Tag: black comedy

Wife Cooks Husband in Devizes!

A wife cooked her husband on Thursday evening in Devizes. I watched the whole thing unfold, but would have politely passed off any offering of a plate, in favour of my funky KitKat Chunky (three for a quid at Derek’s Deals!) What do you know? I’m way too much like Kenneth for my own liking, for after all, the way to a man’s stomach is……

You can get ice cream at Devizes’ wonderful Wharf Theatre, but not at a dress rehearsal, which is what this was; my apologies if the headline deliberately deceived you! You are here now, and might as well read about me sneaking in my own snack, to watch this wicked black comedy from the writer of The Nativity film series, Debbie Isitt. Opening night is Monday 18th May and the final night is Saturday, 23rd. 

Directed by Alison Warren, The Wife Who Cooked Her Husband may have the conclusion given away in the title, but the lead up to it is an unnerving watch with poignantly satirical dialogue. Set in either the late seventies or early eighties, a time when the practices of patriarchy were being questioned via feminism for a younger generation, their elders upheld the traditions of married life. Ergo, for a middle-aged chauvinist to “part exchange” his older model wife, might find himself undone and exposed by his newer model’s more modern perceptions of marriage.

There’s only three characters in this play, sitting around a dinner table. Flashbacks builds a devilish narrative of a cheating husband, how it emotionally affects his ex-wife, and the new wife too. Jessica Bone plays the ex-wife, Hilary, vividly. The focal point of the play is her building concerns for her marriage, and realisation her suspicions were right. Defining her plight is the emotional rollercoaster which justifies her revenge.

Louisa Davidson is Laura, the scandalous, younger, hedonistic mistress, and she plays it with a realistic front. But as the play delves deeper into Laura’s psyche, and her expectations from her marriage, whilst more radically feministic, are of equal burden to Kenneth, the happy-go-lucky fellow, caught in this love triangle of his own making.

It becomes clear the antagonist was never Laura. Kenneth is the lovable charmer, a gluttoness Elvis fan. Hardly a master of deception, he fulfills his desires uncaringly; the basic caricature of an eighties lad with Peter Pan syndrome; me starting this review with what I ate during the show might well be proof! If Jessica’s abject and sentimental monologues are the backbone of the play, they’re contrasted by Kenneth’s playful ignorance, and therein lies the comedy, dark as it may be.  

Andy Bennett plays Kenneth with comic splendour. One who gets his dinner at home but his love elsewhere, and at this successful beginning there’s a scene of visual comedy gold, as the moment of him ingeniously switching from Hilary to Laura delights him. Once reality takes hold, holes in his lies are exposed, and whilst his thoughts on the matter are exposed too, they’re not nearly as nuanced as either Hilray’s or Laura’s. One could argue a writer creates more realistic characters of their own gender, and in this Kenneth’s characteristics are flatter. Another argument is, of course, that’s the fundamental difference between the genders!

Here is a play which either gender can enjoy, and it is very enjoyable, but after-thoughts might some cause healthy debate! That’s what makes this a great show. The production may not be the best I’ve seen at The Wharf, though that’s a high pedestal, but three days later I’m still pondering its details and the questions it raises; it’s a grower.

While it might appeal more to women, the tensions and stress on relationships caused by an affair should alarm the man more, and they should see it if only to find sympathy for the mess they would create, following their desires without consideration. Young men preaching hyper-masculinity and this manosphere concept, should note this play proves these ideas were standard not so long ago, and didn’t work back then. Because, and here’s the real hitter, Hilary ponders at the conclusion, Kenneth has decidedly average levels of chauvinism, passive with it, and is atypical rather than extreme, but still he’s a manipulator and cheat who deserved his comeuppance.

The macabre ending suggested by the title is therefore expected, but the wait for Kenneth’s fate and Hillary’s justifications are more intensely meaningful than the concussion. While this play is of a simple setup, with a simple and common premise, the more its deeper meanings roll over in my mind, the more I accept that The Wife Who Cooked her Husband is a must-see.  

The Woman who cooked her husband

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“The Collaborators” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, June 19th-22nd.

by Ian Diddams
photos by Richard Fletcher & Lisa Hounsome

The concept of historical brutal dictatorships and comedy is not necessarily one that one considers as workable. Yet the likes of “The Producers” and “The Death of Stalin” show that the right level of satire can over come any qualms that may exist. John Hodge’s play “Collaborators” continues this trend as an Stoppard-like surreal absurdist comedy about the relationship between real life characters Joseph Stalin and Mikhail Bulgakov, which the Rondo Theatre Company are performing this very week.

John Hodge may be better known for his scriptwriting on “Shallow Grave” and “Trainspotting” amongst other blockbuster films but here in “Collaborators” he ratchets up the satire and hinges his story on a Machiavellian plan by Stalin toward the dissident playwright Mikhail Bulgakov.

Director Matt Nation has created a demanding – in effect – two scene play into a smoothly choreographed storyline, as the simple set of the Bulgakov’s Moscow flat replete with huge Soviet red star also covers the Lubyanka, theatre, rehearsal studio, doctor’s surgery, hospital, kremlin basement & metro, all clarified by Alex Latham’s subtle lighting changes, The cast smoothly transition between these environments adeptly – such is the skill of particularly community theatre in  representing multiple arenas in a limited space.


Act 1 is pure absurdist comedy. Bulgakov is pressured into writing a play for Stalin’s birthday, that ends up being written by Stalin himself while Bulgakov ends up running the Soviet Union. Its silly, its surreal – action also happening in Bulgakov’s head at times but just on the end of Act 1 the plot twists darkly.

Act 2 is pure black comedy. Though as the end of the play approaches is not so much comedy as horror as the repercussions of Bulgakov’s well intentioned “decisions” as a proxy for Uncle Joe come clear and those chickens come home to roost. Tragedy would be as good a description as the show reaches its denouement.

Weaving this excellently crafted and delivered tale are the cast of fourteen. Principal characters are unsurprisingly Stalin – complete with swept back hair and bristling moustache – played by Andy Fletcher, and Bulgakov played by Jon Thrower. They portray this odd collaboration skilfully and sympathetically, Stalin as an almost genial and friendly Uncle figure, Mikhail as the distrusting and incredulous playwright.



Mikhail’s peer group is comprised of his loving wife Yelena (Lucy Upward) portraying her increasing desperation and concern as to his health, Vassily an aging Czarist (Jonathan Hetreed), Praskovya a history teacher (Verity Neeves) that cannot discuss history before the revolution, and Sergei (Charlie Bevis) who have been billeted in the Bulgakovs’ small flat – Sergei lives in the cupboard!  On this note the cupboard is superbly used as the entry and exit of Mikhail’s dreams/hallucinations and also the secret Kremlin door (!). Charlie’s portrayal of the enthusiastic young Soviet is touchingly naïve, and the group rub along despite their clear and evident differences in opinion and approaches to life under Stalin. Completing Mikhail’s peer group are Grigory (Toby Gibbs) a young writer struggling to get his work published due to its anti-Soviet content and his wife Anna (Elisabeth Calvert) reflecting the times’ oppression.

Bulgakov’s doctor is portrayed amusingly (in all the right ways!) by Tim Hounsome, all overworked, distant and slapdash until treating the elite, while “the actors” are just wonderfully performed by Josie Mae-Ross and Richard Chivers, floating in and out of Mikhail’s dreams as well as acting out the play Bulgakov is “writing” …  Richard’s homage to Ernst Stavro Blofeld is almost a show stealer in itself.

Last but not least we come to the menace in the play – the NKVD officers.
Vladimir (Tom Turner) is quite brilliant as the jocular yet disquieting secret policeman who becomes more luvvie and obsequious as the play develops. Its unfair to pick out individual parts as “show stealers” especially in community theatre, but it would be remiss of me to not to praise one particular performance in this play. Tim Carter plays NKVD policeman number two, Stepan. A silent, brooding presence he delivers the real – literally unspoken – menace throughout whilst being at the back of the stage mostly. Its not until the very end that he comes to the fore in his own right, but it’s a special skill to not be heard but be influential in the action and Tim really nails the requirements.



Vladimir’s wife Eva is played with an almost cameo performance by mainstay of the Rondo theatre company, Alana Wright, who manages to stave of the unwanted attentions of Stepan… mostly…




Aside from Alex on lighting, Dylan Jackson provided sound tech and as a team they had a busy time and completed everything to perfection – this is a tech heavy show so huge congratulations to them. Other crew aspects were indeed “collaborated” on (d’ya see what I did there? ) by all of the above – set design and build, stage management (including Toby Skelton), costumes and publicity which was aided and abetted by Lisa Hounsome and Richard Fletcher with photography.

“Collaborators” is a fast paced, thinkers play – although the allusions to modern day Russia are evident and lie not very far beneath the surface. Some genuine laugh out loud moments, some shocking moments and Stalin’s final words to Bulgakov sum up the regime’s totalitarian control in a nutshell.

“Collaborators” is showing at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath from June 19th to 22nd at 1930 every night.

Tickets from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/rondotheatre/collaborators/e-eqavlp