As we sit in the bar, overlooking the hallowed turf of the Sussex County Cricket Ground, none of us really knows what might happen during the next two hours. We know that we have been invited to a “wedding reception”, but we have never met the bride or groom!
The reason that we are completely in the dark is that the producers of the world famous Faulty Towers Dining Experience, Interactive Theatre International, are premiering their brand new dinner show, The Wedding Reception, at this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival.
The wedding reception is for Will and Kate who actually married a couple of weeks ago, when they eloped to Gretna Green. They felt that they had to do this, as the plans for their quiet wedding were getting totally out of hand, due to the interference from the Bride’s mother Lynn, who decided that, as they share names with a certain royal couple, they should have an equally impressive wedding.
As we wait for the reception to begin, Marvin the Wedding Planner introduces himself, but very soon has to dash off to deal with the first of many “issues” that crop up throughout the night. We also meet Lynn, the Bride’s Mother (a Lancashire lady with high hopes and an even higher hat!) and Ricky, the best man, who starts a sweepstake on the length the Groom’s speech.
Marvin returns to take us through to the dining room and, while we are eating the delicious starter course, Lynn and her husband Ray invite selected members of the audience to come and stay at their Bed and Breakfast establishment in Lancashire, a place where they like to share their hot tub and their love of all things “swing” – if you know what I mean!
Soon after, Will and Kate arrive to the sound of the wedding march and are showered with the confetti that was conveniently placed on every table, and it is their arrival that triggers some of the tensions that come to light during the main course.
It would be very unfair of me to reveal how the evening unfolds but what I can say is this, the four actors who take on the roles of the nine, very individual, characters who appear in the show are just brilliant. Each of the characters is developed perfectly and, despite the chaos and quick changes, the definition of each character is never blurred and they remain totally believable throughout the production.
Danielle Briers takes on three roles as the Bride, Kate, the waitress, Vicky, and even the Groom’s Mother, Val – switching accents, personalities and clothes without hesitation and David Tremaine gives his all as the Groom, Will, and also the wonderfully camp and emotional wedding planner, Marvin.
Becky Norris is superb as the Bride’s Mother, Lynn but even better as Will’s neurotic Auntie Marge, a woman on the edge, who married for money and relies on her “herbal” tablets for support. The fourth member of the troupe is Ben Hood who is very believable as “swing” lover Ray but who excels as Ricky, the best man, and displays an incredible talent for being able to belch on demand, frequently, loudly and with great enthusiasm!
As with all interactive shows like this, it is very important that the audience are happy to join in, particularly as, without notice, some guests are required to take on the roles of Bridesmaids, the wedding cake maker and the wedding dress designer and, just like the Faulty Towers Dining Experience which comes to the Brighton Fringe later this month, this is totally immersive theatre – the more you join in with it, the greater the experience and the more fun you will have.
The cast work incredibly hard to ensure that the audience has a great time and they use the fact that the show is largely improvised to appeal to everyone which is not too difficult as the characters in the show, although brand new, are all very familiar to us because, somewhere in every family, they exist – and a wedding reception like this is always a great time to bring out the very worst in them!
***** Five Stars