Looking for love in leather and lace

Can racy lingerie and a copy of Sex for Dummies shake up a stagnant marriage, even if both partners aren’t ready to bare their souls?

Henry and Alice check into a trendy hotel with two suitcases and plenty of baggage. After 25 years together, the emergence of love handles and receding hairlines, they’ve hit a plateau, and Alice wants to shake things up by unearthing her inner vixen.

They soon discover that what’s missing from their relationship isn’t leather and lace, but the spark that drew them together in the first place.

Sexy Laundry, starring Lighthouse favourites Melodee Finlay and Ralph Small, gets our 40th season off to a spicy start.

“Communication – that’s the key. It’s two people who do genuinely love each other, but amid life’s stress they’ve forgotten how to listen to each other and see the person they fell in love with. The ability to express that connection is gone,” said Artistic Director Derek Ritschel, who is directing this production.

It’s only fitting that this milestone season begins with a pair of Lighthouse veterans on stage. Melodee Finlay appeared in our original production of Sexy Laundry and returns this summer to reprise the role of Alice. She was most recently seen in Stage Fright last season. Ralph Small directed the world premiere of Fair and Square last year and gets back on stage this year to portray Henry.

“They’ve worked together many times over the past 30 years,” Ritschel says of Finlay and Small, who played newlyweds in Separate Beds at Lighthouse in 2006. “They were just charming,” Ritschel remembers. “They’re great friends. They have really nice chemistry.”

Michele Riml’s witty script offers lots of laughs, as the couple bickers and spars while Alice pushes a reluctant Henry to unleash his sensual side. But Sexy Laundry also explores the highs and lows of being in a long relationship, and the beauty that comes with accepting your partner – and yourself – for the ever-changing people you are.

Sexy Laundry plays May 22 to June 8. For tickets, click here.