The spaghetti-strewn finery of a New York dinner party is transformed into a scene of untold carnage in
A surreal string of gory machinations.
While their husbands are out on a job, the wives of seven Mafiosi gather for a dinner party. The fragile serenity of the evening does not last long, however, and soon the things turn nasty as the faux-friendly formalities are superseded by deep-seated resentments. Everyone, seems to have it in for someone else as ever more duplicitous plots and counterplots are revealed. Before long there’s more blood than bolognese on the crisp, white tablecloth.
Much of the show’s comedy comes from its farcical quality - the story manages to tread the delicate line between enjoyably confusing and irritatingly inscrutable in such a way as to have the audience giggling at the surreal events. Believability is not really a concern here and characters frequently soldier on through their bullet wounds with only minor inconvenience.
Despite some bad blocking and the slightly two-dimensional characters, the cast generally do a good job, pulling off the show’s vigorously fast paced script with a snappy, well-rehearsed ease. Particular credit goes to Emma Blacklay-Piech as Angie, the fiercely no-nonsense host of the dinner party, and to Rebecca Vaa as ‘Junior’, the much-dismissed teenage daughter of one of the Mafiosi.
A surreal string of gory machinations, The Wives of Others is an enjoyable, high-energy production that provides plenty of light amusement.
