The warming glass of sherry and fires in two open fireplaces added to the welcoming atmosphere of Stirling Theatre and the Stirling Players.

With its all female cast and crew, this play is very timely for International Women’s Day on 8 March.

This black comedy opens in the dark, on a simple set which looks like someone is packing up and moving. On Opening Night, the dialogue wasn’t very clear at first. However this definitely improved in the second half of the performance.

Alma de Groen’s story about four women friends who are reminiscing after the death of the husband of one of them has well written dialogue which sustained interest all the way through, with good pace. The underlying mystery had several unexpected twists – it’s a bit of a thriller!

Megan Dansie’s direction brought out the best in the four experienced actresses who were all very engaging. Petra Schulenburg as Meridee, the grieving widow, was excellent at expressing suppressed emotion. Tracey Korsten as Hester, the black sheep of the group, gave a powerful portrayal of a good contrasting character and a lot of black comedy came from her! April Stuart as Judith, and Deborah Walsh as Lydia, the real estate saleswoman, also gave great performances with lots of lively banter.

The computer sound effects by Danny Gibbons were very good!

The audience laughed often at the humour, which kept everyone engaged. The escalation of events picked up the pace as it went along, especially towards the end. 

Go and see this authentic, realistic and believable drama – it is on until 21 March.

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