Author: Arnold Wesker

Title: The kitchen

Subtitle: a play in two parts

Date of publication: 13 september 1959

Place of  publication: At Royal Court Theatre, London

Dramatis personae:

Marango: he is the proprietor of the restaurant. He is an old man of 75 years. He has a sad expression on his face. He has grey hair. His sad look is really one of self-pity. The machine he has set in motion is his whole life and he suspects that everyone is conspiring to stop it.

Magi: is the porter of the restaurant, she works by night.

Max: is the butcher of the restaurant, we do not know the physical features but we know his age, 50 years. He has a cigarette continually dropping from his mouth, and he drinks steadily all day till he is drunk.

Bertha: is the manager of doing vegetable plates, she is a large woman, coarse, friendly and narrow-minded , she is of Jewish ancestry and she has a good character.

Magnolis: is the porter of the kitchen. Is a young Cypriot boy, he is cheeky, hard-working…

Alfred: he is the old man chef, he is 65 years. He is large-muscled and strong, though of medium height. He is the typical cook in that he will help nobody and will accept no help. He is the fastest worker. He speaks little, but he has a dry sense of humour. He is the worker and the boss is the boss.

Betty, Winnie, Hettie, Violet, Daphne, Gwen, Cynthia, Molly and Jackie: they are waitresses.

Paul and Raymond: they are the pastry cooks. Paul is a young Jew, Raymond is an Italian who speaks almost perfect English but with an accent. These two pastry cooks, are calm and less prone to panic. The rush of the kitchen does not affect them, they work hard and straight through without the afternoon break but have no direct contact with the waitresses. Raymond is emotional. Paul is suave, though not unpleasant.

Anne: this one is the aunt of Nicholas, is from Ireland, she is 35 years and she is the manager of doing the desserts and the coffees. She speaks with slow.

Dimitri: also porter of the kitchen, is attractive and intelligent.

Hans: he is a German boy, he is nineteen. He is working in London through a system of exchange. He speaks very bad English nd is impressed by anything flashy. He is sensitive.

Michael: there is nothing particular about this boy of eighteen. He is what his dialoge will make him; but he is a cook and before long all cooks are infused with a kind of madness.

Nicholas: he is a young Cypriot who has lived in England three years and can therefore speak reasonable English but with an accent. Speaking the language and working in a capacity socially superior to his compatriots, he behaves with a wild heartiness, as one who is accepted. And as one who is accepted he imitates and he choosen to imitate Frank and Max by becoming drunk by the end of the day.

Kevin: is the new cook of the restaurant, is Irish and he is only 22 years. He spends most of his time being disturbed by the mad rush of the work and people around him. This is worse than anything he has ever seen.

Frank: he is the second chef, a prisioner of war for four years. He is thirty-eight years. He drinks steadily throughout the day and by nightfall is blissfully drunk though instinctively capable.

Peter: is the main character. He is a young German man, he is 23 years. He has worked at the Tivoli for the last three years. His parents were killed in the war. He is aggressive, too merry and yet good-natured. He speaks good English but with an accent. When he’s talking to people, he tends to speak into their ear as though he were telling them a secret. A strong characteristic of him is his strong laugh.

Gaston: is a Cypriot man. He is 40 years.

Plot:

The play develops in a kitchen, where there are thirty chefs, waitresses, and kitchen porters, preparing the lunch. The central story tells of a frustrated love affair between a young German chef, Peter, and a married English waitress, Monique. They talk about their dreams of a better life. They have discussions, chats, laughs. But they fight too. The most serious conflict that exists in this play is when Peter fights with Gaston. Of all that, the beneficiary is the owner of the restaurant the gentleman Marango.

Space, time and other aspects:

The play develops inside the kitchen of a restaurant called Tivoli. All the facts that happened in the play, happen in the same day, there is no type of jump in the time, no temporary breaks. The play has been written with a colloquial language, and there are some vulgarisms. Other aspects that we have found also are some metaphors.

Personal opinion:

I don’t like this play a lot. I think that is an easy play to read because of the fact it uses a colloquial language, however I think that it is a little boring. And I don’t like the plays with a lot of characters.