By Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon
Cronulla Arts Theatre
14th February – 21 March, 2020
Most marriages bare at least the pretence of a HEA – a Happily Ever After – but not in Bernard and Jacqueline’s case. Their HEA is more like Hilariously Entangled Adultery in Cronulla Arts Theatre latest production, Don’t Dress for Dinner.
Playwright, Marc Camoletti, draws on tried and true tropes of farce with a convoluted storyline built on deception, cross purposes and mistaken identities to keep the marriage of Bernard and Jacqueline from foundering. This slick and pacey production boasts strong comedic performances and flawlessly delivered slapstick from its talented ensemble cast.
Bernard (Gary Clark) adds sauce to the lie surrounding Suzette (Meili Bookluck) to appease his wife Jacqueline (Margareta Moir) 
Robert (Michael Barlow)and Suzette (Meili Bookluck) make a clandestine escape attempt
Bernard (Gary Clark) is married to Jacqueline (Margareta Moir) but is having an affair with Suzanne (Rachele Edson); Robert (Michael Barlow), Bernard’s closest friend, is secretly having an affair with Jacqueline; Bernard presses Robert to fake a relationship with Suzanne so that he has a cover story while they all spend a social night together; Suzette (Meili Bookluck), the hired cook, is mistaken for Suzanne by Robert and is employed to pretend to be his lover; Suzanne, clueless as a cook, is manoeuvred into the kitchen as if she is the late arriving chef; and George (Robert Hill), Suzette’s jealous, strong-arm husband, won’t let any man stand if he suspects them of cheating with his wife.
Conspirators Suzette (Meili Bookluck), Robert (Michael Barlow) and Suzanne (Rachele Edson) 
Suzette (Meili Bookluck) goes toe to toe with wife, Jacqueline (Margareta Moir)
While safe-keeping his marital bond Bernard tries desperately to throw suspicion from himself while orchestrating to somehow, somewhere in his house, keep his assignation with Suzanne. Jacqueline has a similar motive with the added complication of having to endure the threat of Suzette’s position with Robert.
Do you follow? Don’t worry if you don’t, neither do the characters in this tangled web of deception. Every time they stop to make sense of it all another thread is spun.
In a production built on big comedic performances, Bookluck’s plucky Suzette steals the show. Edson’s sultry Suzanne is portrayed with intellect so this beautiful bombshell never deteriorates into caricature. Moir never disappoints – Jacqueline’s every thought is translated in the plasticity of her facial expressions. The verve in the energetic exchanges between Clark’s Bernard, Barlow’s Robert and Suzette carry the pace and the humour. Hill, a newcomer to ATC delivers George with just the right enthusiasm.
Director Tom Richards and Assistant Director, Arianne Hough offer a very entertaining night out at the theatre – the laughs are on a roll throughout. It’s a lot of fun. Highly recommended.
Don’t Dress For Dinner is playing at the Cronulla School of Arts, 6 Surf Road, Cronulla, until 21 March, 2020.
Book tickets online artstheatrecronulla.com.au or phone 9523 2779
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