Dramatic antidote for winter doldrums

GO AWAY: Janet (Maria Hinton) and Goldie (Rita Ann Penhale-Cashmore) meet while on a cruise - and do not hit it off.

What do a cruise, a wedding and a seaside jog have in common?

They are all excruciatingly awkward scenarios if one happens to meet a blabbermouth, a rival in love, and the woman who pinched your boyfriend from under your nose.

Terribly amusing for the outside observer, however.

The above delicate situations are unfolding on stage at Harlequin Theatre, with its mid-year production of Deckchairs - three one-act "conversation pieces" by UK dramatist Jean McConnell.

The plays, all with sets of two chairs, feature two female characters in a fraught exchange - mostly with one oblivious to the other's discomfort.

I feel Harlequin has been more adept at dramatic offerings than at comedy.

But these little playlets were sharply executed - each pairing of actors a flawless match, and the cast feeding the audience chuckle after chuckle.

The show opened with Cruise Missile, with the audience meeting Janet (Maria Hinton), a "perfectly ordinary" woman on her first cruise.

Just as she is about to relax, along comes Goldie (Rita Ann Penhale-Cashmore), an "old-hand", who proceeds to take Janet "under her wing" - bending her ear about the delights off the on-board line-dancing classes, the proper towels to use, and of flirting with the captain in a Carmen Miranda outfit.

Penhale-Cashmore did a wonderful job as the vexatious Goldie: with her garish outfits, well-timed insults and wicked sparkle in her eye, she relished every second - and her line-dancing "demonstration" went down a treat.

Hinton's Janet made a great foil, with her exasperated expressions and barely concealed umbrage.

Things took a more dramatic turn, with Remember Me, set at a backyard wedding.

Past flatmates Elizabeth (Janet Osborne) and Sarah (Carol Buck) cross paths amidst the festivities - and Sarah seizes the opportunity to confront her ex-best friend, who made off with her lover. Again, the actors were an excellent match - Buck's icy and acidic, yet beautifully sincere delivery, was the perfect contrast to Osborne's extravagant, booze-addled bitchiness.

The jewel in the crown came at the end, with the comedy Cupboard Love.

Joggers Jane (Cathy Mabey) and Peggy (Yvonne Way) bond over their love of cooking, and preparing meals for their "gentleman friends".

The cheap-shots start flying when the women discover they are, in fact, cooking for the same gentleman friend on alternate days.

Mabey and Way were the strongest pair of the night - with Mabey bringing a wonderful affectedness, not out of place on Absolutely Fabulous, to her role.

While Way let her "posh" accent slip into a Kiwi twang a few times, her delivery as the equally pretentious Peggy was spot-on - especially during her borderline erotic descriptions of her favourite dishes.