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Dinner for One
James – Wilson Dunster and Miss Sophie – Elize Cawood
Directed by Andrè Stolz
Also known as The 90th Birthday, the cult classic ‘Dinner for One’ is a comedy sketch written for the theatre in the 1920’s.
A German television station recorded a live performance in 1963.
This comical play subsequently went on to become the most frequently repeated TV programme ever - according to the Guinness Book of Records 1995.
Note that the plot has nothing to do with New Year's Eve, as is often incorrectly stated. There is a "Happy New Year" toast, but this is purely a reference to Miss Sophie's anniversary.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“From the outset we decided not to be overly influenced by the original film but to revisit the script and give our own interpretation of the stage directions and familiar dialogue. We wanted to make the characters as real and truthful as possible without losing the eccentric madness of the piece.
What gave me endless pleasure was to see Wilson and Elize creating (in a farce lasting only 20 minutes) two characters each with a wide emotional spectrum. It has been an absolute honour working with them.”
Our grateful thanks to Hollywood Costumes for sponsoring costumes and props.
‘Dinner for One’ is ideal for Corporate functions, Birthday parties, end-of-year functions - in fact any occasion that calls for celebration.
Dinner for One, Too ...
James – Elize Cawood and Miss Sophie – Wilson Dunster
Directed by Johan Engelbrecht
Our intentions with doing a second version (or spoof) of ‘Dinner for One’ have been firstly, to set ourselves a different challenge by reversing the roles – i.o.w. – for Wilson to play Miss Sophie, and for Elize to play the butler, James, without turning it into a ‘Drag-show’.
Secondly, we wanted to South Africanise it, and thirdly, we wanted to have a really good time doing it. The plot is identical – it remains a slapstick jol.
The classic version is so well-known, the audience knows exactly what to expect, but with Dinner for One Too… we’ve played around a bit and taken some liberties.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Working on 'Dinner for One Too…' was an enormous challenge and pleasure from start to finish. Without diverting from the original script, we set out to recreate the classic version of Dinner for One, by setting it locally and giving it a true South African flavour. The reversal of the roles - Elize Cawood portraying James, the 'plaasjapie' and Wilson Dunster playing the 'English Lady' - in itself demanded a constant re-think and re-evalution of the characterisations.With the virtuoso talents of both Elize and Wilson, I believe we as a team have created a new, fresh and credible spoof that could be as popular as the original. Constant fun was had by all.
AUDIENCE VIEWS of LIVE SHOW!
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