Review by Trish Francis
Bill (Heath Trebilcock) makes a big mistake at his stag party and wakes up in the honeymoon suite, on the morning of his wedding, with a mysterious woman, Judy (Ellen Ferguson). With the help of his best man, Tom (Leighton Vogt), Bill tries to cover up the fact that he cheated on his fiancée. Unfortunately for Bill, but luckily for the audience, hilarious chaos occurs.
In Perfect Wedding, Robin Hawdon has written a clever, relatively timeless farce come love story. Although better known for his play Don’t Dress for Dinner, Perfect Wedding is a fast paced, well written comedy that, in good hands, provides for a laugh out loud, highly entertaining night out. Luckily, director Sue Wylie rises to the challenge. Wylie has assembled a talented cast who keep the action moving swiftly despite the often intricate dialogue. The physical comedy is used just enough to add to the farcical nature of the piece without feeling awkward or too contrived.
Trebilock is a perfectly befuddled Bill, with endearing confusion, and increasing frenzy as he tries to remember the events that led to his predicament and to rescue his imminent wedding from inevitable disaster. As best friend Tom, Leighton Vogt is a little stilted to begin with but quickly gains confidence and delivers as the put upon best man. His growing mania is well controlled and the range of emotions well expressed, resulting in one of the best performances of the evening.
The true show stealer is Zanny Edhouse, as the unfortunate chambermaid, Julie. Caught unwittingly in the unfolding drama surrounding the nuptials, she fluctuates between mild amusement to absolute disgust at the insanity she encounters in the hotel room. Her sassy attitude, range of facial expressions and sharp comic timing are a delight and she was an audience favourite.
Judy is a gentler character and Ellen Ferguson successfully captures the nuances of the regretful instigator of much of the trouble that ensues.
Charlotte Batty is suitably commanding as the unfortunate bride-to-be Rachel with growing perplexity at the unfolding events. Megan Dansie rounds out the cast as the appropriately caricatured yet somewhat vague Mother of the Bride, Daphne.
The set is excellent, costumes well designed and all technical aspects as one generally expects from the Adelaide Rep. Well done all.
This is an easy going, light hearted, well performed piece which is well worth the effort of braving the cold and venturing out. If laughter is the best medicine, this is just what the doctor ordered.