Feed your mind and excite your tastebuds with new comedy

The new play from Yorkshire playwright Nick Ahad can be seen at The Undercroft, Serpentine Green, on February 28.

Part comedy play, part cookery demonstration, The Chef Show takes its audience behind the scenes on a busy Saturday night in the local curry house.

Two actors play a cast of thousands in heroic and comic tales inspired by interviews with real people in the trade.

We join father and son Abdul and Khalid on a particularly busy night in their restaurant. As they struggle to deal with all of the customers ‘out front’ and the staff in the kitchen they also have to decide on the future of the family business.

Will Khalid carry on the family business, or is this the end?

Much of the fun of the show comes from seeing just two actors having to play multiple roles – in the same scene.

They will be joined by Peterborough Telegraph columnist Parveen “The Spice Queen” Ashraf, who will be providing tips on how to create a spicy offering of your own.

The Chef Show reflects on the many villages and market towns where there are ‘Indian’ restaurants with staff that rarely have any social contact with other members of the community apart from serving them food.

The performance includes a chance to taste the food and share conversation with the chef and the cast.

The Chef Show is the first production from Ragged Edge Productions – a new Cumbrian theatre company founded by Theatre in the Lake’s former Associate Director and the play’s director - Stefan Escreet.

Stefan said: “The Chef Show was originally inspired by an event in my local village hall and it’s been a delight to make a show that will be seen in similar venues all around the country. 

“We know from the first tour that the audience will have a great night out and learn a little about the people running these businesses.”

Playwright Nick added: “Stefan did that brilliant thing of identifying something that seems obvious, and even mundane, to people from one background, but is fascinating to those from another. Namely, ethnic minorities who run restaurants in genteel English villages know that you generally commute into these often entirely white places to make food for the often entirely white customers, then return to your own life a world away. The Chef Show tears down that barrier.”

Tickets from www.easternangles.co.uk