Kitchen Sink Drama
Once – Arts and Ceremonies
Mayfest 2010
I arrive home to find a plump blue envelope has been deposited through my letterbox. It bears a warning that I must not open it until I can find a friend, an hour and a few basic kitchen items. That same evening, I locate the friend, hour and items and open the envelope…
To say as little as possible, I can tell you that the hour we spent on our performance was fun, creative, silly and surprisingly touching. Kitchen Sink Drama invites participants to regain the reckless wonder of childhood, to make a mess and to run around the kitchen looking for things to play with. It invited these two sensible grown-ups to act completely ridiculously but also to share stories with each other in a way that wasn’t pressured, embarrassing or twee.
Elements of the experience are truly beautiful but astoundingly simple and the thought and imagination that has gone into this game is wonderful. Through sheer ingenuity everyday items are transformed; the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. At its core, Kitchen Sink Drama is a reminder that sometimes the box can be just as exciting as the toy contained within.
Practically, the experience is easy to perform and we never felt lost of confused. Each step of the instructions is revealed in turn, keeping an element of surprise and adding to our growing sense of wonder, step by step. Each instruction is flexible enough to be as consuming as you choose to make it. Given the fun we had with this evening’s experience I recommend you revel in the time it takes to carry out each step.
Whilst at £15 the experience seems pricey in comparison to some of the other performances you can see at Mayfest, I absolutely believe that the experience is worth the cost. The game contains meticulously crafted hand-made items and the cost includes postage.
Treat Kitchen Sink Drama as a gift – eat a nice supper together and perhaps gather ingredients for a cocktail or purchase a good bottle of wine. Make an evening of it and take the time to play properly with a friend, relative or lover. Be sure to choose someone with whom you can have fun and be open to being silly and have a camera to hand, as some of the things you will do are too ludicrous not to photograph.
Whilst I approached the experience with a slight cynicism, we both finished the game having had a beautiful, humorous and slightly emotional evening. I highly recommend you experience Kitchen Sink Drama!
Michael David Jones
12th May 2010
Tags: arts, mayfest, once arts and ceremonies, review
