Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert.

The entrée was as kitsch as a pumpkin scone at a nouvelle cuisine bistro:- the cast handing out Anzac biscuits and plastic Australian flags as the audience took their seats, whilst the very excellent band and back-up singers repeated energetically a 4 bar riff of a song called 1988. (The Anzac biscuits would not have passed Margaret’s test….she insists they should be crispy, but they were soft….and delicious!) It’s Bi-Centennial year and we’re discovering who we really are. My heart sank…so it was to be one of THOSE shows….self consciously Ozzie…complete with oys?!

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert is a banquet of entertainment; a triumph of tantalising tastes beautifully cooked by Directors Bryce (Clever Bunny) Ives and Nathan Gilkes from a recipe by Master Chef Doug Macleod, with a sauce by Yuri Worontschak, and served by a fabulous cast full of energy and commitment for their work; something we don’t see nearly enough of in theatre these days. It may, or may not, have anything to do with our Living National Treasure’s real life, but I don’t care. Every course tastes so delicious, I don’t need to know how it’s cooked.

Cooking is always something that should be done with passion. So is producing a show. They’re both creative processes, and the result of both should be a well stuffed and fully satisfied diner when the feast is over….. and we were all so sated that most of us passed on the gorgeous oysters on offer afterwards. I don’t need to eat for a week!

Doug MacLeod’s script is the right combination of familiar gags and original witticisms. His lyrics are sometimes cheesy, but they work. It’s all a bit like a good old fashioned prawn cocktail with a dash of chilli in the dressing! “Margaret” sings of her recipe for life  …”Have a good time – misbehave; Don’t put eggs in the microwave.” There’s a fabulous homage to life in the Rocks “La Vie Boheme” a marvellous ensemble number called “We All Like Jam” when Margaret is called to help “sell” a Behemoth of sugar and a great number called The Margaret Fulton Book as well as some touching ballads.

Bryce and Nathan understand how important casting is, and the five main ingredients for this sumptuous meal are as fine as you can get. Amy Lehpamer is a delicious Margaret, a feisty woman who knows where’s she going and mostly controls her own destiny, except in affairs of the heart. With a fabulous voice and charismatic stage presence we believe every word she says, even though she’s physically nothing like Ms Fulton. Josh Price is a terrific character actor (with a great pair of legs) who is an asset to any production. He brings great individuality to each of the characters he plays and is excellent vocally throughout. Zoy Frangos is a terrific all rounder with the visual appeal of a high calorie dessert, and touches the audience as Michael, who truly loves Margaret to the point of stalking her! Zoe McDonald is both poignant and commanding as Margaret’s departed mother, who keeps her centred. She particularly shines in a delightful number about Margaret’s men – “Decorative, Elegant and Useless.” But it’s Laura Burzacott who adds a little extra sauce, and after dinner mints, and just steals the show as Bea, Margaret’s friend who starts as a “Lady of the Night” before becoming a respectable air hostess in one of the funniest sequences of the entire show. She has a fabulous sense of comic timing.

Extra cherries on the cake are the terrific kitchen set by Andrew Bellchambers, the excellent sound design by Marcello Lo Ricco (complementing the range of fabulous voices) and the tasty lighting by Scott Allan.

Theatre is first and always about entertainment. It doesn’t need millions of dollars thrown at it – and the proof of this pudding is in the eating. Go hungry – and leave full and satisfied.

Coral Drouyn

Images: Zoy Frangos, Zoe McDonald, Josh Price, Amy Lehpamer and Laura Burzacott & Zoy Frangos, Amy Lehpamer, Laura Burzacott and Josh Price. Photographer: Gerard Assi.