After witnessing this edgy play, quiche can never be seen as a weird dish that most have a strong aversion to. Rather it represents the strength of womanhood and empowers lesbians everywhere. Once you see Ginny Cadbury (Max Hanks), go down on Veronica Schultz (Caitlin Wood)’s quiche, you realise that there is so much more to a quiche than simply its ingredients.
This quirky play is set in 1956 America, based around the annual brunch of The Susan. B Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein. The group of ‘widows’ gathered to reveal the best quiche when an atomic bomb drops on the town. Now these women are trapped for the foreseeable future in a secure bunker, all with a shared secret. As the play goes on, the audience are exposed to the childhoods of the characters giving them depth and in turn corroborating their motivations of contempt towards men. Their personal stories intertwine with the lives of the other women on stage leading to dramatic twists and turns.
On entering the theatre, the audience were welcomed as fellow ‘widows’. The actors continued breaking the fourth wall throughout the performance which established a community within the room. We as the audience journeyed with each character until the climax of the play were all were able to come out as lesbians who had never actually been married. The strength to come out was led by Wren Robin (Becky Guess) who gave an emotive monologue to encourage the society to comfortably accept their sexuality with pride. Everyone chorused ‘I’m a lesbian!’ in unison and were accepted into the society, with the exception of Marjorie, who disrespected the motto ‘No men, no meat, all manners’.
The vendetta towards Marjorie was led by Lulie Stanwyck (Maple Baker) who was repulsed by the addition of meat in the quiche. These witty innuendoes consistently brought comic relief and humour throughout the play which the audience soaked up providing the actors with enough ammunition to maintain high energy levels making each line better than the last.
The main ingredient of a quiche, and by extension this play, is the egg. The significance of the egg was audibly demonstrated through the obnoxious, but hilarious moans of Dale Prist (Shruti Deshpande). The history of the all-female society was discussed in detail, explaining that a pioneering woman stumbled upon a colony of hens in the wood. Thus, why eggs are the sacred backbone of the society, just as they set up a firm structure for the quiche.
In general, there was a shared reaction within the theatre of enjoyment and hilarity. The absurdity of this play makes it an unforgettable one. The director, Phoebe Cookson, states the importance of remembering this play since ‘Queer Theatre matters!’ There is a gap in theatre that connects bizarre humour with key LGBTQ+ themes, which is bridged by this performance. This is quite simply a must-watch play!
Rating: ★★★★☆
SUTCo’s 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is running until February 24th at the University of Sheffield Drama Studio. Get your tickets here
