An intriguing stew of dating anecdotes, Buddhist teachings and medical horror, The Society for New Cuisine has morsels of creative genius but overall hasn’t quite worked out what sort of play it wants to be. Written and performed by Chris Fung, this 70-minute one hander bursts into the black box space with a chaotic menu; serving up a lost man recovering from the traumatic death of his wife, who finds himself plunged into a shadow society intent on consuming him. Classic romantic and emotional beats pepper the first half in an abstract monologue before the scene then slowly descends into horror as our hero and the audience is asked to question what they would give up to find themselves.

Deeply unsettling messages simmer to the surface throughout, focusing on corporate capitalism, both the literal and metaphorical idea of cannibalism and how a society consumes itself. But ultimately it felt like it could have been pushed so much further as an idea, with more emotional payoff and stronger intent in the staging. 

With working microphones, laptops, lamps, and cables littering the space, the mixed media mostly all operated by Fung highlighted his adept style and strong acting skills but at times the need to move stands, play sounds and traverse the space detracted from the emotional core. Fung clearly connected to the tale, one can only assume concepts explored such as familial piety come from personal experience due to how emotionally present his performance was. If only director Rupert Hands had found a way to support his impressive lead with tighter technical elements and more focus on the storytelling. 

It’s one of those plays that will resonate with some audiences and completely confound others. Whilst the script was engaging with evocative recurring imagery and a clever use of pre-recorded snippets and voice changing technology to provide characters for Fung to effectively engage with, the staging felt rushed and many of the concepts only emerged upon deep reflection. Ultimately The Society for New Cuisine is a glowing recipe of how strong Chris Fung is as an actor and writer that just needed a few more ingredients to plate up a perfect dish. 

Review by Eva Tilley

The Society for a New Cuisine is on until 5th April. You can find out more and book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review for White Rose at Marylebone Theatre, Heaven at Southwark Playhouse and Bat Out of Hell on tour.