| 11 August 2010
From the same team that brought 2006’s popular Fringe show Jump, comes Chef!, the story of a Wulin Master Chef chased through time by ninja assassins who will stop at nothing to get his secret recipe for Bibimbap (a popular Korean dish). Describing itself as a ‘Beatbox Action Comedy’ is an unfortunate abbreviation needed for a catchy tagline, as the show contains some spectacular breakdancing, singing, and physical theatre.
From the start the audience knows what’s coming, as the ingredients of the dish are introduced in a projected video that would suit a martial arts film more than a cookery show. For the next hour the story unravels with surprising clarity, considering there is no dialogue, but the talents of the team are such that plot-confusion wouldn’t matter. The two beatboxers lead funny scenes in the kitchen as they imitate culinary noises, but are just as impressive when their skills are on display in front of the curtain, while changes to the stage are made.
The strength and ability of the dancers is clear when watching a man spin on his head in a colander, but is equally enjoyable during a brilliant black-lit scene in which two men fight over a table of food, jumping around the stage, Crouching Tiger-style, being carried by invisible team members.
Some of the most enjoyable bits simply come when Chef! embraces its absurd story, and I laughed hardest as a beautiful cook sung the word ‘zucchini’ several times, in an sexy soprano voice, to a zucchini.
Assembly@George St, 5-30 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), 4pm
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