Vivian Penmark’s “Parlour Games”
Vivian Penmark’s “Parlour Games”
By Kathryn Davis
Carbon Productions
Brown Venue, Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival</strong>
What makes the perfect woman? In “Parlour Games,” it’s a combination of House, Husband, Children, Cooking and Etiquette. Call it fashioned, but that combination still makes enough people happy to keep society going. Mrs. Vivian Penmark (Kathryn Davis) interacts with the audience – tying up the guys, using virgin’s blood to soften the hands of the girls, and passing out prizes for their inconvenience. She offers enough world weary information to prepare any young lady for adult life in the suburbs or the Country Club.
Most of her tips were thrifty and useful. Using a vodka spritz to eliminate smoke smells, applying lemon and cucumber as beauty products, and easily removing baby by-product stains with peroxide made good sense. The section on using cyanide to quietly kill off offensive men at bars was less so, and her Garbage Nazi tirade reminds us why Home Owners Associations are a double edge sword. “Parlour Games” off beat tupperware party atmosphere serves as a timely introduction to the Modern Woman for old fashioned young men.
This show is presented as part of the 17th Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival. Information on times, tickets, and venue location my be found at http://OrlandoFringe.org/</a>