![\"Teatro](\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cocktails-at-pam-s-2026-promo-photo_1663_304206529.jpg\" "\\"Teatro")
The perfect cocktail party is a delicate balancing act. There’s the guest list to consider, what food to serve, when to tell guests to arrive, whether games should be rolled out, what decorations are appropriate; it’s a lot to juggle, and if things start to go wrong, they can snowball out of control.
That high-stakes social pressure is at the centre of Cocktails at Pam’s , the hilarious comedy from Stewart Lemoine that’s making another round at Teatro Live! The fan favourite is just as brilliant 40 years after its debut, still fun and funny in equal measure and still relevant as an experiment in social behaviour.
It’s the year 1967, the country’s centennial, though politics never comes up. Pam wants to throw the perfect cocktail party. Based on her high-strung nature, it seems unlikely that parties are the only things she needs to control.
Pam’s husband Julius plays the diligent co-host, committing to small talk with guests as they arrive and mixing up social lubricants (the aforementioned cocktails) once they are settled. But arriving guests only add to the Jenga-like atmosphere, a teetering tower of blocks that could come tumbling down at any moment.
First to arrive is Cynthia Dallas, the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Shakespearean actress who is new to this whole thing. Leon Bandelier, Pam’s brother, is an old hand at these gatherings. The Blacks arrive, stylish guests with eccentric attitudes, sure to liven things up. Finally, Denise and her husband Max join the party at the same time as Estelle and Lily, a pair of divorcees looking for some social interaction. Oh, and don’t forget about the maid, Rita.
Big personalities come together with lightning-fast banter and pithy one-liners to create a hilarious mix of thrust and parry between the gathered guests crammed into Pam’s living room. The jokes stop, a joyful mix of verbal repartee and hilarious sight gags that makes for incredibly fun theatre.
Which shouldn’t come as a surprise — this show first debuted at the Fringe almost 40 years ago and has made numerous comebacks over the years to introduce new audiences to Pam and her eccentric ways. But also to let us laugh at the ridiculousness of it all; mostly that second thing.
Four decades on we are still throwing parties and inviting all the wrong people, which makes Lemoine’s staging of a play at a party seem just as brilliant all of these years later. It’s relatable, the controlling hostess, the diligent husband, the guests who want a bit of fun but are terrified by the control freak at the centre of everything.
Andrew MacDonald-Smith, a veteran of Teatro Live!, literally steals the show as Julius. He can toss barbs with the rest of the cast but does so with a smile on his face and a lightness in his voice. He manages to make what would be a disgusting, unsupportive jackass in almost any other setting a loveable main character you just want to take home with you. Please sir, may I have another drink and couched insult.
Belinda Cornish as the divorcee Estelle Washington delivers an absolutely torching indictment of green peppers that will surely turn me away from even looking at one for years. Stuffed peppers are going to be a hard sell for a while.
And of course there’s Pam, portrayed by Shannon Blanchet, a one-woman tornado just as likely to tear apart the entire place as she is to build the perfect party. She shouts, she judges, she’s a typical type-A personality housewife of the 1960s that our parent’s generation would all remember. Think Julia Child on the warpath with the biggest smile plastered to her face.
Half of the laughter is recognition coming from an audience remembering our own such disastrous house parties, mixed with equal part gratitude we aren’t having to live out the awkward nightmare unfolding on stage. We get to laugh at the ridiculous antics and the brilliant one-liners, grateful we’re separated from the chaos by the fourth wall.
Theatre: Teatro Live!
Starring: Shannon Blanchet, Andrew MacDonald-Smith,
Written and Directed By: Stewart Lemoine
When: Through July 26
Where: The Varscona Theatre, 10329 83 Ave.
Tickets: $42, $37 for seniors, $25 for students, teatrolive.com
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