At The Wake Review – Herald Theatre

The programme declares it ‘deliciously inappropriate’, and I didn’t need much more encouragement than that to take my wine, take my seat, and enjoy the show that is Victor Rodger’s At The Wake, at the Herald Theatre.

The play is a hilarious, heartfelt, tongue-in-cheek romp of a thing, following three characters hailing from three generations of a family gathered to mourn their mother, daughter, and estranged partner, respectively.

Lisa Harrow stars as Joan, the raucous, foul-mouthed, melodramatic grandmother to Taofia Pelesasa’s Robert, half Samoan, gay, and just home from New York for his mother’s funeral after a battle with cancer. The two shine in their roles, with Harrow absolutely owning the show. Her presence on stage is magnetic, and she has the audience in the palm of her hand throughout the nearly two hours she is treading the boards. Alternately risqué, tender, brash and mournful, she is larger than life and a joy to behold.

At the Wake - Taofia Pelesasa, Lisa HarrowAt the Wake – Taofia Pelesasa, Lisa Harrow

Pelesasa is more than a match for Harrow, and plays brilliantly opposite her with an emotional, endearing presence. The opening exchange between Joan (onstage) and Robert (in the wings) discussing whether or not to throw dog shit onto her dreadful South African neighbour’s lawn has the audience simultaneously cringing and howling in laughter from the get-go.

The familiar face of Robbie Magasiva joins the story partway through, embodying a less-familiar humble and hesitant persona than we are used to as Robert’s absent father, Tofilau (or ‘Toffee Pop’ as Joan disparagingly refers to him), turns up for the funeral. There is no love lost between the matriarch and the man who left her daughter alone and pregnant at 16, and the fact that Tofilau has since found God and straightened out only enrages Joan more. Caught in the middle, Robert struggles to play peacemaker as we move to the wake itself. The dialogue as the three sit at a table with an expensive bottle of whiskey and a plate of cheap sausage rolls is witty and sharp and poignant in turns.

As the story unfolds we move from belly laughs at every turn to a moodier, darker tone as sobriety fades and family secrets, long kept, rise to the surface. The audience went quiet, and I spied more than one wiping away the odd tear.

Director Roy Ward has done a stellar job bringing out such strong, visceral performances from the play’s three stars (each of whom utterly deserves that title) and Rodger’s excellent writing.

The irreverence, hilarity, on-point cultural jibes and emotional journey that ‘At The Wake’ offers were a joy to watch.

At The Wake will be at the Herald Theatre until 6 December.

Reviewed by Natalie Ridler

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