Review: Just Desserts at Theatre by the Lake

“…for anyone who enjoys a little bit of silliness and a good laugh…”

Just Desserts by Alan Ayckbourn and Jean McConnell, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

By Ken Powell

It is always a risk for amateur dramatics groups to attempt comedies. If the actors can’t deliver the punchlines well, the jokes fall flat. That is compounded if such groups attempt little-known or rarely performed comedies. There might be a damned good reason such pieces are not famous: they’re not funny. For that reason, amateurs will often stick to the big slapstick comedies that will guarantee laughs even if the acting is poor.

It would appear that Derwentwater Drama Group laugh at such issues and consider them challenges to overcome. Just Desserts is a trio of short plays that are not hugely known despite two of them being by Alan Ayckbourn (the other being by Jean McConnell). This could have all been rather ghastly but, of course, these actors are no rookies when it comes to taking on unusual plays. Many of them performed in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House last year and the triptych of obscure plays Love and Other Misunderstandings earlier this year. Both productions were excellent.

So, it should have been no surprise to me that I came out of Theatre by the Lake’s intimate Studio theatre with slightly sore ribs from all the laughing. While it is not unknown for me to be the only one in the room finding something funny, on this occasion it is safe to say everyone was giggling heartily throughout the plays. I’ll add that, to my amusement, you could also hear very clearly when ‘the penny dropped’ for the audience for at least one of the pieces, with gasps and “ohhhh”s almost halting the performers for a moment.

Well, let’s get to the specifics. All three plays focus on the twin themes of food and infidelity. Between Mouthfuls is set in a restaurant where two couples come for dinner independently but it transpires they are much more intimately acquainted. Cupboard Love sees two women taking a break from running in the park and find they both share the same taste in food and in men. The Kidderminster Affair sees two couples who are old friends at a barbecue together and a secret is revealed…sort of. All three plays were funny in their own right but, as the actors settled into their stride, the performances started well and ended hilariously.

Between Mouthfuls saw David Ross playing an exasperated waiter attempting to serve food to two bickering couples. We felt his pain. There were odd teething issues with lines but I’m sure they will diminish as the run continues. It wasn’t an easy opener as the action moves from one couple to the next. Paul Martin was particularly convincing as the obnoxious and lecherous husband and boss.

Cupboard Love needs to come with a health warning. By the time Jen Towns and Jane Armstrong had finished listing off reams of culinary delights, my tummy was positively rumbling and, after the show, I had to buy sweets at the counter to munch all the way home. Both actors were super as they went through a range of emotions and easily had the hardest job of the night as a two-hander with an awful lot of (food-related) lines to learn. Well done to both.

The Kidderminster Affair was absolutely the right choice to finish with. This was superbly performed by all four actors, with not a single fluffed line, and had us in fits of laughter. Shirley Muir was convincing as Lottie, the woman who realises her husband has been cheating on her, going from downtrodden and mousey to rather surprisingly sexy before…well, I’ll say no more about what happens next. Paul Davies played the very innocent Reggie, who really doesn’t have a clue what’s going on, so well that I think we all fell a little in love with him. Nigel Ellison, however, was the focus of our mirth as the inept and unfaithful husband who just wants to barbecue meat in peace and ends up regretting it.

I have to say that I loved seeing the community spirit of this drama group. The actors were stagehands for the pieces they didn’t perform in and all three directors – Jane Armstrong, Shirley Muir and Moira Rowlinson – played parts in one of the plays they didn’t direct. I like that team spirit attitude and think it embodies exactly what is good about community projects. If you want to join the Derwentwater Drama Group then they meet at the theatre every Thursday from 11am to 1.30pm. I’m sure you’ll get a warm welcome.

Bravo then, to all the performers who succeeded, yet again, in showing us plays we wouldn’t normally get a chance to see and giving us all a very lovely, enjoyable night. This is a set of plays for anyone who enjoys a little bit of silliness and a good laugh. There’s a good chance you’ll leave the theatre with aching bellies from the giggling, but you might just need a midnight snack to fill them when you get home. You have been warned.

Just Desserts plays at Theatre by the Lake until Saturday 17 October. Tickets are available here.

Ken Powell is chief editor for Northern Arts Review and is also a bestselling author and writer for various publications around the world. A former school teacher, he continues to write educational books along with fiction and travelogues. You can find all his books and various websites here including his popular TEDx talk about the Global Village. He lives with his family in a wonderfully isolated village in West Cumbria where he enjoys drinking tea, chatting with the birds and winding up his dog. You can support his work (or just buy him a coffee) here.