Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Pauline Daniels, Suzanne Collins, Andy Ford, Lynn Francis, Emma Lisi.

Comfort food, it’s there to get us through hardship and pain, the long cold lonely nights when perhaps our will is at its lowest, when the thought of a small sausage roll or chocolate cream cake in front of the fire is preferable to a bit of hot crumpet, or bag of sweets; for some though the taste of Gateaux is worth waiting for.

Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood’s Waiting For Gateaux, the debut in house production by the Epstein Theatre since they reopened under the name and gave the people of Liverpool something new and grand to step inside, is a melting pot of secrets, of long held furtive glances and water closets not wishing to be entered. It is the tale of humanity, the wish to belong to something where you are accepted for what you are, for what you bring and it doesn’t matter if you can skip or even skip a meal, someone will always look upon you with a smile.

Mo-tivators, run by the kindly Maureen has an admirer though, someone wants to highlight their club on television, someone wants to take an interest in them but like that last wafer thin mint before bed time, it is a ticking bomb waiting to explode in the faces of all who find themselves in the building when the cake hits the fan.

With Lynne Francis and Suzanne Collins delivering a tremendous scene worthy of Reservoir Dogs and in which Ms. Francis played with much joy and Emma Lisi giving a tremendous boost to the great cast as the misunderstood, petty criminal but with a heart as white as the driven snow, Raven, Waiting For Gateaux had much going for it. All the right ingredients were there to be seen, the mixture of the fruit and nut carefully orchestrated and all served at the right temperature. If there is anything to perhaps suggest otherwise, it is only in that you wish it could have been in the oven for a bit longer or even ran through as one segment, sometimes a break in between acts is not necessary.

Waiting For Gateaux is a great reminder that there is always something new to be said and there is so much talent in Liverpool to invest in, a great way in which to get the ball rolling at the Epstein Theatre.

Ian D. Hall