A very cold Friday night was certainly
rewarded with the warmth and charisma of sharing a very
special and entertaining evening in the company of the humorously
delightful Helen Brown as she took us on a philosophical
journey comparing the ingredients of the humble banana cake
to the ingredients in the great kitchen of life.
Along the way the musical talents of renowned pianist
Terry Crayford brought much mirth to the evening as he suitably
improvised his music to enhance her often quite hilarious
stories and also music that was sympathetic to the occasional
sad ingredient of the cake.
With a simple yet effective stage setting her Melbourne
elegance blended well with the luxurious fur throwover on
the sofa (a chaise longue would have been a better choice).
Soft lighting and a vase of beautifully arranged flowers
set the scene for what was to be an intimate evening as
she captured our imaginations with stories and anecdotes
from growing up in Taranaki, teenage years with her best
friend Maureen (dances at the Queens Hall as they sought
out suitable boyfriends) overseas travel, marriage, the
tragic loss of a beloved son, divorce, falling in love with
a younger man, re-marriage on the romantic shores of Lake
Geneva and holding us in the palm of her hands for almost
two hours as we listened and related to her witty repertoire.
Clearly Helen Brown knows her audience lounging with
her legs spread across the sofa with the poise and stage
presence of Eartha Kitt she mimicked her mother (who had
a penchant for the stage) auditioning for roles in local
musical theatre instead of doing housework and running a
home.
Her facial expressions and acting ability along with
a much embellished turn of phrase and an accent reminiscent
of Lyn of Tawa, kept us in joyous laughter. She clearly
had a great affinity with her mother.
Highlights for this writer were the stories about
her friend Maureen from early days of pregnancy at 16 (using
prayer as contraception clearly did not work) and marrying
her Taranaki farmer who much later in life left Maureen
for (wait for it) another Taranaki farmer.
A much older and wiser Maureen whilst “resting between
marriages and breakdowns” took off to an island resort in
search of sun, romance and superb food. She flirted unashamedly
with the handsome French chef renowned not only for his
culinary talents in the kitchen but also for his acrobatics
in the bedroom as she later discovered much to her chagrin.
A well timed sympathetic rendering on the piano of
the emotional Fijian farewell “Isa Lei” lef us in no doubt
as to the outcome of Maureen’s “brief encounter”.
As Helen Brown reminded in her closing comments “Old
bananas come cheaper”
Many thanks to Hospice Wanganui for giving us the
opportunity to share the musical talents of Terry Crayford
and the magical eloquence of Helen Brown.
A truly delightful and entertaining evening. Come
back soon.
J.L.T.
River City Press
Wanganui July 27 2006 |
