After Dinner is the funniest show I have seen at 16th Ave Theatre.
There. I've said it.
It does so many things well. The script is very clever and the actors deliver it perfectly. The bombast, the absurd, the subtle, thesilly, the sad, the heart-felt. It is all in there. Some of the one-liners with have you actually laughing out loud, not just a quiet LOL.
Plus, what the actors do without words is a real strength of the performance. During the show, you are watching two tables and at times, one is full of conversation, while the other is silent. The acting skills really come to the fore in the silences. It is beguiling to wonder what the silent table will do as they eavesdrop on the chatty table.
This hilarious comedy covers love, sex, death, and friendship. Sex gets a lot of stage time and really propels the show's comedy. Monika's tirade about her late husband's clumsy sexual advances grabs the show and launches it new comedic heights. If there is a standout performance, this is it.
That is not to diminish everything else going on. For instance, it serves to highlight the power of subtlety, especially when the two men, Stephen and Gordon, drunkenly discuss their romantic inadequacies. It is delightfully detailed and very, very funny. Their love lives are a flop. This show is definitely not.
