Caroline’s Kitchen charts the evening of Caroline Mortimer (Caroline Langrishe), renowned TV chef and bulwark of upper middle class aspirational values, as she tries to enjoy a family dinner upon the return of her son. Alas, her emotionally off-limits husband, highly-strung son, and own assemblage of closeted issues will make that not only impossible but hellish.
This was interesting to see before a large audience because the prickly satire of conceited and deceitful middle class people landed very differently according to type. Segments of the stalls who chuckled whole-heartedly at Caroline’s somewhat obnoxious and sanctimonious son did not seem so amused when the older generation were characterised by badly-informed reactionary viewpoints and moral vacuity. And vice versa. Hitting too close to home, perhaps? Credit to the actors that they juggled a very divided crowd. Aden Gillett as the oblivious, argumentative and neglectful patriarch was a soaring success in winning the crowd round by leaning into his role’s loud and wanton obnoxiousness.
The play tries to walk a fine line in its tone and I am not sure it wholly manages it. Though the rather savage characterisation of everyone in the play may alienate some, Caroline’s Kitchen is at its best when it is laying bare the simple unpleasantness of these people. These sections are wonderfully acid. By contrast, other sections lean a little more towards farce – not itself a problem – then give out to some slightly too cursory ‘poignant’ moments reflecting on traumatic issues, and, worse, unconvincing morally redemptive material.
Fundamentally, Caroline’s Kitchen pulls its punches. Langrishe et al. are great at milking laughs from the audience, hence why the farcical stuff works even in a dark comedy, but the play only excels and stands out when it is being nasty. There’s a Christian revival aspect tagged onto Caroline’s character that goes unexplored and is the fulcrum for some rather sappy sentiments towards the end. This element needed to be taken deeper to feel integrated and really only exists to rescue the protagonists’ emotional and moral trajectory.
No one could claim Caroline’s Kitchen has a saccharine happy ending but the finale leans on farce and broad humour, chickening out of the biting resentment that underpins a lot of the play. The approach taken will amuse many and provide an easier watch, but for my money Caroline’s Kitchen would have been far more memorable if it had committed to being a really black comedy. ★★★☆☆ Fenton Coulthurst 27th February 2019
