The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband

‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ this is a statement that proves ominously appropriate in this deliciously dark play by Debbie Isitt. Directed by Anna-Maria Vesey and Assistant Director Russell Adler, we are taken on journey through a series of tableaus detailing the marriage, breakdown and re-marriage of our protagonist Kenneth and his grisly comeuppance at the hands of his wife and ex-wife. 

Featuring just three central characters – long-suffering wife Hilary played by Jane Whitlock, her philandering husband Kenneth played by Jonathan Cooke and the mistress and current wife Laura played by Sophie Campbell.

As the curtains opened, we were presented with a simple set of a stark white elevated platform, featuring two tables (which were pushed together or separated to represent each household) three chairs and a step up to each end.  Surrounding the set were long sheer net curtains which were cleverly illuminated with each scene change.

The first scene represents the pristine home of Hilary who has invited her ex-husband and his wife Laura around for a ‘surprise’ dinner.  Hilary is lying prone on the table, eyes cast upwards, recounting her reaction to the day her husband left her for another woman where she cried for  ‘16 hours solid.’ Wearing a simple green dress and matching cardigan, she suddenly sits bolt upright intonating exactly how she feels about him ‘bastard’ the word is left ringing around the theatre leaving us in no doubt of her true feelings. Jane was good as the wronged wife even calling her rival ‘it’ as she coolly greeted her dinner guests. 

Kenneth, dressed as a teddy boy in red and black jacket and two-tone ‘beetle crushers’ is accompanied by his much younger wife Laura wearing a short, red mini dress and white shiny boots her costume highlighting her youth and slim figure in contrast with the dumpy middle-aged housewife Hilary. 

An awkward dinner party resumes with lots of over politeness and passive aggressive body language and Hilary deliberately calling Laura ‘Lorraine’.  Kenneth stuck between the battle of the wives has an enforced joviality while Laura is paranoid about Kenneth and Hilary reminiscing over ‘old times.’   We also learn that it is Kenneth and Laura’s three-year wedding anniversary, but cracks are already beginning to show.  In a wonderful bitter soliloquy laden with food metaphor, Laura shares her inner thoughts about Hilary using her cooking skills to dazzle Kenneth saying she hoped her ‘souffle flops like a fart.’  I liked the way Laura’s character expressed her jealousy of Hilary with her angry body language and fake smoking.

We are then presented with a series of clever flashbacks leading up to the ominous dinner party starting with the night Hilary first meets Laura but not the first night Kenneth meets her!  Poor Hilary is oblivious to their affair even pushing Kenneth to drive her home believing him to be ‘all talk.’   In another flashback, we see Hilary and Kenneth’s marriage steadily deteriorating over their nineteen years together.  At the beginning, as newly married young lovers, she cooks him elaborate meals such as leg of lamb.  Then, as the arguments and bickering start, she serves spaghetti and meatballs and even a salad!  In one direct to the audience speech, we see Hilary frantic with worry as to his whereabouts.  Then, on the other ‘table’ representing Laura’s flat, we see just what Kenneth is up to with Laura in a hilarious sex act as she absent mindedly files her nails, while a guilt-ridden Kenneth constantly clock watches. 

More flashbacks with Hilary becoming increasingly more suspicious of Kenneth as his double-life takes its toll. He scolds himself overthinking on his lying as his guilt has made him angry in response to Hilary’s understandable paranoia.  We see both sides of the affair with Kenneth bad-mouthing Hilary calling her ‘neurotic’ and Laura wanting to tell Hilary the truth.  Laura spills the beans to a disbelieving Hilary and later we see her deliberately destroying one of his precious Elvis records and in a fit of fury kicking him out.  

Another flashback and we realise that Kenneth, however, has quickly become frustrated with his new wife who is the exact opposite of Hilary and true to form it is her cooking and housekeeping skills that are lacking resulting in burnt food and an untidy flat.  Has Kenneth made a terrible mistake divorcing the perfect housewife, Hilary? 

Lovely performances from all the characters.  Jane as Hilary was good as the under-valued housewife harbouring murderous thoughts.  Her soliloquys as she fantasises about killing Kenneth were very well done. Like a modern-day Mrs Lovett she talked graphically about ‘chopping, slicing and mincing him up’ with a macabre glee. I liked the way she became more confident as she gradually stood up to Kenneth finally recognising him for the gaslighting narcissist he truly was and plotting her grisly revenge. 

Jonathan was funny as the Elvis loving middle aged lothario swapping sex for sausage and chips and then back again.  His desperation as he tried to appease both wives was good, and his personality became more odious with each new revelation as he shouted at Laura calling her a ‘spoilt child’ and Hilary ‘a frigid old bag.’  

Sophie as Laura was excellent as the saucy ‘bit on the side’ then miserable wife.  Her comic timing was wonderful as she spat bitterly about Hilary’s cooking, knowing that she could never fulfil this aspect of Kenneth’s needs, or fantasised about killing her.   I liked the way she changed and developed trying desperately to be the model housewife while keeping herself thin and desirable, realising eventually that this was a role she didn’t really want with all the tiresome chores it entailed. 

I liked the simple set which was used very effectively representing Hilary and Kenneth’s home and Laura’s flat.  Lighting was used to dramatic effect highlighting each tableau or character soliloquy with a red or green spotlight finishing with the final chilling red one centred just on Kenneth. Costumes were colour coded red and green to represent the traffic light symbolism of Kenneth’s marital status with him switching to a green jacket in the second act contrasting with each wife.   I was very impressed with the absence of props as each actor took on a mime, for example clinking wineglasses or smoking cigarettes.

It was lovely to meet Anna-Maria, Jonathan and Jane after the show to talk about their characters and Anna-Maria’s ideas and vision for the show. 

Well done Anna-Maria for taking on an extremely dark, moral tale of marriage, misery and murder.   Your individual additions and attention to details made this a highly enjoyable piece of theatre, leaving the audience with a few thoughts to ponder on regarding attitudes to women in society. 

 

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