The Kitchen

A drama from behind the scenes of an exclusive restaurant with a rhythm as frantic as today’s times.

A restaurant owner lures guests to a fancy meal and a TV cooking star. But behind the kitchen’s glossy surface lies a dramatic reality. Its image reflects the state of society. What conditions are we working in? Are we able to maintain our human dignity under pressure? And how do we treat strangers and minorities? Thirty actors of different nationalities play characters that are slowly boiling in their own juice. The pressure to perform is exacerbating workplace relations and it’s only a matter of time before the pap goes off.

“This dirty kitchen is like the whole world. Too much rush, you don’t even know what’s going on. People come and go, but all they leave behind is annoyance and noise.”

The play, which Arnold Wesker wrote in the late 1950s based on his own experiences as a chef in a large restaurant, takes on a surprisingly topical edge sixty years later.