Yes, dinner theater is usually not very good at either — the food is bland and the play (usually comedy) is warmed-over, or vice versa. The Dishwashers is nothing like that. For one thing, dinner comes after the play.
Performed by the SideMart Theatrical Grocery, The Dishwashers centers on a group of, yes, dishwashers working the sinks and washing machines in the basement of a fancy restaurant. The genius of this production lies in part in its location: the basement of Restaurant Bu, one of Montreal's best wine bars, in what's normally the employee break room. SideMart has filled its makeshift stage with working dishwashing equipment, and the performance gets wet and steamy (from the machinery, not necessarily the play). All that humidity helps create an air of tension for the intimate audience of 25, which makes heading upstairs to the cool and casual wine bar doubly relieving. After the show, there's a table in Bu set for the audience to relax and enjoy an après-theater meal talk with the performers if you like.
The Dishwashers runs only two more days, through October 3, in its unusual Sunday-through-Wednesday night run. With so few seats, tickets are at a premium — book yours soon. I recommend a glass of Châteauneuf du pape — a complex but rewarding wine to match the performance — before returning to your room at Le Meridian Versailles.
