The Kitchen

A film of a live performance from earlier in the year by Britain's National Theatre of Arnold Wesker's play The Kitchen which was first staged in 1957.

All of the action takes place in the large kitchen of a restaurant serving hundreds of meals a day. The time is post war Britain when rationing is still in place. The chefs, kitchen and dining room staff are a motley group from Britain, Ireland and across Europe including erstwhile enemy Germany.

The play is mainly about relationships and personal ambitions. The most impressive aspect of the performance for me was the realistic staging of a kitchen engaged in the preparation and creation of meals. Although no actual food is used during the performance, the actors' motions were utterly believable. I almost convinced myself I could smell the food they were preparing.