Das Abschieds-dinner

4
Reviewer's Rating

What’s the perfect way to end a friendship? A bottle of wine from the year of their birth? A dinner with their favorite food and music? After hearing of an aquaintance’s method of giving farewell dinners to end unwanted friendships, Clotilde and Pierre Lecoeur (Caroline Kiesewetter and Ralf Stech) decide to give it a try to end a long-time friendship with the eccentric Antoine (Stefan Schneider) and Béa….only they don’t know the purpose of the goodbye dinner. From the start the plan falls apart, as first Béa can’t make it and long-held pet peeves and annoyances strain the evening.

Das Abschieds-dinner perhaps does not give as much insight into the dynamics of relationships as advertised, being a bit more caricature than thoughtful exploration of the tensions of friendships grown old. But nevertheless, the comedy is sharp and all three actors manage to take characters that could on paper be archetypal and breathe life, humor, sympathy and exasperation into them. With a couch center stage used as a primary blocking element, the show risks being physically static, especially in the first act where relations are still relatively calm and polite. However, even sitting three on a couch for an extended period of time, the dynamic body and facial expressions of the cast add a fluidity and depth to the staging that breaks up the monotony of the straight line. While my own personal dinner parties are not quite as exciting (nor do they included 2,000 euro guilt wine, unfortunately) this is the perfect show to live vicariously through the ups and downs of friendships, uneaten food, weird music, and lots of laughter.

 

Was ist der perfekte Weg eine Freundschaft zu beenden? Eine Flasche Wein aus dem Jahr als alles begann? Ein gemeinsames Abendessen samt Lieblingsgericht und schöner Musik? Genau das versuchen , Clotilde and Pierre Lecoeur herauszufinden als sie sich entschließen, die langjährige Freundschaft zu der ekzentrischen Antione und Béa zu beenden… jedoch sind sie die einzigen die von diesem besonderen Anlass wissen. Von Anfang an läuft alles schief: Béa schafft es nicht zum essen und langehegte Macken und Ärgernisse isses strapazieren den Abend.