Farcical Fun at a Funeral

Reviewed by Sookie Mei

How far would you go to fix your broken family?  That’s the question being answered as the Port Stanley Theatre Festival presents Liars at a Funeral by Sophia Fabiilli, a fun, funny farce set in, of all places, a funeral home.  The play was originally commissioned and developed by the Blyth Festival in 2023.

The hijinks begin when Mavis, the matriarch of a dysfunctional family, attempts to stop the intergenerational curse that has led to estrangement between once-close siblings.  Mavis stages her own funeral, thinking this will bring all the members of the family together in one room to magically sort everything out.

But farces must farce, so of course it’s not that simple. As the family members arrive, we find out that each of them has a secret or two of their own, and keeping those secrets gets increasingly complicated, and hilarious, as the evening goes on.

Fabiilli’s script is clever and intricate, with the usual door-slamming and hiding behind curtains expected from a farce, but with added twists like multiple sets of twins and actors playing double roles that keep everyone, audience included, on their toes.  The dialogue is fast-paced, but with a lot of genuine emotion in between jokes that grounds the characters and makes us care about the outcome. A satisfying conclusion brings it all together with humour and heart.

The play is directed by Julie Tomaino, who apparently used to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette!  Guaranteed her skills in choreography came in handy when putting together this mad dash of a show.  Tomaino has great timing, and the play hums along nicely, keeping us entertained and interested and wondering who is going to appear from which entrance next.  She gets the most out of her actors, who must be exhausted at the end of the night.

And the acting is excellent.  From the moment we meet PSFT favourites Andy Pogson and Sarah Machin Gale, we know we are in good hands, and the three actors making their PSFT debut – Lia Luz, Barbara Saxberg, and Justin Otto – are equally superb.  A standout for me is Justin Otto, who brings so much fresh energy and life to the stage halfway through the show that I didn’t even realize it was the same actor in another part!  All five performers take a funny script and elevate it, make the serious dialogue meaningful, and establish believable relationships, all while nailing a very complicated set of entrances, exits, scene and costume changes, and character work.  Kudos to the ensemble for pulling it all off and making it look easy.

Set designer Eric Bunnell has created a space that is very familiar to anyone who has visited a funeral home.  Lots of wood, wallpaper, chintz curtains, and upholstered benches abound, with a coat rack, side tables, and spots for tissue boxes supporting the somber, tasteful feel.  And of course, the focal point is the coffin in the centre, used hilariously throughout the show in an increasingly desperate attempt at deception.

The creative team as a whole sets the production up for success. Karen Crichton’s excellent lighting and the sound design add to the chaos when a storm causes electrical failure, and Alex Amini’s clever costumes are vital to keeping the characters straight amid the constant changes.  As a nod to the amount of work the backstage team has to do, Production Assistant Rowan McCready pops her head out at the curtain call for a much-deserved recognition of their talents.

Liars at a Funeral is a very funny production that has a lot of heart.  As the Festival Theatre says, “Don’t miss this roller coaster ride of hilarity, hijinks, and hanky-panky! It’ll kill you with laughter.”

Liars at a Funeral continues at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre (PSFT) until August 2.  Tickets are available at the PSFT box office at 519-782-4353 or 1-855-782-4353, or visit https://psft.ca.

Liars at a Funeral
Written by Sophia Fabiilli
Directed by Julie Tomaino
Performed by  Lia Luz, Sarah Machin Gale, Andy Pogson, Barbara Saxberg, Justin Otto.
Port Stanley Festival Theatre, Port Stanley
July 16 to August 2, 2025
Stage Management Delaney Small
Set Design by Eric Bunnell
Lighting Design by Karen Crichton
Costumes by Alex Amini
Reviewed by Sookie Mei