Context is everything in The Downtown Theatre Project’s sold-out show
Prepare to have your understanding of the word “quiche” forever transformed by The Downtown Theatre Project’s rendition of 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche. The few moments where this play isn’t soaked with subtext, or the audience isn’t navigating numerous nuances, its overt humour — and at times — shocking charades, will leave the audience laughing out loud when not smiling slyly.
Following the lives of five seemingly ordinary women in the 1950s at the Annual Quiche Breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, these “widows” (a euphemism for lesbian in this situation) all share a passionate, and perhaps even fanatical, love of quiche. What makes quiche an object of celebration for these ladies, is that it is the result of two or more eggs coming together in an act of beauty, and so the egg is celebrated by the gathering as the true backbone of society. Needless to say, the mention of meat of any kind is forbidden; especially taboo is the suggestion that it intermingles with an egg inside these recipes — and only those seeking expulsion from the gathering would dare utter the word “sausage.”
The audacity of the play does not end there, nor was it even limited within the stage. In their zealous championing of the virtues of quiche, these widows were wont to walk amongst the audience to talk to — and at times, berate — certain “extra” members of the gathering. Each audience member was given a pre-written name tag before the start of the show. One particular audience member who was known as Marjory, was consistently ridiculed by the cast for not bringing a quiche.
In fact, this reporter (given the name tag Virginia during the show) had received a very public comment from Miss Wren Robin (played by Denise Gismondi), a senior officer of the society, regarding his facial hair, perhaps outing him as an imposter widow. Did the editors of The Ontarion send this reporter on a doomed assignment, only to laugh from their ivory tower? Only time, and this reporter’s next assignment, will reveal the truth.
The show’s director, Jen Barson, credits the success of 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche to its underlying morals.
“Despite the fact that the situation seems absurd, these characters are very serious about their societal norms,” Barson said. “As we can see, they’re constantly adhering to the standards of their own gathering; they are also conforming to the standards of society at large. Eventually, we see these women peel away these norms, and enter a safe space where they can reveal their truth to themselves, and to each other.”
The revelation that these ladies were not widows, but were in fact lesbians, was a key note of the play, and one of the most exciting in the performance. Facades faded away and truth tore through in an uncontrollable eruption, as the audience was finally released from the mountain of tense, rigid subtext which had been building up all along. The final moments of the play ended with catharsis, a bawdy laugh, and finally, relief.
5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche played six sold-out shows at The Making-Box from March 6 to 10.
Feature photo by Ryan Williams