What do lesbians, quiches and atomic bombs have in common? Seemingly nothing at all yet in Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder’s play 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, they somehow come together and through a series of absurd and tragicomic events, audiences learn that the quiche is a mighty thing and that the egg is to respected.
Exploring a heavy dose of womanhood, the play – which is actually written by men – continues in Limassol and Nicosia this month in a local production by MITOS Centre of Performing Arts. Directed by Evita Ioannou, part of theYard.Residency.21. programme, this Cypriot adaptation is the first time the play is presented on the island.
Performed in Greek with its next shows in Limassol on December 10-12, the play obviously has an all-female cast (Nayia Anastasiadou, Elena Kallinikou, Loukia Pieridou, Niovi Charalambous and Yiolanda Christodoulou). Later in the month, on December 17 – 20, the play will move from the Old Vinegar Factory to Wherehaus 612 for performances in Nicosia.
The women of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein’s meet in a church basement, which is also a bomb shelter, for the 1956 annual quiche breakfast competition. Their motto is ‘no men, no meat, all manners’. The five women, all self-described as widows, gather every year for a quiche competition. They all share a rather unusual passion for quiche, they love it more than anyone else who says they ever loved quiche.
The much-anticipated annual competition though is interrupted when a nuclear explosion destroys the outside world. Possible everyone besides these five women dies, as they are safe and sound in the church basement/ bomb shelter. Trapped in the basement, they come face to face with their fears and their sexual identity. As the plot unravels, it becomes clearer that 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is parody of social fears and sexual repression, a black comedy with numerous absurdist elements. All for the love of quiche.
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche
Andrew Hobgood’s and Evan Linder’s play in a local production directed by Evita Ioannou. Presented by MITOS Centre of Performing Arts. December 3-5 and 10-12. Old Vinegar Factory, Limassol. December 17-20. Wherehaus 612, Nicosia. 8.30pm and 6pm on Sundays. In Greek. €12. Tel: 97-831189
