REVIEW
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
Nigel Slater's TOAST
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd to 7th September 2019
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
Nigel Slater's TOAST
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd to 7th September 2019
You may be forgiven for thinking that a play called Toast may not leave you feeling as fulfilled as perhaps a play named Duck a L'Orange or Lemon Meringue Pie, which incidentally are both mentioned in this play; and why wouldn't they be when the storyline is based on the the autobiography of tv chef, Nigel Slater. Indeed, unsurprisingly, the subject of food is very much the focal point of this play adaption of Slater's best selling novel, Toast; and from the moment you take your seat to watch this unique production and are wafted with the smell of slightly burnt toast, you discover that this is going to be a production which will fill your senses as well as your stomach.
You see, for Nigel Slater, the smell of burnt toast reminds him of his mother, who never once managed to properly make toast without it being a little singed around the edges and, as the play progresses - with Slater as a very young boy, growing up and helping his mother bake in the family kitchen in Wolverhampton, to becoming a teenager and finally finding his feet - you discover why cooking brings so much importance to his life. He even writes a list of his favourite smells - some of which many of us will also share.
This really is a delightful play which is not only performed with wonderful characterisations, it also moves in an almost balletic way, effortlessly gliding from one scene to another.
Giles Cooper who plays Nigel is the only member of the cast who doesn't double up on characters with Katy Federman, Blair Plant, Samantha Hopkins and Stefan Edwards as Mum, Dad, Joan and Josh all portraying various other characters who become integral to young Nigel's formative years. They are all brilliantly portrayed.
The relationship between Nigel and his mother is evidently a very special one and when she passes away, Nigel's life takes a massive turn as he finds himself in competition for his father's affections with his 'auntie Joan' nicely portrayed by Samantha Hopkins.
In an era where food was bought at the local grocery store and sweets were purchased in quarters and ounces and slid into paper bags from the scales, there is the opportunity to wallow in nostalgia, aided by the cast offering the audience pink and white striped paper bags of sweets from yesteryear - rhubarb and custard, sherbert lemons, parma violets (for girls and pansies according to Nigel's father) and black jacks (definitely for boys) are passed around the audience allowing you to immerse yourself into Nigel's (and possibly your own) corner shop memories. Later in the play, we are all given a Walnut Whip to chomp just as Nigel is given one by his father, who instructs him on the best way to eat it. I'll leave that to your imaginations!
Giles Cooper steals the show. He plays the huge role of young Nigel with the innocent confidence which some young boys can have and brings a kind of naive vulnerability to him which completely endears. There is a wonderful moment where Nigel and his mother are dancing; she, knowing that her illness will force her to leave her beloved son and he, simply happy to be dancing with his adored mother. It is a touching scene.
Jonnie Riordan has done a fantastic job in bringing life and meaning to this production and a special mention must go to the stage management who make sure that every nugget of food prop is in the right place at the right time. This is most certainly a tech heavy show with some whopping lighting and sound cues and so, again, huge kudos to the sound and lighting team who have to set this up at each venue on the tour.
This is a gentle, sentimental, humorous and sensitive coming of age tale which shapes the man that Nigel Slater is today. I adored it when I saw it in the West End at The Other Palace and I enjoyed it even more the second time around here in Southend. I love its uniqueness and originality. This show is a treat in every sense, please don't miss the opportunity to see it!
Review: Kim Tobin
FOR TICKETS GO ONLINE: www.southendtheatres.org.uk BOX OFFICE: 01702 351135
You see, for Nigel Slater, the smell of burnt toast reminds him of his mother, who never once managed to properly make toast without it being a little singed around the edges and, as the play progresses - with Slater as a very young boy, growing up and helping his mother bake in the family kitchen in Wolverhampton, to becoming a teenager and finally finding his feet - you discover why cooking brings so much importance to his life. He even writes a list of his favourite smells - some of which many of us will also share.
This really is a delightful play which is not only performed with wonderful characterisations, it also moves in an almost balletic way, effortlessly gliding from one scene to another.
Giles Cooper who plays Nigel is the only member of the cast who doesn't double up on characters with Katy Federman, Blair Plant, Samantha Hopkins and Stefan Edwards as Mum, Dad, Joan and Josh all portraying various other characters who become integral to young Nigel's formative years. They are all brilliantly portrayed.
The relationship between Nigel and his mother is evidently a very special one and when she passes away, Nigel's life takes a massive turn as he finds himself in competition for his father's affections with his 'auntie Joan' nicely portrayed by Samantha Hopkins.
In an era where food was bought at the local grocery store and sweets were purchased in quarters and ounces and slid into paper bags from the scales, there is the opportunity to wallow in nostalgia, aided by the cast offering the audience pink and white striped paper bags of sweets from yesteryear - rhubarb and custard, sherbert lemons, parma violets (for girls and pansies according to Nigel's father) and black jacks (definitely for boys) are passed around the audience allowing you to immerse yourself into Nigel's (and possibly your own) corner shop memories. Later in the play, we are all given a Walnut Whip to chomp just as Nigel is given one by his father, who instructs him on the best way to eat it. I'll leave that to your imaginations!
Giles Cooper steals the show. He plays the huge role of young Nigel with the innocent confidence which some young boys can have and brings a kind of naive vulnerability to him which completely endears. There is a wonderful moment where Nigel and his mother are dancing; she, knowing that her illness will force her to leave her beloved son and he, simply happy to be dancing with his adored mother. It is a touching scene.
Jonnie Riordan has done a fantastic job in bringing life and meaning to this production and a special mention must go to the stage management who make sure that every nugget of food prop is in the right place at the right time. This is most certainly a tech heavy show with some whopping lighting and sound cues and so, again, huge kudos to the sound and lighting team who have to set this up at each venue on the tour.
This is a gentle, sentimental, humorous and sensitive coming of age tale which shapes the man that Nigel Slater is today. I adored it when I saw it in the West End at The Other Palace and I enjoyed it even more the second time around here in Southend. I love its uniqueness and originality. This show is a treat in every sense, please don't miss the opportunity to see it!
Review: Kim Tobin
FOR TICKETS GO ONLINE: www.southendtheatres.org.uk BOX OFFICE: 01702 351135
Nigel with Giles on set