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Reviewers
Oviation presents...
Cooking with Elvis
by Lee Hall
Directed by John Plews
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
14 March - 19 April 2009
 Couzens
A review by Amber Gregory for EXTRA! EXTRA!
When asked to review this performance I was overjoyed to see that one of the actors was Mario Kombou who performed the lead in Jailhouse Rock back in 2004 where I was working as a member of Front of House staff. He has been performing his tribute to Elvis for fifteen years and is one of the top ten tribute artists in the world- and this was certainly apparent during his 18 month stint in Jailhouse Rock just as it is ‘Upstairs at the Gatehouse’ in Lee Halls play Cooking with Elvis. Mario shares this role with Fisher Stevens who I did not watch, but knowing the consistent high quality of actors who perform at the ‘Gatehouse’ I would be surprised if he were a disappointment.
Cooking with Elvis is a black comedy by Lee Hall (who also wrote the screenplay of the film Billy Elliot). Mam and Dad live together in Newcastle with their 14 year old daughter Jill, sounds wholesome? It’s not. Dad was in an accident two years ago which left him paralysed in a wheelchair, or as Mam likes to call him ‘a cabbage’. Both Jill and Mam have dealt with this in an obsessive manor- Mam on the booze, and Lisa on the food. When Mam meets Stuart (who’s not the brightest bulb in the box) and moves him into the family home, this causes chaos and disruption- even for the family tortoise.
Mams been sexually frustrated since Dad’s been in a wheelchair and Stuart seems to be the perfect man for this problem- simple and young. No baggage, no complications. Melanie Dagg plays the character of Mam with harshness. She was fed up with the man she married and now because of his ‘situation’ she’s trapped with him forever. There is only one scene in the show where I feel this hardened barrier is broken down between Mam and Dad and in this short tender moment we can see so much past the wall that she has built up around her. For me, Stuart had to be the most comedic character. Having no personal attachment towards Dad he is in the simplest position... yet he seems to do everything he can to make it the hardest. A 26 year old going through some kind of identity/sexual/emotional crisis gives a lot of room for comedy and William Reay uses this opportunity to the max.
Daughter Jill is the narrator of the story. She announces each scene in what at first seemed to be a Brechtian manner yet later just seemed like a dig that the playwright is making towards conventional play formats. She is: lost; confused; caring; and as her mother repeatedly points out- fat. We see her going through typical emotions that any 14 year old girl would go through, but with the added pressure of pretty much being the sole carer of her father (as her mother gives little or no interest). This heightens all her teenage emotions. What we are left with is a girl who has grown up too quickly- yet is still very much just a girl. She loves her dad so much and although she was at first embarrassed when he became an Elvis impersonator she now embraces it as she knows that’s what makes her father most happy, and that is what she wants to continue to do.
All the emotion, obsession and commotion are mixed together with random speeches and songs by Dad- as Elvis. All the speeches are either based on his own words or state facts about Elvis and are put together is such an incredible way that you really wonder if it could all be true... showing not only the absurdity of the family situation we are seeing, but of Elvis himself, and of all human consciousness. The play has a slow start where we are introduced to the characters and their lifestyle but the second act is one of the best pieces of comedy I have seen in a long while, with some of the funniest one liners I have ever heard on stage. Being my local pub theatre I have seen numerous shows at ‘The Gatehouse’ and it is the first time that I have seen so many props on such a small stage! Food and drink pop up (and dominate) every scene of the play and how the actors cope with eating and drinking throughout the performance without the desperate need for the loo (or showing it) is incredible. Designer Gemma Harris has created a realistic set of the family home and the action moves comfortably through living room, kitchen and bedroom as we follow this story of unusual family life.
Once again Ovation has produced a play with music, comedy and tragedy brought together by a cast of talented actors.
Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, London, N6 4BD
Box office: 020 8340 3488
www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com
£12.00 - £15.00 (concessions available)
Tuesday to Saturday – 8.00pm
Sunday – 4.00pm
Mario will play Dad on 14th, 15th, 17th, 20th 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 29th & 31st March & 4th to 18th April
Fisher will play Dad on 18th, 19th, 21st, 28th March & 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 19th April 1
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