Theatre review: The Portable Dorothy Parker
Gilded Balloon at Rose Street Theatre (Venue 76)
***
The line was intended as a throwaway. We learn some of the nuggets of wit she preferred as Parker, taking a break from all those Algonquin Round Table lunches with the likes of Noel Coward, helps an unseen, unheard young editor prepare 1944 anthology The Portable Dorothy Parker.
Many of her bons mots are, of course, brilliant. “Brevity is the soul of lingerie”; “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think” etc.
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Hide AdThe problem is that despite Margot Avery’s excellent turn, the avalanche of dry zingers and witty ditties proves too much; the engine of contrivance is all too apparent. I felt I got to know the book, but not the woman behind the waspish words.
Until 28 August. Today 4pm.