VANITIES -- Jabulani Repertory Company -- at The Princess Hotel in Hamilton The third offering in a quartet of plays currently on show in Jabulani Repertory Company's weekend Cocktail Theatre season was an all-American comedy by Jack Heifner.

Once again, this enterprising group has come up with a winner which, at the same time, underlines a possibly intentional policy that their plays should combine popular comedic appeal with an element of often biting social commentary.

This was certainly the case with Vanities, a punnish title which reflects the somewhat pampered world inhabited by three young white American girls in the 1960s. In a more literal sense, the three stage-set vanities, with their theatrically-inspired light bulbs haloed round the mirrors, provided a novel method of indicating the passage of time. Even before the play began, the three protagonists were to be seen seated at the vanities, in various stages of undress, casually preparing clothes and make-up for each separate milestone of the ensuing drama.

The raucous, tribalistic chants of these three high-schoolers as they rehearsed their all-important cheerleading routine, provided a disconcerting opening to the play. But it set the scene perfectly, demonstrating the insular, somewhat trivial concerns that loomed large in the lives of these Southern belles just before the onset of war in Vietnam brought the age of innocence to an end.

Gradually, we trace the lives of these young girls, whose bonding begins in the Brownies and lasts through high school and into the complications of sorority life at college.

As such, with the play beginning in 1963 and following their journey into adulthood, it provides a fascinating parallel with what some may consider to be America's own transition to the role of world policeman while attempting to come to terms with such complications as the civil rights movement and the assassination of a young President.

These sombre undercurrents are, however, skillfully and hilariously cloaked in a sparkling and witty dialogue which never flags. The basic differences of character are beautifully and comically drawn, too.

"When I think about life without cheerleading -- I don't know what I would do!'' intoned the irritating JoAnn, for whom the prospect of college was merely a social interlude before marriage and the prospect of even a drive-in movie, a risky adventure. This role was superbly realised by Caroline McNally, whose lazily southern accent epitomised the vacuous naivete of her world.

Despite their similarities, there were early signs of the differences of character and personality that would lead them into different worlds after graduation.

Lisabet Outerbridge, in a stylishly polished performance, brought an element of down-to-earth practicality to the scatter-brain aura, in her firm and early ambition to become a P.E. teacher. Her no-nonsense approach to affairs of the heart provided an early clue to her eventual fate (to disclose what this was, would spoil the fun for future audiences).

Iva Peale, in a quietly tour de force display of acting which required her to undergo a complete visual transformation before the play's end, was perhaps the most surprisingly world-wise of the three. Nurturing vague hopes of becoming an interior designer, there were tell-tale, if mild signs of rebellion. Smoking in the dorm, varnishing her nails and talk of `The Pill' was all considered a little fast in a world where "a coke party'' still referred to the bottled variety.

Director Patricia Pogson has brought all of her considerable theatrical know-how to this production, exhorting each of the characters not only to absorb but to illustrate for the audience, every nuance of now almost comical attitudes which labelled that lost era. She selected a vibrant trio to play it to the hilt -- and it worked.

There will be another opportunity to catch up with this often bitingly funny evening of entertainment on March 11 and 12. This weekend (Friday and Saturday), Connie Dey and Peter Woolcock delve into their memorable collection of Love Letters.

Horowitz and Mrs. Washington will be performed on March 18 and 19 and the hilarious version of Livin' Fat can be seen on March 25 and 26.

PATRICIA CALNAN PREENING PLAYERS -- Iva Peale, Lisabet Outerbridge and Caroline McNally form a comic trio in Jabulani Repertory Company's production of Vanities at the Gazebo Room of the Princess Hotel in Hamilton.