, Hannah Tolich (who played Jessie) proves her versatility and Sally Stockwell (Dom’s ex Lucy Swinton) steals the show as the mega-bitch.
The costumes provoked much discussion between my friend and I on the drive home – they epitomised girly glam and we were both lusting after the green velvet number worn by the evil nemesis in the final scene!
All in all, The Women makes for a great night out - It’s bitchy, it’s clever and it’s so much fun!
But don’t take my word for it –check it out for yourself, you can book through Response Ticketing 09 300-3700 or www.response.co.nz. The show runs until November 6 2004.
My last experience of live theatre was when I saw my little brother’s school concert so I was very excited to go see ‘The Women’ currently on at the Silo Theatre.
If the cast looks familiar that’s because there are a few ex-Shorty St stars in there. Anna Hutchison steps up a notch from the character of Delphi, Hannah Tolich (who played Jessie) proves her versatility and Sally Stockwell (Dom’s ex Lucy Swinton) steals the show as the mega-bitch.