STAGE 5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE @ LAUREL’S

Words: Tom Astley

The American cult hit play 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche is laying out a five-day feast at Laurel’s Theatre, Whitley Bay from Tuesday 22ndSaturday 26th August. Written in 2011, and set in middle-1950s, middle-America (peak kitsch in terms of aesthetic), the story focuses on the annual Quiche Breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein. Bitingly funny, witty, absurd and occasionally shocking, 5 Lesbians… uncovers repression in middle-America – a topic as depressingly relevant today as it was in the 1950s – whilst never missing a chance to get an outrageous laugh from the audience. The play also contrasts the acute anxiety over who will win the ‘best quiche in show’ award against the chronic anxiety of cold-war nuclear attack. And it is this clever pairing of the everyday with colossal global events that might offer a more British significance beyond the hilarity, shock value and double entendres. Which is not to diminish the importance of innuendos and humour, which the play promises in spades... and what could be more British than a good innuendo? The production also promises (or should that be ‘warns’) that there will be ample audience participation. So go as a group to be inducted as Sisters of the Society. www.laurelswhitley.co.uk

5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche is performed at Laurel’s, Whitley Bay from Tuesday 22nd-Saturday 26th August.

STAGE BILLINGHAM INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL OF WORLD DANCE @ VARIOUS VENUES

Words: Tom Astley

The Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance returns for the latest in a long and prestigious series of cultural events that promises something for everybody.

Taking ‘The Dance of Time’ and Salvador Dali’s melting clocks as the theme this year, the programme of events runs at a variety of venues across Teesside from Saturday 12thSunday 20th August, with a time-altering array of traditional and contemporary dance from across the globe.

Since the inaugural event in 1965 the festival has featured over 20,000 acts from 93 countries, and this year’s iteration continues to bring a vibrant array of performers to the region. This year’s celebration features artists and dancers from Ghana, Chile, Philippines, Mexico and Georgia, all invited to share a stage celebration. The festival’s real strength, as well as providing a showcase for this diverse, international talent, is in the intersections