David Jobling
Review - Words Wine & Wassail
June 3rd 2008 01:30
WORDS WINE & WASSAIL
with
Ken Healey, Karen Vickery, Brett Weymark accompanied by
Jo Allen
At the UNSW Staff Club, Friday 2nd June 2000
With the theme of The 20th Century: A Retro-Tasting this eloquently festive, eccentric entertainment would satisfy the desire of any audience.
This is Dinner Theatre with poise, panache aplenty, combining salubrious salutations that will delight the most dry or anorexic of humours, mixed with the sort of knees-up piss-take that makes ingesting great food all the more trufflesque.
Drawing on some wonderful gastronomic writings by Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin French philosopher in the kitchen, and Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher who published under the name MFK Fisher due to the sexist attitudes of her time, this theatrical feast informs with words as much as it entices with excellent food.
Karen Vickery as Madame Fisher delivers the most exotic of stories about being served trout by a voluptuously pouted French girl. Through the evening Vickery masters the art of dead-pan 'American abroad' buffoonery, dances, sings and stymies with fabulous gall. It would have been sullen and too dry to hinder Fisher with anything less than unbounded
unselfconsciousness, Vickery cracks up the audience who, virtually eating out of her hand were ensconced with her costumes and comic wit.
Ken Healey's Brillat-Savarin describes all manner of edible delights as he offers each course with tuneful reason and schoolboy abandon. Healey is a bit of a national treasure in his own right, seeing a seasoned performer like him pay tribute to material like this is a rare gift. His dedication to the enjoyment of the evening make him a most affable Master of Ceremonies. His warm fruity tones and Puckish gait cause chuckles aplenty.
Accompanied by Geraldine Moore (Jo Allen) on piano the characters sing many old familiar tunes with cleverly reconstructed silly lyrics. Most of the songs are sung splendidly by the tenor, Count John McCormack played by Brett Weymark whose comic timing and fresh voice make for plenty of laughs amongst the music. This feast of theatre informs with words as much as it entices with excellent food.
Canapes, Champagne, Trout, Beef, vegetables and cherry crumble with a dollop of double cream is served through the evening along with lashings of fine local wine. This production tours to wineries, school halls, wherever there's a kitchen and a desire to please the mind and the stomach all at once.
Highly recommended for any social group who feel like dinner and a show in the finest tradition. I was particularly taken by the detail of the many glimmering outfits worn by MFK and the ease in which this fabulous foursome of troupers delivered serving after serving of plumped steaming food for thought along with the glorious nosh and local fine wine.
David Jobling
with
Ken Healey, Karen Vickery, Brett Weymark accompanied by
Jo Allen
At the UNSW Staff Club, Friday 2nd June 2000
With the theme of The 20th Century: A Retro-Tasting this eloquently festive, eccentric entertainment would satisfy the desire of any audience.
This is Dinner Theatre with poise, panache aplenty, combining salubrious salutations that will delight the most dry or anorexic of humours, mixed with the sort of knees-up piss-take that makes ingesting great food all the more trufflesque.
Drawing on some wonderful gastronomic writings by Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin French philosopher in the kitchen, and Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher who published under the name MFK Fisher due to the sexist attitudes of her time, this theatrical feast informs with words as much as it entices with excellent food.
Karen Vickery as Madame Fisher delivers the most exotic of stories about being served trout by a voluptuously pouted French girl. Through the evening Vickery masters the art of dead-pan 'American abroad' buffoonery, dances, sings and stymies with fabulous gall. It would have been sullen and too dry to hinder Fisher with anything less than unbounded
unselfconsciousness, Vickery cracks up the audience who, virtually eating out of her hand were ensconced with her costumes and comic wit.
Ken Healey's Brillat-Savarin describes all manner of edible delights as he offers each course with tuneful reason and schoolboy abandon. Healey is a bit of a national treasure in his own right, seeing a seasoned performer like him pay tribute to material like this is a rare gift. His dedication to the enjoyment of the evening make him a most affable Master of Ceremonies. His warm fruity tones and Puckish gait cause chuckles aplenty.
Accompanied by Geraldine Moore (Jo Allen) on piano the characters sing many old familiar tunes with cleverly reconstructed silly lyrics. Most of the songs are sung splendidly by the tenor, Count John McCormack played by Brett Weymark whose comic timing and fresh voice make for plenty of laughs amongst the music. This feast of theatre informs with words as much as it entices with excellent food.
Canapes, Champagne, Trout, Beef, vegetables and cherry crumble with a dollop of double cream is served through the evening along with lashings of fine local wine. This production tours to wineries, school halls, wherever there's a kitchen and a desire to please the mind and the stomach all at once.
Highly recommended for any social group who feel like dinner and a show in the finest tradition. I was particularly taken by the detail of the many glimmering outfits worn by MFK and the ease in which this fabulous foursome of troupers delivered serving after serving of plumped steaming food for thought along with the glorious nosh and local fine wine.
David Jobling
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