Review by Giada
You know when you’re on a first date and someone trauma-dumps just to seem interesting? That’s exactly how I felt leaving Chef.
Knowing that Sabrina Mahfouz’s script has won awards and achieved considerable success in its Soho Theatre run (directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward and starring Jade Anouka), I’m left puzzled about where this production went wrong.
Could the issue lie in the reimagining? In the original script, the protagonist comes from a low socioeconomic background in South London. In theory, recasting her as an Italian immigrant,representing the many who populate the UK’s kitchen and service industries, while maintaining the same gender and class dimensions could have worked. However, this shift doesn’t necessarily convey the same sense of marginalisation or systemic injustice that shaped the original character’s experience. That said, I’m not convinced this alone is the problem. Perhaps the script was altered slightly (beyond a few linguistic twists ) in ways that affected its rhythm or structure. It’s hard to tell.
Unfortunately, Alessandra Gonnella direction doesn’t help. Rather than creating strong, precise imagery as memories and events unfold, the staging flattens the tension and blurs the timeline. Scene transitions feel casual and unclear, the lighting either overwhelms or disappears, and the music, especially during emotional peaks, often tips into a melody that feels forcibly moving. And yes, it may sound petty, but how can a chef not know how to hold a knife properly? The devil really is in the details.
The text is relentless, under an hour packed with so much drama and tragedy that it demands careful handling. Without that precision, it risks becoming a sequence of calamities rather than a compelling narrative.
I’m not sure Miriam Gagino fully captures the lyricism and brutality of the text. A play so poetic and metaphorical requires adeep understanding of pacing: when to accelerate, when to pause. Her emotional intensity sometimes works against her, distancing rather than drawing in the audience. Still, I appreciate the ambition and courage it takes to tackle such a demanding role, particularly when performing it in a second language.
Chef marks the first production by Nervosa Pictures and the beginning of a run that will tour Italy as well. I hope that, in a new context and through Monica Capuani’s translation, the production will find its footing.
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