Dinner is an outrageous black comedy by Moira Buffini which premiered at the National Theatre in November 2002, leading to many revivals and a BBC dramatisation.
Dine at your own risk is the warning as Paige, the ‘rich bitch’ hostess has planned to celebrate the publication of her husband Lar’s best selling, psychology book, ‘Beyond Belief’. The table is immaculately set with glasses, cutlery, candles, plates as jazz music adds to the party ambience. Dressed in a stunning, slinky red gown, Paige is giving instructions to the waiter, ‘serve with grace and in silence,’ while Lars appears uncertain by the formal occasion, ‘You're a tad overdressed, my love’.
Their guests begin to arrive, Hal, a microbiologist and his wife Sian a well known TV newsreader and Wynne, a feminist Bohemian artist, whose boyfriend is unable to come. They mention the thick fog outside while Lars concurs, ‘I can’t see the pool house’, which neatly indicates their home is a grand mansion. Conversation veers between pseudo academic one-upmanship between the scientists and Sian asking Wynne if graffiti on loo doors is Art.
The waiter serves the first course, Primordial Soup, a thick green sludge which is ladled into each bowl, ‘celeriac, parsnip and algae,’ much to bewilderment of the guests. A sudden interruption when Mike arrives having crashed his van in the fog and asks to use a phone. While Paige brusquely orders him to leave, Lars welcomes him with a broad smile inviting him to stay, which unveils a hidden crack in their relationship. With a working class chip on his shoulder, Mike parodies the life of ‘rich people like you’, adding an intriguing pinch of spice to the menu. As a man with a van and devious smugness, who exactly is he?
The main course of Screaming Apocalypse of Lobster is served live for the guests to kill in boiling water with Dalí-esque surrealism. During moments of flagging conversation, Paige curtly and crisply announces "We need drinks" and as she gulps the wine like water, her pompous pretentiousness is layered with a growing sense of an ulterior motive. Entertainment time before dessert when guests are asked to play a kind of truth and dare game on the theme of murder and suicide.
Beautifully staged like an old master painting, the glamorously-dressed ensemble perfectly capture each cool, complex character, as ‘Dinner’ is served with superb realism and perfect pace; just a tendency to overplay scenes with heightened tone as the tension rises in chilling sinister mood. Centre stage, fiercely in control, Isabella Maunder portrays Paige with dark emotional insight and a vicious cruel streak akin to Lady Macbeth, her feelings slowly simmering to the boil.
Dagger-sharp dialogue peppered with sardonic wit, this is Theatre of the Absurd in its philosophical debate on social class, relationships and morality. Think: the dramatic punch of Pinter blended with the biting, brutal satire of Edward Albee and flamboyant manner of Peter Greenaway.
Showtimes:
12 – 24 August @ 17.35
Ticket prices: £7 (£6, £5)
Age guidance: 16+