LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE is yet another moving and highly entertaining production to be presented by Castle Hill Players in this their 40th anniversary year. The play, written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephronis, is based on the book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman and was first played in New York in 2008.
The play is organized as a series of monologues and uses a cast of five women playing over 30 parts delightfully linking matters of life and love with matters of the wardrobe. A woman named Gingy, played with feeling and compassion by Annette Van Roden, tells her life story which is woven in and out of the tales of the other characters. The play follows Gingy through several marriages, motherhood and other turning points, each marked by various items of clothing.
The show features various comic interludes about the agonies of the dressing room (“I don’t know who this is cut for”), the mortification of bra-buying (“The training bras are over here”) or the hurtful words of mothers (“Is that what you’re wearing?”), not to mention unfortunate prom dresses, high heels and one perfect shirt. Everyone in the audience will relate to some of the one liners as we have said them, listened to them or been their recipients.
One of the highlights is the monologue “I hate my purse” played with wonderful comic skills by Sandy Velini. Her character’s great frustration is her habitual inability to keep her purse properly organised and hygienic. In the chaos of its interior she sees a reflection of her own life but she does finally discover the perfect bag to manage the problem.
What these stories are really talking about are mother/daughter relationships, romance and the men who come and go, family dynamics and sometimes just getting through the pain life contains. The more substantial stories usually have a strong emotional component, connecting the memories of a dress or a pair of shoes to certain pivotal moments in the women’s lives.
Directed by Meredith Jacobs, the ensemble also including Mary Clarke, Leigh Scanlon and Kate Gandy, work beautifully together to bring life, fun and feeling to their characters.
The production features original music composed by Joshua McNulty who conducted and recorded the score with live musicians from the Canaria Scoring Orchestra.
The show also gives theatregoers the opportunity to put on that something you have never been game to wear even if it is just a fancy assessor. At every performance one “frocked up” audience member will be selected go in the competition to win tickets to the next production plus receive a complimentary beverage and snack from the Foyer Bar.
For a night that is funny and poignant, witty and sometimes sad, get to LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE at the Pavilion Theatre, Doran Road, Castle Hill Showground.
Performance times are Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8.15pm and Sundays at 4.30pm.
Tickets $27/$22. Bookings –
http://www.paviliontheatre.org.au