Female-led farce ‘The Fiancée’ aiming to bring laughs, break tropes
Female-led farce ‘The Fiancée’ aiming to bring laughs, break tropes
Matt Olson
December 2, 2022
Photo credit: Rose (Jameela McNeil) confronts her sister Lucy (Ali Watson) about her multiple engagements during Persephone Theatre’s production of The Fiancée by Holly Lewis. The show runs until Dec. 18, 2022 (Supplied / Photo courtesy of Persephone Theatre).
Pulling off a farce is all about timing.
For Ali Watson, the lead in Persephone Theatre’s upcoming production of The Fiancée, that means the cast needs to be a “well-oiled machine” — one that can bring the laughs, but a machine nonetheless.
“Once all the pieces are put together, hilarity can ensue,” Watson said. “It’s like a recipe. If something is a little bit off in your measurements, the joke isn’t going to land properly … there’s all these different parts that make it work.
The Fiancée is a farce comedy that follows Lucy (Watson), a well-meaning girl who promised her hand in marriage to three different men heading off to the Second World War so they would have something to come home to. Coupled with her struggle to tell people “no,” and Lucy suddenly finds herself dealing with all three men returning home to their supposed fiancée on the same day — and Lucy is left struggling to make things right and keep her men apart.
Watson said the show isn’t very “deep” — but it is terribly funny.
