The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband

This title is one of the most unusual, but it is most suited to what follows. Written by Debbie Isitt, who also directed the first production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 1990s, the plot follows the interaction between the three characters of the story. Kenneth and Hilary have been married for twenty years but Ken finds himself spending more and more time with Laura. Finally, the couple separate and he lives with Laura who cannot cook. Things deteriorate until Hilliary invites them both to her place for a good meal and ......    There is not much physical action as it is the emotional interplay between and within the three characters.

Director Jacklyn Radbourne has used a basic set with hardly any furniture which served for both dwellings and outside areas. Interestingly no actual props were used and the three cast members had to mime such things as bottles, glasses and plates.  This was not handled consistently and could be improved. The cast was Catherine Radbourne as Hillary, Sam Kairk as Kenneth and Tea Paige as Laura and they interplayed well while their characters developed. Perhaps some more projection early in the play would help but they had the audience's attention.

Not only did the director have a very good balanced cast but she had a strong technical crew with the lights, the background music and the set. It all led to an ending that we should have seen coming - or not. This play was a new experience for me in title, content and presentation. Congratulations to Sandgate Theatre for bringing us a play from off the beaten track and doing so quite well.

William Davies