Soho Theatre, London – until 5 October 2024
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
The mouthwatering premise of My English Persian Kitchen doesn’t quite deliver, but Chris White’s direction of Hannah Khalil’s play has admirable ambition.
Based on Atoosa Sepehr’s original story, Isabella Nefar plays an Iranian woman who has fled her country and struggled to feel seen and part of a community in London. As Nefar chops and prepares the ingredients for Ash-E Reshteh (Persian noodle and herb soup) for her dinner guests, the scents and tastes evoke memories, good and bad, and she begins to reveal snippets of her life and escape from her abusive husband. Isabella Nefar’s wonderful physicality and bravura performance draws the audience in effortlessly.
The structure of the play creates fractured recollections, with certain memories too painful for the character to reveal to her audience. As the comforting aromas of frying onions and herbs fill the theatre, these memories swirl in the air, creating an oppressive atmosphere contrasting with the homely cooking tips and cheats Nefar shares with us. Marty Langthorne’s inspired lighting and Dan Balfour’s sound design enhance this tense atmosphere brilliantly. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t really evolve, instead reheating memories already shared. Even though reliving and analysing these traumatic memories that have had a devastating effect on her life is a realistic response for the character and accurately portrays an isolated life lived in fear, the short running time means the jump from unresolved trauma to happily dishing out food to the audience at the end of the play seems too abrupt. There is a lovely section about the gorgeous aromas from her flat providing an impetus for her neighbours to move past polite indifference to real connections, and the joy, peace and meaning that cooking provides, but without a little more information about her life, it almost feels like a mask rather than true emotion.
The run at Soho Theatre is sold out (contact theatre for returns) and it is easy to see why as this unusual and evocative play is a real feast for the senses.