Review: (Montreal) Good Housekeeping (Fringe)

Sex, Kink...but No Windows
by Élaine Charlebois

In Good Housekeeping, Kelly Craig plays Audrey, a middle-aged woman who is searching for a housekeeper to take meticulous care of the mansion she shares with her politician husband. From the onset of the play, we discover that Audrey and her husband enjoy engaging in wild sexual activities and thus require a housekeeper who can keep mum about their sex life. After interviewing and hiring Bethany (Emily Tognet), a young theatre student who desperately needs a job to pay her bills, Audrey demands that the candidate sign a contract binding her to full secrecy. From that scene on, the show plunges further into zaniness, making for a highly entertaining show. 


The highlight of the play was definitely Kelly Craig’s performance. From the opening scene in which a seemingly uptight Audrey engages in a sexually charged phone conversation with her husband Arthur, the audience is immediately drawn in by Craig’s intensity and her impressive ability to deliver fast-paced comedic lines with apparent ease. Her facial expressions and overall body language were the source of much laughter throughout the piece. Craig’s awesome stage presence and her knack for physical comedy commanded the audience’s attention throughout the entire hour of the show. 

Though Emily Tognet (Bethany) was able to produce a few chuckles in her role as Bethany the housekeeper, she struggled to outshine her charismatic counterpart.  At times the actress’s performance lacked conviction and thus seemed slightly amateurish. Nevertheless, Tognet and Craig had good chemistry which kept the Mission Santa Cruz laughing until the end.  

Good Housekeeping is at the Montreal Fringe