Lynne Turner, Turner’s Tale
It was a busy June at the office – in addition to publishing the weekly Mount Forest and Arthur papers and the once-a-month West Grey Progress we have produced the official Durham Homecoming Souvenir issue, the Confederate Summer Fun Guide and the Arthur Fall Fair book. Add to the busyness the extended heat alerts and air conditioning that doesn’t quite reach back the hall as far as my office and, well, I needed a break.
A friend who recently lost her dog, her faithful companion of 14 years that was more like a second child than a pet, also needed a break.
So I played hooky from the office, she played hooky from her life, and we went to Drayton Thursday. First we sat in the shade out on the patio at The Chop House where we had a very good lunch, complete with a glass of pinot grigio and a decadent dessert each. Then we went to the Drayton Festival Theatre and spent two hours laughing out loud at ‘Perfect Wedding.’
A press release said, “With its larger-than-life characters and rib-tickling one-liners, ‘Perfect Wedding’ is the perfect escape during these hot and hazy days of summer.”
A truer statement has never been made. We came out of that theatre relaxed, light-hearted and still chuckling at some of the antics on stage.
Although Drayton has built its reputation for exceptional light-hearted summer theatre by presenting outrageous British farces, they aren’t always my favourites. I’m not always crazy about “the multi-door set design” with characters bursting “in an out as they try in vain to solve the tangled mess of lies and deception.” But ‘A Perfect Wedding’ was good. It was funny. The timing was spot on, thanks to Direcotr James Kall who is a real pro as he has proven in past productions. The antics of bewildered groom played by Darren Keay were hilarious, as was the “comical and oblivious chambermaid Julie” played by Gabi Epstein. Rounding out the cast perfectly were David Leyshon as the best man, Jackie Mustakas as the “other woman,” Josee Boudreau as the bride and Karen Wood as the future mother-in-law.
If you need a break from your busy day-to-day life, from your perhaps boring routine or from the summer heat, I would really recommend you make a trip to a ‘Perfect Wedding’ in Drayton. It runs through July 14 and limited tickets are still available. Since you’re going to a wedding without the gift a real wedding would require, in addition to the gift to yourself of the theatre tickets I would suggest you consider lunch or dinner on the patio at The Chop House. The hot fudge cake with vanilla ice cream is divine….
