Fresh faces, new voices at CDS
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1997.
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Four of the fresh faces belong to newcomers Malcolm Ellis, Susan Howe, Jennifer Ahearn and Martin Tedd, all of whom appear in the genuinely funny Last Tango in Grand Cayman which closes the show.
Susan and Jennifer join another debuting actress, Georgina Wilcox, in the opening play, Beauty for Sale.
One of the new voices belongs to Debbie Seymour, who was first seen but not heard in Beauty and the Beast and then emerged further into the spotlight. as a member of the chorus for Music Hall.
Nikki Moore, perhaps better known as a musician and dancer, takes on a straight dramatic role.
One link between the two pieces is theatre veteran Penny Phillips, who makes a striking contribution with her appearance in Beauty, then lends her deft touch to the direction of Last Tango.
The evening's first offering, Beauty for Sale, is a period piece from 1935 written about an even earlier period - circa 1866. Playwrights Muriel and Sydney Box base their plot on an "actual cause celebre," according to director Colin Wilson, when the beauty parlour was a new phenomenon in English society.
The proprietress, Madame Geraldine (Georgina Wilcox), is described by her stepdaughter (Debbie Seymour) as preying on "foolish women swindled and taken in by lying promises and fake treatments". Jennifer Ahearn is Madame's daughter, showing every inclination to follow in her mother's footsteps. Nikki Moore, Susan Howe and Penny Phillips are among the "foolish women".
Another link between the plays is Peter Phillips, who is responsible for the set construction and manipulation. Beauty's set must be sufficiently elegant, to impress potential customers: one particularly attractive feature is an arrangement of colourful bottles filled with ostensibly wondrous potions.
For Last Tango, the set is dismantled to give the impression there is no set. That effect is itself a challenge which the stage crew meets unobtrusively.
The play originally appeared as Last Tango in Little Grimley, but author David Tristram specifically encourages directors to use local references.
Anyone with even the slightest interest in theatre will find something amusing in this piece about an amateur dramatic society in debt and down to its last four members. "The trials and tribulations of getting a production to opening night, with prima donnas abounding, is something everyone who has ever been involved in amateur dramatics will recognise right away," Penny promises.
The other attraction of the evening is dinner, for which patrons have a choice of filet mignon, fish or chicken Cayman-style with the trimmings. Dessert is chocolate cheesecake or sherry trifle and coffee. The menu decisions need to be made at least one day in advance, according to Omeria, the friendly reservationtaker at Phillips' Electrical (949-5585).
The atmosphere at Prospect Playhouse is comfortable enough for non-dinner patrons to sit and chat during the interval or enjoy a drink at the bar, Penny and Colin point out.
Dinner tickets are $25. Tickets for the show only are $12.50 for adults, $8 for children. The curtain goes up each night at 7:30.
