Everlasting Cake is a show set in an elderly care home, where the ‘inmates’, as they call themselves, eat horrendous food, sit in their dedicated armchairs, and do the same things each day, under the watchful eyes of owners Derek (Jolyon Houghton) and Faye (Lisa Varty). Suddenly, a new resident, Janet (Wendy Megeney), arrives, who wants nothing more than to be elsewhere. She befriends her roommate, Elsie (Sarah Morrison), and the two go on a midnight stroll of rebellion, where they discover a recipe for a magical 'everlasting cake'.
Then begins a rather fanatical second act. We witness the ‘inmates’ fulfil their lifelong dreams, as we enter a ‘show’ that includes a drunk bartender, a suited host, and, well, a stripper. Oh, and don't forget a dancing Mrs Pickes (Klara Wit), the resident ginger (puppet) tomcat, and her mouse friends. The second act seemed somewhat misplaced, in the rather ‘normal’ but heartwarming first part, with the blooming friendship between Janet and Elsie, the group banter, and the day-to-day ongoings between the inmates. Suddenly, everything turns a bit over the top, and while it definitely brought the themes to life and was funny, I wonder if more of this should have been edged into the first part. The slapstick comedy scene with Derek and Faye, and the dancing cat and mice, felt a bit unnecessarily ‘weird’ in my opinion.
However, the back-and-forth jokes and playfulness between the ‘inmates,’ particularly in the first part, really brought the personalities of the characters to life. The comedy, while sometimes feeling forced or over the top as previously mentioned, is still brilliantly woven into the dialogue, and had the audience chuckling countless times.
Designed by Bron Blake, the staging was simple but effective, with a row of chairs mostly at the centre stage, where in most scenes in the first part, the characters would sit chatting while having their meals. The doorways behind this were clever too, especially in scenes of Mr and Mrs Hook coming in and out, adding a mystique to the antics going on in the kitchen that we could hear, but not see.
I liked the framing of the play, with young Elsie (Lauren McGee) narrating at the beginning. She addressed the audience, which created a two-dimensional element to the play; we were watching a ‘show’ (or montage of a past life) in a show. While she also sang beautifully, the songs did feel quite random in conjunction with the plot.
Everlasting Cake was actually written by an esteemed Questors Theatre member, Dan Dawes. It was commissioned during the pandemic in 2020 and was previously performed in 2021 in Portsmouth as part of MAST Mayflower Studios ‘Festival of Loveliness.
Dawes’ play collides live jazz, dancing, and puppetry while intertwining its comedy with themes of World War Two, aging, friendship, and mortality. Even with the few downfalls of flat comedy and certain parts being personally over the top, Everlasting Cake is still very much an entertaining, heartwarming production that is worth a watch.
Everlasting Cake is on at Questors Theatre Studio until 30th May.
Review: Cara-Louise Scott-Lapish