Imagine Theatre production an hilarious winner

December 12th, 2014
[Review by David Armstrong]

A packed house of 75 people laughed their way through an excellent production of the (very) adult comedy "Stiff" at Imagine Theatre last night.

A solid and at times brilliant cast, all newbies to the Imagine Theatre company, played the risque humour to the hilt, giving the crowd plenty of reason to appreciate and support local theatre.

The director, Helen Mayhew, and her crew made the wise decision to price the tickets at only $10 in order to get full houses. It is much more satisfying to have 80 people laughing out loud off each others' triggers than 30 people sniggering quietly to themselves.

But be warned: this is not a show for under-agers or for adults with sensitive ears. The double entendres and puns about bodily parts and their functions came thick and fast, and every possible connotation of words such as the play's title was traversed.

Chosen for Imagine Theatre's sole adult production for 2014, the cult play by NZ playwright April Phillips revolves around four prostitutes who attempt to turn an inherited funeral parlour into a massage business.

The story itself is pretty ludicrous but offers the potential for some hilarious events. But the key to the script writing was establishing characters which are distinct with their own very obvious foibles and therefore memorable. You won't have to spend mental energy trying to work out who is who and how they fit the plot lines.

But to pull this off requires good actors, and Helen has managed to do this in spades. The ensemble of seven work off each other beautifully and each plays up their own foibles and inclinations superbly.

From left: Susanne May James, Chris Saggers, Aimee Rose-Boath, Ian Ramsden,
Gloria Rubble, Jonni Sharland and Stephen Evans.

There's the ditzy Sherry (Susanne May James) who confuses haemorrhoids with asteroids and androids, the dominatrix Roxanne (Gloria Rubble) who looks and sounds as though she wasn't even acting, the transvestite Delilah (Chris Saggers) gorgeously stealing scene after scene with scary conviction, and house madam Angel Delight (Aimee Rose-Boath) a mixture of bold business savvy with fretfullness and vulnerability.

The indignation of the cheated Mr R Swipe (say it quickly), the grumpy undertaker's assistant, is amplified to the limit by Stephen Evans, the dead judge's widow Mrs Beaton is given a delightful carelessness by Jonni Sharland.

And of course the focus of the second half, the deceased judge himself (Ian Ramsden), was a hit without having to say anything at all except have his body administered to in many irreverent ways.

The few fluffed lines, expected for a first-night performance, were hardly noticeable. The only sign of uncertainty normally seen in opening nights were the odd times where the timing of some lines was a little hesitant.

This improved as the night went on so that the dialogue generally flowed easily and realistically, matched by some great physical acting as the cast interacted. By the final performance on Sunday, expect the dialogue to bounce around at a cracking pace.

The play comprises a number of small scenes, all set in the well-appointed main room of the parlour. Each scene in itself was a small standalone skit, building from the previous ones but with its own funny focus. In between, during scene changes, we enjoyed up-beat music mainly from the 70s and 80s hit parades.

Sound effects are exceptional (you won't easily forget the one involving the judge's arm), and the lighting and overall production (Helen Mayhew, Helen McClintock and Jeff Santa Barbara) very professional.

Even for a $20 ticket price, this would have been a value-for-money night out. For only $10, a no-brainer. Helen says there are still some tickets left for the shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can buy them at Amcal and Unichem Pharmacy.

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