Jose Sospedra Canovas
Author: Arnold Wesker
Title: The Kitchen
Subtítle: A play in two parts with an interlude
Editorial: Faber and faber
Year and place published: 1957, London
It was represented in first
time by Emglish Stage Company at the theatre of the Royal Court in 1961,
directed by John Dexter
Dramatis personae
In this play appear a lot of characters, in total 29. There are cookers,
waiters, etc. There are characters more importants than the other. The main
character is Peter, a young German that has a relation with Monique. He is very
fed up of his job and that makes him very agressive and violent. He has a
strong character. He is a dreamer, he would like to left that kitchen.
Monique is a waitress and she is pregnant of Peter
Kevin is a new boy in the job, it is his first day and he realized when
the day ends that that job is not made for him. He is a young Irish who has
just arrived at the city.
The story happens completly in the kitchen of a restaurant called
Tivoli. The day starts and with it all the life in the kitchen. There are a lot
of workers of different nacionalities.
The owner of the restaurant is Mr. Morango. Peter is one of the workers,
he is a german boy who has been working there for three years. He has had a
fight with Gaston, one of the workers of the restaurant.
Peters’s girlfriend tells him that she is pregnant. His strong character
makes that he is sacked of his job and that his girlfriend leaves him. For that
reason, at the end, he goes crazy.
Space
The space in this play is a kitchen of a restaurant called Tivoli. All
the play happens here, there is no change in the setting. There are in the set
stoves, ovens, cupboards, bottles, dishes,etc It has to be a stressant place.
The story happens in just one day, although it is not represented in
real time. The play starts in the morning and ends at night.
The play is divided in two with an interlude after the time of having
lunch, when the workers rest.
There are no hops in the time,
there are a cronology sucesion of the facts, but the characters make reference
to the fight happened last day.
Literary and stylistic solutions
The language used in the play is a simple, standar, quotidian language
where there are abundance of short sentences and shorts dialogues. It appears
vulgarism, and some metaphores.
I really like this play. I think it’s very interesting because there are
many characters, and all of them very differents, this makes the play atractive
and not boring. They are very worked and very human.
In my opinion I can see a criticism agaist the society, the high class,
it would be Mr Morango, and the low classes would be all the workers, who work
for him, and they have hardly rest.
This is a play that I like very much, although it is a little bit
confusing, because there are many characters.