SALT LAKE CITY — The Kitchen Sink, by Cordelia Brand, is a 60 minute play featured at the Great Salt Lake Fringe for 2024. Produced by the SpeakEasy Theatre Company, The Kitchen Sink started with a voice over describing how the kitchen is the place of nurturing and love. What followed was a cast of seven players who went through a series of humorous, touching, sad, and interesting scenes. At first I thought the scenes had no connection to one another but the final scene played out in a way that was unexpected and truly touching. I do not want to spoil the show because I found it a refreshing surprise that I hope others will experience, but I will say that it was a delightful treat.
Great Salt Lake Fringe Runs through August 4. | PC: SpeaKeasy Theatre Company.
The set design by Michael Payne consisted of a simple kitchen, with the sink in the background, and a quaint stool that I loved because my grandmother had that exact stool in her own kitchen. The actors in the program are just billed as Actors 1-7, which makes sense in context because each plays something from a young boy aspiring to be Rocky Balboa or Luke Skywalker, to an older man trying to find the tape measure hooked to his back belt loop (this was my favorite part because yes I am often looking for my reading glasses on my head), to a mother declining in health just wanting to feel useful, to a young couple going to prom, to so much more. Each of these scenes directed by Shauna Brand have a lot of heart, and show a deep connection to humanity and how much we rely on each other. From the fun scenes of people playing games, to the conversations that happen when preparing food, to the tragic fights, it was a beautiful look at all the things that happen within a kitchen.
I did not expect to be moved as much as I was by a small tale that seemed to have no connecting thread. It reminded me of how a lot of us do not see how we do not see how we connect to things outside of ourselves, and the way that these stories ended up connecting in the end was so creative that I truly look forward to seeing more work from writer Brand and hope to see more from the SpeakEasy Theatre Company as well.
These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.
