AUNT ZELDA’S PAINTING. Amusing one-act play by Emily McClain. Directed by Judith Herberg. Presented by Milnerton Players, Milnerton Playhouse, Cape Town. SHEILA CHISHOLM attended the Thursday, 20 July preview. Three weekends until 5 August.
A close relative’s will is a sure guarantee for family squabbles to erupt and deep secrets to surface. So when Aunt Zelda, from Malmesbury, decrees her niece, Olive (Tania Lemme) as her executor, she leaves her with problems she never anticipated …
Aunt Zelda’s Painting begins with Olive, her layabout younger brother Max (Chad Emslie) and his pretty kittenish girlfriend Diana (newcomer Laura Singh) arriving at Aunt Zelda’s home to decide how to dispose of her household belongings.
After a fair amount of sibling acrimony, nudged along by Diana’s fluttering eyelashes and coy ways, Olive agrees to hire the services of Anthea (Beryl Eichenberger), local pawnbroker, who is also a second-hand dealer.
Anthea, in her exotic multi-hued flounces and matching shoes making her looking like a traditional Romani fortune-telling gypsy, is reluctant to conclude a deal – a transaction certainly not including an elusive, grumpy cat. However, after she and Zeke (Chris Doran), Anthea’s shifty “business” partner tour the house, her attitude subtly changes.
Suspiciously agreeable …
It goes from hesitancy to too suspiciously agreeable to purchase lock, stock and barrel. She even negotiates a price – but still not including THAT cat.
Well! the trio are not that easily taken in by Anthea’s geniality. And, as playwright Emily McClain’s title hints, Anthea and Zeke’s new attitude surrounds a painting neither Olive nor Max knew existed in Aunt Zelda’s house.
That’s the crux of this 55 minute romp divided into three short scenes. Director Judith Herbig has schooled her fivesome well, with special mention going to Eichenberger and Singh for their lively characterisations. Only two comments: at times the threesome movements were rather static. And for all the talk of the ‘clutter’ about the place, the attractive, immaculate set required a good deal more bits and pieces tossed about. None-the-less, Aunt Zelda’s Painting is a giggle.
What: Aunt Zelda’s Painting
Where and when: Milnerton Playhouse, Friday 8pm and Saturday 2.30pm and 8pm until 5 August 2023.
Tickets: www.milnertonplayers.co.za/bookings/Shows
WS
