REVIEW: Chef (Traverse Theatre)

Chef - ★★★☆☆

Review commissioned by, and originally published on All Edinburgh Theatre, 16 Mar 2025. Edited by Thom Dibdin.

Traverse: Fri 14 Mar 2025
Review by Rebecca Mahar

Sabrina Mahfouz’s Chef, starring Rebecca Benson, plays the Traverse for one night only in a production that crackles with energy and is a showcase for Benson’s solo performance.

Chef premiered at Edinburgh Fringe in 2014, garnering several awards. Director André Agius’s touring revival of the piece for the Ayr Gaiety takes full advantage of Benson’s skill, taking her to emotional extremes in the performance of the character known only as “Chef”.

Rebecca Benson in Chef. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Joining Benson onstage is BSL interpreter Yvonne Strain, who is integrated into the performance as one of Chef’s trainees in the prison kitchen where the show takes place. Sasha, who “doesn’t talk much” and only occasionally interacts with Chef, is fully part of her world. Strain brings flair and emotional impact to her role, adding to the overall performance for everyone, not just those who speak BSL.

Mahfouz’s script tackles the reflections of Chef, who has apparently been imprisoned for assisting in her father’s suicide, and is shaken in the aftermath of a violent event in her kitchen. It has many moments of brilliance, masterfully enlivened by Benson, but is too fragmentary to be fully successful. Nonlinear monodrama is trendy, but it’s difficult to pull off. The storytelling of the script is incomplete, with too many dangling ends and unfinished thoughts.

Visit All Edinburgh Theatre to read the full review!

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