I came across the first few pages of the script for Chef online. Upstream Theatre is giving us the American premiere of this play from the British-Egyptian playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, and directed by Marianne de Pury.
Chef, the only identification given to the character, arrives onstage carrying a peach. The script is written as a poem, and in retrospect I’m surprised that I was surprised. It’s not that Linda Kennedy’s Chef delivers her lines in that rhythmic style we associate with the genre. But when she begins to speak about the peach, among the most poetic of fruits, the feeling that’s given from the words and the delivery certainly fit.
She has, by this time, peeled off a chef’s jacket stained with what looks like the aftermath of breaking down a side of beef, and stuffed it under the pillow in her room, a prison cell. That’s an odd, illogical act right there. Her story is told in a series of blackouts and is about a great deal more than food – although food, as it so often does, serves sometimes as a metaphor for other things. Be prepared for some British food-isms, like “fruit gums”, one of those nostalgic childhood candies.
Like many of Upstream’s offerings, this is a little off the beaten path, and the story at times seems elliptical. Close attention is necessary, and occasionally dialogue is lost when Kennedy must turn around and face away from the audience. But it’s a fine performance from her, delivering strength and tenderness equally well. At times, one is strongly reminded of the ineffable real-life chef the late Edna Lewis.
De Pury has orchestrated a fine, smooth-moving piece. Kristin Cassidy did the scenic design, and Tony Anselmo the lighting design. An interesting 80 minutes of theatre.
Chef
through October 14
Upstream Theatre
Kranzberg Arts Center
501 N. Grand at Olive