Dinner at Seven-Thirty

William Yong, Lucy Rupert, Thomas Morgan Jones, Ron Kennel, Viv Moore, Hume Baugh and Andrya Huff. Photo by Dhalia Katz.

Words and movement come together beautifully in Theatre Rusticle's Dinner at Seven-Thirty, a physical memory play inspired by Virginia Woolfe's 1931 novel The Waves, now playing at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

The piece consists of a series of inner monologues told by a group of six friends from their school days to their late adult life. We first meet them riding a speeding train to a reunion dinner by the sea. There's The Late Man (Hume Baugh), The Woman with Stones in her Pocket (Andrya Duff), The Man in the Suit (Thomas Morgan Jones), The Man with the Umbrella (Ron Kennell), The Woman from the Country (Viv Moore), The Woman from the City (Lucy Rupert), and The Hero, a seventh friend who was lost at war. Each is distinctly individual, yet dependent on the group in the way lifelong friends often are.

Featuring brilliant yellow-and-neutral-coloured '30s-inspired costumes by R. Kelly Clipperton, highlighted by Michelle Ramsay's sepia-toned lighting design, the non-traditional story follows the group through fun and games, love, heartache, envy and grief—memories that bind them together and define them as they move about the garden walls of Lindsay Anne Black's idyllic outdoor set. 

Director Allyson McMackon gets fine performances out of the energetic cast, combining challenging text, movement, dance and serene visuals with wistful songs such as Cole Porter's "It's De-Lovely." Delightful.

Dinner at Seven-Thirty runs until October 20 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Visit buddiesinbadtimes.com for more information and to buy tickets.