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The characters (Bride, Groom, their parents and a Best Man) were all played enthusiastically by brilliant character actors - highlights being Lynne the mother of the bride with her diet of ‘peanuts, biscuits and gin’ and the best man for embracing the age old tradition of nudity at family gatherings.
The piece was thoroughly surreal in its immersive qualities, fully exploiting the ‘I know no-one and now have to sit on a table with strangers’ value of a family wedding. In hindsight, I wish I didn’t go by myself as the mother of the bride spent much of her free time persistently trying to set me up with a lovely Danish man who was also flying solo. Our tables seated eight and promoted inter-guest nattering – something that became a lot easier a few glasses of wine down. I have not been privy to immersive theatre this effective since Punchdrunk, however The Wedding Reception cleverly relies on context and familiarity as opposed to flashy set design to create this experience.
The characters (Bride, Groom, their parents and a Best Man) were all played enthusiastically by brilliant character actors - highlights being Lynne the mother of the bride with her diet of ‘peanuts, biscuits and gin’ and the best man for embracing the age old tradition of nudity at family gatherings. The story was full of twists and turns, with one-liners being delivered with aplomb – particularly from Rebecca Norris who played the Mother of the Bride and the Aunt of the Groom. This thoroughly surreal theatrical experience was not without its flaws – one being that the price of £39 is fairly steep for a show that doesn’t seem too far from the realms of amdram – however it was a remarkably clever and funny piece of theatre which is well worth a watch.
