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REVIEW
✭✭✭✭
☆ 4/5

THE KITCHEN SINK
by Tom Wells
QUEEN'S THEATRE HORNCHURCH

17 Mar - 2 Apr 2022
Picture
Following on from its hugely successful production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, the team  at the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch turns its attention towards home, and a play by British  writer, Tom Wells, called The Kitchen Sink. First performed in 2011, this comedy drama is  returning for a highly anticipated tenth anniversary revival. 

On the face of it, this play could not be more different to the Miller. Last time, we had intense  drama and repercussions of past events, whilst The Kitchen Sink delivers us a gentle  comedy of daily life. The key factor that links them together is the concept of family. 

Tom Wells here portrays a working class family from Hull, and all the comings and goings via  the hub of the house, otherwise known as the kitchen, as they come together and battle  through the trials and tribulations of their daily lives.  

The play opens with son, Billy, tall, lanky, gay, as he is finishing a portrait of Dolly Parton,  which he hopes will swing him a place at Art College. Mum, Kath, is preparing dinner for her  husband Martin whilst trying to come up with some constructive advice for Billy at the same  time as chopping carrots for a stew. Martin is a milkman. His milk float is falling apart and  customers are deserting in droves, as more and more people find the supermarket a  cheaper option. Completing the family unit is Sophie, a potential black belt in Karate, and  her long suffering but very patient boyfriend Pete. 

The play takes us through a year, broken up into seasons. It is set on the north east coast,  in a small seaside town near Hull, where Tom Wells himself comes from.  The notion of  ‘kitchen sink’ drama has always been a powerful concept in British cinema and theatre; and during the play the sink itself almost becomes a character, hanging on for dear life like the family who use it. Pete is a plumber, and spends much of his time trying to mend it, even making an entrance into one scene through the sink unit itself. 

The team at the Queens have again cast this production with very watchable, top class  actors. Dominic Jones as Billy, who must be well over 6 feet tall, is a very funny actor who  captures Billy’s anxieties and sensitivity so well. As Martin, and his daughter Sophie, Ken Bradshaw and Matilda Tucker, who seem to be the cut out of each other, as they both find it  hard to articulate their feelings, both give very finely tuned performances. Up and coming actor Joseph Read also invests Pete with a very attractive warmth. We are told of the sadness behind his character and yet he is always cheerful and upbeat. 

Yet again, as in so many families, it is mum, Kath, played with gritty, boundless energy by  Sally George, who motors the whole play and holds her family together. She is always there  to give everyone her support and comfort. She has aspirations to try new things, and  hilariously tries out new recipes on her not always grateful family. Eventually even her  patience wears thin. Her big meltdown towards the end of the play is hilarious and  heartbreaking. A terrific performance indeed. 

The Kitchen Sink is directed by Caroline Leslie with great attention to all the nuances in the  script. Not a moment is missed. Many funny lines register with great laughs from the  audience. She and her cast have created a very real sense of warmth and togetherness on  Zoe Hurwitz’s wide, yet cluttered (in the best way) set. 

The play is accompanied by a Dolly Parton soundtrack throughout which only adds to the  warmth. It may take a few minutes to tune in to the broad North Yorkshire accents, for which  the company hired Mary Howland, an Accent Coach. It is thoroughly worth the effort.  
A very enjoyable evening. 

Review: Andrew Walters  
​Photos: Mark Sepple

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION
 OF THE KITCHEN SINK BY TOM WELLS

A QUEEN’S THEATRE HORNCHURCH PRODUCTION
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch announce casting for the 10th anniversary production of Tom Wells award- winning, irresistibly funny and tender play, The Kitchen Sink (17 Mar - 2 Apr 2022) 

Playing Martin is Ken Bradshaw (War Horse, The National Theatre), with Sally George as Kath (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Park Theatre), Dominic Jones as Billy (Growth, Paines Plough/UK Tour), Joseph Reed as Pete (The Nobodies, Chalk Line Theatre/UK Tour), and Matilda Tucker as Sophie (Dangerous Liaisons, Playground/STARZ).

Things aren’t going to plan for one Yorkshire family. Martin’s milk float is falling apart and something’s up with Kath’s sink. Billy’s trying to get into art school with a portrait of Dolly Parton. Sophie’s dreaming of her black belt whilst Pete, a local plumber, is quietly falling in love. Amidst the dramas and the dirty dishes, something has to give…

Playwright Tom Wells work includes: Big Big Sky (Hampstead Theatre, 2021); Stuff (National Theatre Connections Festival, 2019); Drip, with music composed by Matthew Robins (Boundless Theatre, 2017/8); Broken Biscuits (Live Theatre/Paines Plough UK tour, 2016); Folk (Birmingham Rep & tour, 2016); Jumpers for Goalposts (Watford Palace Theatre, 2013); The Kitchen Sink (Bush Theatre, 2011) and Me, As A Penguin (Arcola Theatre, 2010). He received critical acclaim for The Kitchen Sink winning the George Devine Award and the Most Promising Playwright Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

★★★★★ ‘Comic, poignant and utterly gripping’ - Evening Standard
' I cannot recommend it too highly' - Charles Spencer - Daily Telegraph

The Kitchen Sink will be directed by Caroline Leslie (The Wipers Times, The Watermill Theatre, The Arts Theatre & UK Tour), designed by Zoe Hurwitz (We Anchor in Hope, The Bunker Theatre), with lighting design by Stephen Pemble (All My Sons, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) and sound design and music composed by Jack Baxter (Yes So I Said Yes, The Finborough Theatre).

Director Caroline Leslie says: “The family in this awesomely funny play are a bit like the coastline they live on, under attack from erosion; not by the sea itself but by the collapse of local businesses and a lack of investment in what was once a thriving economy and popular tourist destination. Like the crumbling coast, the family has to work out what the changes are that it needs to make in order to survive. Full of pride, humour and tenderness, this timely play has deeper undercurrents that explore how we can feel stuck in our co-ordinates and what it takes to make a leap into unknown waters”. 

“I think this play should really chime for our audiences. Tom Wells understands that everyone’s family can be brilliant, messy and a bit dysfunctional all at once, which makes the play instantly familiar, hilarious, and thought provoking. It’s a hopeful play for troubled times that looks at how we support and challenge each other in our chosen units, and the trials and often comic tribulations of what it is to go through life together in uncertain, changing and challenging times. It’s a real honour to be directing it for The Queen’s Theatre”.

Likened to the plays of Alan Bennett don’t miss this affectionate and sweet yet often hilarious portrait of working-class family life. To book your tickets and for more information about the Theatre visit queens-theatre.co.uk.  

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has joined over 100 theatres UK wide for a new campaign, for which The National Lottery is providing up to £2 million to subsidise over 150,000 tickets across the UK. During March, National Lottery players can get 2-for-1 theatre tickets for performances of The Kitchen Sink.

Tickets are available to purchase via loveyourlocaltheatre.com 

The theatre will also be providing an Audio Described performance (02 Apr) with Audio Description available via headset at every performance from 21 Mar, a Dementia Friendly performance (24 Mar) and a Relaxed Performance (26 Mar) for more details visit the website. 

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Billet Lane, Hornchurch. RM11 1QT
The Kitchen Sink
Dates: 17 Mar - 2 Apr 2022  ( Previews 17 & 18 Mar / Press Night 19 Mar)
Various times, see below
Audio Described performance: Sat 2 Apr | 2.30pm
Audio description via a headset is available at every performance from 21 March
Dementia Friendly: Thu 24 Mar | 1.30pm
Relaxed performance: Sat 26 Mar | 2.30pm
Tickets: from £12.50 
www.queens-theatre.co.uk

CAST 
Ken Bradshaw        Martin
Sally George        Kath
Dominic Jones    Billy
Joseph Reed        Pete
Matilda Tucker    Sophie

CREATIVE TEAM
Caroline Leslie    Director
Zoe Hurwitz        Designer
Stephen Pemble    Lighting Designer
Jack Baxter        Sound Designer and Composer
Nicola Thomas    Costume Supervisor
Molly Wilsher        Assistant Director
Mathew Russell    Executive Producer

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