• Scotland to lead the world

Fiction

• Threadbare
• Feeling Feline
• A Touch of Class
• Word Power
• From Tar to Star
• The Golden Menagerie

Poetry

• Dining on Dreams
• The Sky's the Limit

Features

• Think Global
• The Year of Wallace
• Tongue-tied
• Civic Pride
• Book Groups

DINING ON DREAMS

Teatro ZinZanni preeesents
for their diner's pleasure,
a taste of, a swirling, gastronomic
whirlwind of comedy, chaos and romance.
comprising of

Zesty Bay Shrimp, Artichoke Dip and Croccantini.

And Los Excentricos,
Zaza and Marceline, female clowns
faces fixed, painted smile and frown
With yellow and red billowy doll-like dresses,
their sprinkled silver dust
in the spot-lit air mingles ribbons of pale-blue smoke
and a man in the audience
blows bubbles like a child,
as Sylvestre, their male colleague
laughs his deranged laugh
he-he-heing through the silence
of their manic mimed routines.

Summer Salad, Green Beans, Baby Red Potatoes
Pesto Deviled Eggs, Fresh Mozzarella and Red Pepper Rouille.

And, Roberto Lopez,
The m.c. called Mr. Zee or,
The Mighty Mexican Elvis . El-Vez crooning
to the ladies in the audience while clutching
at his breaking heart throbbing
with well rehearsed passion
as Moulin Rouge style
waiters and waitresses glide
with the grace of ballet dancers
their silver serving trays
balanced perfectly
on the tips of extended fingers.

Savory Baklava, Roasted Vegetables Layered
with Herbed Chevre, Tzadziki, Saffron Rice and Snap Peas.

And, Manuela Horn,
the 7ft. tall Austrian Amazon
called Roxy for the purpose of tonight's show
wearing black leather laced stiletto boots
stockings, suspenders and split skirt
and tightly buttoned jacket revealing just enough cleavage,
her bunned hair under a jauntily tilted hat,
and Roxy sneers and toys with the men in the audience
taking one for a walk with a leash and collar round his neck
prior to unpinning and revealing with a flourish
her lusciously soft blond locks,
throwing her hat into the crowd
then piercing the air with her trademark yodel.

Chiffon Cake soaked in Kirsch layered
with Vanilla Bavarian Cream topped with Mixed Seasonal Berries

And, Joe Orrach, the pugilistic hoofer who,
Somewhere between New York's 72nd and Columbus
and Seattle's 6th and Battery,
traded off his Welterweight Champion Title
for an elevated stage that rises slowly centre-floor
as he hurls aside wig and jacket to reveal
his bald head and well honed frame wearing only
red-braces, black-trousers and shoes
that tap out a circular rhythm of
tapity-tap tapity-tap tapity-tap tapity-tap
becoming faster and faster and faster and faster
as dripping droplets of sweat shine silver
then explode in splashes under hypnotic blurring feet.

all washed down with
1.5l Magnum of Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon

And the audience stand and stomp and whistle and clap and holler and embrace.
before the houselights are, once again, switched on.

Brian Whittingham, author of the above poem, at a poetry reading in Seattle.

Read more of Brian's work in his collection of poetry, Drink the Green Fairy.

Home | About Luath Book Banter | Contact us | Advertising in Book Banter | Useful links