Short but (bitter)sweet, Tim Foley's fast-paced, tautly-written backstage drama The Goddess of Walnuts is a compelling piece of new writing. A simply staged two-hander exploring the complex relationship between aging stage siren Vivian Frey and her submissive dresser, Vicky, The Goddess of Walnuts ticks all the necessary boxes for cliche: an alcoholic past-her-prime stage diva, a put-upon dresser, the collision of fantasy and reality backstage. Yet for all this, The Goddess of Walnuts is bizarre and surreal enough to keep its subject matter fresh - it has more in common with Jean Genet's The Maids than it does with All About Eve - the dialogue snappy and polished enough to keep momentum going throughout.
At times, it's almost too polished - at times one wishes for a monologue or two to break up the expertly timed banter - but at its best, The Goddess of Walnuts is smart, funny, and just a little bit heartbreaking.
Perhaps the play's most striking feature is the rotating cast; each night, one audience member is instructed to choose which of the two actresses plays Vivian (and by extension, which Vicky). On the night I saw, Emma Taylor devoured the scenery as Vivian, it is a testament to the sheer bravura force of her performance that I cannot imagine the roles reversed. As Vivian, Taylor was at once brash and languid, kittenishly manipulative and roaringly larger-than-life. Given rather less to do, Cara Mahoney as Vicky nevertheless more than manages to hold her own, countering Vivian's exaggerated antics with soothingly subtle naturalism that - in the context of the show - makes her a believably effective adversary for the woman she both loves and despises.
At thirty minutes long, it goes by quickly - perhaps too quickly. But it's substantial and engaging enough to deserve a full house for those thirty minutes.
