ARNOLD WESKER
THE KITCHEN( a play in two parts with interlude)
The first representation took place at the Royal Court Theatre on 13 September 1959.
CAST:
The play has a long cast: Magi, Max, Bertha, Molly, Winnie, Magnolis, Paul, Raymond, Hettie, Violet, Anne, Gwen, Daphne, Cynthia, Dimitri, Betty, Jackie, Hans, Monique, Alfredo, Michael, Gaston, Kevin, Nicholas, Peter, Frank, Chef, Head Waiter, Marangoa and Tramp. All they work in a restaurant which owner is Marango.
The main character is Peter, a young German, who stars the most important facts of the play.
SPACE:
The whole play takes place on a restaurant kitchen, this fact helps the play to transmit the stress that produces working in a close place full of people.
TIME:
There is no a concrete time, the time passes and we only know it because they finish the working day, or because there references to the time of the day(afternoon, evening, etc).
Sometimes, the action happens slowly to make the pass of time longer.
SUMMARY:
The play reflects the life of a group of people who have to share a lot of time working in a kitchen, where will be arguments, fights and a lot of work, and the stress caused by that. The first part shows us this kitchen aspects, problems, etc.
In the 2nd part we see the central topic of the play, the love between Peter and Monique.
The main character is Peter, a young German who has a strong nature, he irritates himself easily, and in a place which is plenty of people it is a serious problem.
Peter has suffered a lot before and this fact influences in his behaviour.
He will have arguments with almost all his partners, sometimes by simple things or problems with the meal and other times problems caused by his jealousy.
He is in love with a waitress, Monique, who is married, and this fact will cause problems.
Monique decides finishing her relationship, Peter gets crazy, and smashes the gas leads to the ovens.
Marango, tired by the violent attitude Peter has, makes a final thought:
“ I give work, I pay well, yes? They eat what they want, don’t they? I don’t know what more to give a man(…) WHAT IS THERE MORE? WHAT IS THERE MORE?
Maybe he is right, a person needs no more to live, work, salary, meal…. On the other this is said by a man who devotes his life to his restaurant and doesn’t think in what is out of his world.