‘Cut Chilli’ sizzles at the Old Fitz

Cut Chilli is a play that has come with a lot of expectations and it delivers on all of them.

From the pen of Melbourne playwright, musician and journalist Chenturan Aran, Cut Chilli takes the archetypical Australian family and rips it apart, exposing all manners of hidden emotions, actions and their consequences.

Only its an Australian family with one big twist; the son Jamie (Ariyan Sharma) is an adopted Sri Lankan and until now both he and the family have existed under the delusion that he is white.

Jamie has has a relationship with a progressive Muslim girl Zahra (Kelsey Jeanell) who is developing a series of podcasts titled The Decolonisation Diaries.

Gathered at the McKenzie household in Western Australia for Jamie’s homecoming dinner, consisting of pre-packaged curry mix, is the mother Katherine (Susie Lindeman), opportunist politician father (Brendan Miles) and the bad uncle (Noel Hodda).

The father, expressing his multicultural understanding, rolls out a prayer mat for Zahra, throwing up just one of the many moments that the audience can indulge in cross cultural cringes.

Slowly the play burns until Jamie demands that his mother show him his adoption papers. Sensing a golden moment about to be exposed, Zahra surreptitiously records the events.

These events trigger a roller-coaster ride of emotions, accusations and truth-searching that will test the bonds of the family and any hope of a future and mark a decided tonal change in the play.

Under the direction of David Burrowes Cut Chilli is well paced for the most part, with all of the cast delivering exceptions performances, especially those of Sharma and Jeanell. However, the show does run a bit long, and I began to feel its length by the end.

A text with real depth

Aran’s has produced a text that displays moments of brilliant wit and tension for the cast to work with as they flesh out their backstories.

Susie Lindeman’s eyes command the stage, while Miles delivers a cringeworthy performance of an almost woke personality who is only rounded out by Hodda’s role of a jack-the-lad character always playing the angles.

A practical and simple set design by Soham Apte makes the most of the Old Fitz stage. At first it appears as a single backdrop but then opens to reveal the inner lives of the performers and their middle-class urban environment.

Rita Naidu’s costumes fit their characters well with Jamie’s bright yellow kurta being the focus.

The sound design by Sam Cheng is exactly what the play requires and never intrudes into what is unfolding in stage.

Intimacy coordinator Shondelle Pratt also deserves credit for coaching believable and tender moments between Sharma and Jeanell.

Cut Chilli is a milestone production for the Old Fitz and an important step towards cementing the reputation for its producers Lucy Clements and Emma Wright.

Cut Chilli
Old Fitz Theatre, July 5-27
https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/cut-chilli