Food, created by director Steve Rogers and choreographer Kate Champion is the latest coproduction by Belvoir and Force Majeure which is about much more than just eating.
Two sisters reunite after many years apart. One is passionate about food, the other about sex. The pair decides to revamp the family take-away shop and turn it into a restaurant but neither has the expertise.
“It’s about these two sisters reconciling the past and trying to re-establish a relationship in the present,” says actress Emma Jackson.
The sisters, Nancy (Jackson) and Elma played by Kate Box, hire Hakan Leventoglu, played by Fayssal Bazzi, to help refurbish the restaurant but this only complicates their relationship.
“[The introduction of] a male is quite interesting, seeing how that affects their lives, it kind of turns their worlds upside down,” says Jackson.
The piece has been in development for two years and has been co-directed by Rogers and Champion. While the story is primarily text based, Champion’s history as a choreographer factors into the mode of story-telling.
“Kate has been concentrating more on the movement and Steve on the text,” says Jackson.
“We’ve explored areas in the piece that can be told through more of a physical language rather than a dialogue,” says Jackson.
The piece features several ways of telling a story outside a text including multimedia integration and even interactive elements.
“There are different pictures of things projected on different surface to highlight a certain part of the story,” says Jackson.
There will also be a little food served to select audience members throughout parts of the play.
Nourishment, both emotional and physical, has been key to the story.
“We’ve built it as it’s been going and things are still changing,” says Jackson.
With a strong cast and directorial team this new experimental production is bound to be a must-try piece of Sydney theatre.
Apr 26-May 20, Belvoir St Downstairs, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills, $32-42, 9699 3444, belvoir.com.au
