The Public Reviews Rating:

In And the Girls in Their Sunday Dresses, two women, (Hlengiwe Lushaba and Lesego Motsepe) find themselves waiting together in a queue. They’re not sure how long they are going to be waiting for and indeed, it no longer seems clear just how long they have already been waiting. But they just keep waiting in the hope they will eventually get their hands on the rice they are waiting to buy from the Government.

Lushaba and Motsepe provide strong, heartfelt and at times genuinely funny performances as an ageing prostitute and a cleaner brought together by common circumstance. The two characters are from contrasting backgrounds and the fact they may never have met if they hadn’t found themselves as neighbours in this never-ending queue is played upon nicely as they start to discover similarities in their lives.

The piece cleverly pulls together comedy, pathos and politics in a way other plays with a similar message aren’t always able to. It is largely due to the energy and believability of Lushaba and Motsepe who are able to seamlessly switch between clowning and genuine emotion. At times it was unclear exactly what the piece was trying to tell us as an audience. The time period was somewhat lost and It is never truly clear to the audience if this play (originally written in 1988) is set during Apartheid or if it has been updated to comment on modern day South Africa.

The use of audience interaction, song and brief comedic interludes such as a commercial for skin-lightening cream all add to the charm of this piece and despite a few little factual niggles (such as a Tesco carrier bag and a loaf of Warburtons…) this is a well performed and interesting piece of theatre. Well worth a look!

Runs until: 27^th August