Food

It seems unfair compare this with some of the other offerings on the Fringe. The Traverse is a proper, grown up theatre, and this is grown up writing and acting.

Theimaninarybody present what is, in its way, a classical tragedy. A brilliant man strives for a goal, achieves it, then is undone by a flaw, in this case, pride. You will gather from this that there is not the happiest of endings. It’s how we get to that ending that is remarkable.

It’s set in a simple location – a restaurant kitchen, and our hero is Frank, a phenomenal chef played by Sean Campion. Frank inspires, bullies and coaxes his staff into cooking so well that his restaurant, The Boiling Pot, achieves its third Michelin star in four years. So far so good. But what do you do, asks Joel Horwood and Christopher Heimann’s brilliant and often lyrical script, when you have achieved your life long goal? Where do you go from there? What follows is an extraordinary tale of pride, paranoia and a kind of madness.

Though Campion is the main character he is part of a five-strong ensemble. Vic Bryson, Jon Foster, Graham O’Mara and Shereen Martineau take on all the other parts with minimal costume changes, including Frank’s long suffering staff and family. Christopher Heimann’s direction is pacy and fluid, the characters miming props and using a minimum of furniture to construct numerous locations. Jon Clark’s clever lighting aids in this.

As a study in obsession (Frank loves food so much he is jealous of plane crash survivors who have tasted human flesh) this is extraordinary. As a study in what you can do in a small theatre space with imagination and talent it should be compulsory viewing for future Fringe companies. It begins with a strange and surreal image, leading the audience to think “what’s all that about, then?”. The final, beautiful, heart breaking moments of the play reveal just what it was about, and the silence in the audience before the roar of applause is deafening.