Review: Everlasting Cake, The Questors Theatre

I have a problem with cake, I must admit. For me, a portion of cake is the entire cake. You can see why I was tempted by the premiere of Everlasting Cake by Dan Dawes, at the Studio in The Questors Theatre. The prospect of a story centred on a magical everlasting cake that promises to make dreams come true for the residents, or “inmates” as they call themselves, of a bleak care home sounds thoughtful, funny and gently whimsical. Unfortunately, Dawes throws so many ingredients into the mix that the resulting concoction becomes impossible to digest.

The care home is run by pantomime villains Derek and Faye, who terrorise residents with inedible meals sprinkled with cigarette ash. Jolyon Houghton’s Derek appears to channel Blakey from On the Buses, complete with clownish insecurity and exaggerated comic menace. It’s played for laughs, but the underlying menace is, in fact, deeply sad. Elsewhere, the home is inhabited by a gigantic Bagpuss-like cat puppet whose presence foretells death for anyone unfortunate enough to receive a cuddle. By the end of the first scene he’s already abruptly seen off one of the main characters. By Act Two, the cat is chasing an increasing number of Clangers-esque mice around the stage. The story is narrated, somewhat paradoxically, by a younger version of one of the central characters, who occasionally breaks into songs that bear little or mostly no relation to the plot. If all this sounds utterly unpalatable, you would only be half right.

Buried beneath the chaos is a genuinely tender and empathetic exploration of ageing, loneliness and the failures of institutional care. Much of the first act, stripped of its more bizarre embellishments, functions as a thoughtful ensemble drama populated by recognisable and believable people. Monty (John Dobson), George (Derek Stoddart), Harriet (Annie Harries), Patricia (Patricia O’Brien), William (Anthony Curran) and Elsie (Sarah Morrison) all feel grounded in reality and utterly authentic. The story is effectively set in motion late in Act One with the arrival of feisty Janet, played with charismatic verve by Wendy Megeney. All of their stories are engaging from the outset and Dawes’s writing demonstrates real warmth and observational skill whenever he allows himself to sit within this single genre.  

However, the supposedly central premise of the everlasting cake itself barely arrives until the close of Act One. By then, the audience is still trying to understand what sort of play this is. Act Two only compounds the confusion. Storylines scatter in every direction, tonal control evaporates and ideas are no sooner introduced than abandoned. Comedy, fantasy, social realism and musical interludes all compete for attention. At the risk of overworking the metaphor, this is a cake that refuses to rise. At well over two hours, Everlasting Cake ultimately lives up to its title in entirely the wrong way. Realisation of the inmates’ dreams, which should feel like a joyous celebration, falls flat.

That said, this remains an ambitious piece of original writing, performed by an amateur company willing to take risks with difficult material. There is clear talent here, particularly within the older ensemble, whose grounded and compassionate performances repeatedly hint at a far stronger play struggling to emerge from beneath the clutter. Nevertheless, as someone who can eat a lot of cake, tonight I learned that it really is possible to have too much of it.

Written and directed by Dan Dawes
Lighting designed by Robyn Backhouse and Andrew Whatcoat
Sound designed by Dan Dawes and Chloe Park
Costumes designed by Juliette Demoulin and Jenny Richardson
Set designed by Bron Blake

Everlasting Cake plays at The Questors Studio Theatre until Saturday 30 May