‘Director Zara Marie Brown cleverly cranks up the tension in Carol Maginn’s dark comedy’
Director Zara Marie Brown cleverly cranks up the tension in Carol Maginn’s dark comedy but sadly there’s not enough material to credibly sustain it before we head to a somewhat hurried conclusion.
Terminally ill Annabelle (Pauline James) has summoned her family to her restaurant. It’s a long time since they’ve been together and they brace themselves for an uncomfortable reunion: sister Maggie (Geraldine Moloney Judge) seems to know more than she’s letting on whilst head chef Josef (Carl Fowler) is naturally concerned about what the future may hold. Elder niece Jessica (Rachel Howard) has her own plans for the restaurant although sibling rivalries re-emerge with the appearance of sister Ruth (Josie Roberts), now masquerading under the name Sunrise, with her North American therapist, Tex (Louis Cashin Harris), in tow. With best laid plans thrown amok with the unexpected arrival of Stevie (Conor Burns) claiming to be a long-lost cousin, it appears nobody is safe as secrets from the past emerge and begin to unravel.
With simple staging, the restaurant scene is quickly established from the off, working well to introduce the array of characters and the inevitable tensions that ensue. A good use of props allows us to move to different places and spaces whilst relationship fractures continue to emerge, with strong performances from a talented cast who perfectly capture the idiosyncrasies of their respective characters making the unfolding drama easier to follow.
Coming in at around sixty minutes however, it is evident that there is simply not enough material to work with which results in the simmering tensions being too easily resolved which is a real shame because the premise is a good one and there is a lot to explore, that in the hands of a skilled director like Brown and the talent that this cast has to offer, would be a great watch.
One angle that felt overlooked is the obvious parallel in the relationship between the two sets of sisters – Annabelle and Maggie; Jessica and Ruth/Sunrise – which deserves to be explored further. Equally, rather than ‘tell’ us what happened all those years ago, perhaps incorporate some flashback sequences – with the younger sisters portraying the older ones – to ‘show’ us instead because the constant throughout all of this is the restaurant and its unchanged décor.
There is often a debate about the risk of padding when extending short pieces, yet I don’t see that as an issue here: there is much left unfulfilled and worthy of development that it could comfortably run to two hours including an interval and be all the more enjoyable for it and I would encourage Maginn to consider this.
The Cavalier Players are a local Liverpool rep theatre company creating brave original work.
Review Date: 16th May 2026
Star Rating: THREE