The most memorable
meal in theatre? Where eating is all part of the act…
ThEATre
ThEATre
Wednesday 25th May 2016
7.00 pm
Meal and Theatre £25 (early booking is highly recommended)
Prepare yourself for a
unique evening of immersive theatre at Rossendale’s museum and gallery, The
Whitaker.
‘ThEatre’ is set to be a show where food and theatre come
together, literally; dine away whilst the drama unfolds around you. It’s a
brand new work from writer and Actor Neil Bell: known for his work in shows
like ‘The Bubbler’ as well as programmes like ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘Downton
Abbey’. He’s written and performed around the Manchester area for more than 20
years too.
This certainly will be a meal like no other – turning the
audience into participants for a piece of cultural and culinary art. Expect
incredible acting, gripping drama, and thanks to The Whitaker’s talented chef:
some stunning food too.
The intimate settings of The Whitaker suggest that this will
be a close, personal and powerful experience. Your usual restaurant seating
becomes a stage, your cutlery crucial, your plate part of the performance.
So if you want a dinner thriller, action with your
appetizer, mystery with your main and drama with dessert: then don’t shy away!
Just in case you need anything else to work up an appetite
for this unique event (I am already too tempted!) why not take some theatre
food for thought…
Some of the most
memorable meals in theatre
·
The chaos
of cucumber sandwiches – The Importance of Being Earnest – Wilde’s iconic
play
contains a number of instances of food and eating: with ‘cucumber sandwiches’ right at the beginning
contains a number of instances of food and eating: with ‘cucumber sandwiches’ right at the beginning
Algernon.
Oh! there is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made in Heaven—[Jack puts out
his hand to take a sandwich. Algernon at
once interferes.] Please don’t touch the
cucumber sandwiches. They are ordered
specially for Aunt Augusta. [Takes one
and eats it.]
It is this brief exchange alone between the
young male friends which shows food as a symbol of sensuality; provoking touch
– as well as double-standards.
·
A
badly-seasoned casserole – The Crucible – the tension in the marriage
between John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth is evocatively revealed by a rabbit
casserole, which ‘hurt her heart’ to prepare. This feature in Arthur Miller’s
dramatic play, not only suggests Elizabeth’s
selflessness: she is willing to go
through pains to please her husband – but also foreshadows the dangers of lying
within marriage (both conceptually and physically, concerning John’s adultery.)
In his single symbolic gesture John lies to Elizabeth ‘it’s well seasoned’,
though adding salt himself – and in that, emphasizes a marriage unpicked by
mistruths, turning what is potentially nurturing, into something nasty.
Helmer.
Hasn't she paid a visit to the confectioner's?
Nora.
No, I assure you, Torvald—
Helmer.
Not been nibbling sweets?
Nora.
No, certainly not.
Helmer.
Not even taken a bite at a macaroon or two?
Macaroons are banned according to Helmer, and here we gain a
perspective on how a sweet little
symbol an actually be the source of such angst: perhaps like Nora herself,
symbol an actually be the source of such angst: perhaps like Nora herself,
·
Strawberries
in Shakespeare – Richard III – The Earl of Gloucester is particularly
partial to the ripe red fruits it seems, as he reflects ‘When I was left in
Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there. I do beseech you send
for some of them.” Pass the cream.
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