With semester two well underway, it wasn’t to be long until the Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo) returned to grace the stage! Their week 3 show 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche opens next week at the University of Sheffield Drama Studio and seems ready to entertain and excite yet again!
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche takes us back to 1956, and to the annual quiche breakfast of The Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, but with the sudden sounding of the atomic bomb sirens, it seems the Communist threat has settled on what can only be described as the most devastating possible target! With the widows locked in for the next four years, it’s time for a heart-to-heart, with some very unexpected consequences! Written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood and winner of the 2012 New York City International Fringe Festival’s Best Overall Production Award, this production is, as far as we can tell, the first time this show has been performed in the U.K., making it a rare SUTCo first!
This show is the first in SUTCo’s semester two programme, following last semester’s five production run, including We Are In Fact The Problem, The 39 Steps, Swap the Press, Lights Over Tesco Car Park, and culminating in week 10’s Medea. As well as 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, SUTCo is due to bring Why We Stay, an original script, in week 5, and ending the year with Shakespeare in the Park at the tail end of the semester.
Director Phoebe Cookson (Lights Over Tesco Car Park, Medea) told Forge Press: “I set out to put on this silly, light-hearted play not expecting as much enthusiasm from anyone else around me as we’ve received; when previous reviewers described it as the base for a cult following they weren’t lying!”. She added: “The more myself and everyone else on the team indulge in rehearsals, the more we fall in love with the story and characters”.
When asked about the challenges that come with directing a SUTCo show, Phoebe explained: “This has by no means been an easy process. We’ve had a short rehersal schedule and emergency recasting but everyone has taken these hurdles perfectly in stride. Our last lesbian to join the team Becky [Guess] has managed to pick up lines and blocking with only one week’s notice, and seeing the support from the rest of the team is really beautiful”.
Co-Producer Amaara Qureshi (Medea) agreed: “Phoebe has run away with the incredibly silly script and turned it something amazing. With such a small cast, each person in our company have had a lot to do, but have all reacted to the workload wonderfully and put in so much work to carry the show along”. She went on to talk about how putting on this show has brought so many different people together, telling Forge Press: “At this final stage of rehearsals, its lovely to see how they bounce off of each other to make us laugh, and I’m so excited for everyone to come and see the show to laugh along with us!”
With their first show set for lights up in less than one week, we’re eagerly anticipating the return of SUTCo to the stage, and to see what exciting ventures they take us on in 2024!
SUTCo’s 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is playing from February 21st to 24th at the University Drama Studio. Get your tickets here
