Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall until Monday August 30, 2010
Unrequited love, songs and cooking, Iwan Dam has hit on a winning combination.
The fact that he combines them all in this tale with such conviction is icing on the theatrical cake.
The inspiration comes from a chance meeting of Dutch Dam with the French Severine while backpacking in Thailand.
Their attraction slowly blossoms over a series of bittersweet encounters across the globe, from Holland to the Himalaya.
As Dam narrates, he cooks. Occasionally Dam breaks into song, a little disconcerting at first but the pleasing narrative with catchy melodies win you over as the lyrics bring a wry smile of recognition.
Each dish becomes a chapter in the tale, each ingredient a sound effect or part of the scenery.
People become peppercorns scattered on saffron, crackers crunch footsteps through the snow.
A rotating pestle is a bus, fuelled by dashings of sesame oil – exotic mountains are conjured by piles of equally exotic spices.
The amazing thing is that you get to eat all of this – nothing goes to waste as everyone gets a taste, with kosher, halal, veggie, all seemingly catered for.
Tighter script, direction and more integrated songs, possibly with a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment, all will help set the already mesmerising Cooking for Love up for the world tour it deserves.
Colourful, sensuous, touching and funny, one can only imagine how far Dam’s culinary fable might go if supplied with a top-notch kitchen range.