FOOD. To 22 July.

London

FOOD
by Joel Horwood and Christopher Heimann devised by theimaginarybody.

bac (main) Lavender Hill SW11 5TN To 22 July 2007.
Tue-Sat 7.30pm Sun 5.30pm.
Runs 1hr 15min No interval.

TICKETS: 020 7223 2223.
www.bac.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 8 July.

Considered something of a feast at its Edinburgh opening last year, it now seems more of a tasty snack.
This dish comes to London hotly garnished with critical praise from its Traverse run during last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Nearly a year on, after a tour and some cast-changes it appears in the world of London theatre as a plainer plateful, with limited dramatic nourishment.

It’s possibly a matter of context. What tickles the palette amid the multiple-shows-daily gluttony of August Edinburgh, with their deeply variable quality, doesn’t always stand up as the sole reason for the time and expense of an evening out. And, for all its theatrical energy, this company-created 75-minutes’ worth ultimately has more spice than substance.

Within Jon Bausor’s skeletal metal-surfaced restaurant kitchen life’s a high-pressure race to keep top-quality food getting to unseen customer’s mouths. But The Boiling Pot’s boss Frank is out for his own bite of the cherry. He peaks early, gaining Michelin stars at once and the coveted third star within 5 years. All that’s left is to worry about losing it. Or them.

It’s here the piece runs out of steam. Frank’s paranoia is unconvincing, the idea he’d drag his wife along to an embarrassing meeting with the Michelin man to ask for a sneak preview of next year’s grading being far too hard to swallow. There’s a lot more to the subject of a career that peaks too early than is ever uncovered here, while the psychology of someone who can seek but not live with success isn’t explored.

At Edinburgh, Sean Campion’s Frank was highly praised. James Staddon’s taken over the lynchpin role and while a forceful presence he’s too effortful and one-dimensional vocally; the, very obvious, point about putting personal relations second to work barely makes an impact.

There are some physically strong performances around (both women are strong), but as soon as the piece goes beyond its initial picture of kitchen as inferno the whole thing simply goes off the boil, leaving only the question of whether the essence of good theatre lies in performance and production or the quality of a script, and how often it’s a necessary confection of the two.

Frank: James Staddon.
Cherry: Vic Bryson.
Tom: Jon Foster.
George: Graham O’Mara.
Cordelia: Danielle Ryan.

Director: Christopher Heimann.
Designer: Jon Bausor.
LightingL Jon Clark.
Sound: Matt Downing.
Movement: Ann Yee.
Dramaturg: Ruth Little.
Assistant director: Rachel Briscoe.

2007-07-10 09:47:34