TF Productions

The Quickie - A Take-Out Love Story by Grace Chin

Dates and Venue 7 – 16 February 2008 @ 8pm (Sunday @2pm) | Playwrights Theatre Centre, Granville Island

Director Ross Bragg Stage manager Ian Tang Makeup/hair artist Ann Krueger Videographer Kathy Leung

Reviewer Susan Peake


The Quickie is a cute comedy that illustrates the trials and tribulations of dating in the 21st century. This slice-of-life story introduces us to several Vancouver Yuppie singles who are looking for love – perhaps for some, in all the wrong places.

Disillusioned with Internet dating, these twenty and thirty-something urbanites decide, reluctantly, to try speed dating. Each of the characters has his or her own baggage, and we are taken on an entertaining ride as they attempt to find the “one.”

Kudos to the writer, Grace Chin, who developed a delightfully funny script that captures the humour as well as the realities of living as a single in this city with all that it has to offer. There are many references to the kinds of stereotypical comments that are inevitable in a multicultural setting, and Chin cleverly weaves them into the script in a witty but never offensive way.

All in the talented cast delivered strong performances, and this is an accomplishment given that some have had very little experience in theatre – Emily Chow (Regina Cho) and Alex Chu (Darryl Chu), for example, should have a bright future on the stage. Grace Chin (Susan Fan) was excellent as the sweet, insecure divorcee, and Raahul Singh (Rich Gupta) the cool over-confident womanizer, was also superb.

The dialogue is delivered at a fast pace, and it is sometimes difficult to catch all the amusing and often cynical remarks. Perhaps this could be remedied by adjusting the timing. It can be frustrating when too many good lines are lost because there is no time to process them.

The clever set design captured the Yaletown feel of a condo, an office, or a restaurant by simply moving a few pieces of contemporary furniture from one place to another. The background music of current hits such as Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” was the perfect complement.

The Playwrights Theatre Centre was an ideal venue for this small theatre production. And it was easy to see that the audience enjoyed themselves, as there were smiling faces everywhere throughout the performance.

© 2008 Susan Peake