The Kitchen

Bit of a back blip today.
We were taken to the National Theatre last night by some friends to see 'The Kitchen'. Not sure whether they invited us because Tom is a chef and they thought we would be interested, or if it was coincidental, either way, we were both captivated.

Here's a brief overview:
1950s London. In the kitchen of an enormous West End restaurant, the orders are piling up: a post-war feast of soup, fish, cutlets, omelettes and fruit flans.

Thrown together by their work, chefs, waitresses and porters from across Europe - English, Irish, German, Jewish - argue and flirt as they race to keep up. Peter, a high-spirited young cook, seems to thrive on the pressure. In between preparing dishes, he manages to strike up an affair with married waitress Monique, the whole time dreaming of a better life. But in the all-consuming clamour of the kitchen, nothing is far from the brink of collapse.

"We all said we wouldn't last the day, but tell me - what is there a man can't get used to?"

Arnold Wesker's play premiered at the Royal Court in 1959 and has since been performed in over 30 countries. The Kitchen puts the workplace centre stage in a blackly funny and furious examination of life lived at breakneck speed, when work threatens to define who we are.

The stage was amazing. The content thought provoking although sometimes a bit deep and, some thought, depressing. Personally, I enjoyed it, particularly as it was dated, a 50's play written in a 50's style, which I thought was charming and 'real'.

I would recommend it and, if you run out of time during the day, I would also recommend you take your camera along with you otherwise you'll end up doing today's blip tomorrow, from an image taken on your mobile phone!

Sorry about that....from the balcony of the NT looking towards St Pauls.