REVIEW OF EDINBURGH FRINGE SHOW - Out to Lunch
There’s always a ‘food’ presence at the Edinburgh Fringe but more in the way of food and drink events ie whisky tastings, food sensory experiences and of course loads of street food to actually eat. It’s not a usual occurence to find shows centred around food and very unusual to find shows about what I do for a living - food reviewing!
REVIEW OF EDINBURGH FRINGE SHOW ‘OUT TO LUNCH’
OVERVIEW OF ‘OUT TO LUNCH’ COMEDY SHOW
This is exactly what Out to Lunch is about. “Out To Lunch” by Hughie Shepherd-Cross and Nathan Brown portrays a restaurant critic striving to write the foulest review conceivable. This is a play about washed-up critic Marcus Tuckwell. In his quest for new-found fame, Tuckwell writes a vile review, hoping to receive a (fictional) ‘Loiseau’ award – named after a French chef who shot himself, in part due to the downgrading of his restaurant from three to two Michelin stars. In a play peppered with references to real-life reviewers, Tuckwell is then ‘cancelled’ by other critics.
Writing a food review is never easy and I’ve sat many times in front of my screen just staring at it; other times the food and whole experience speaks for itself and the words just magically write themselves; but I have never written a stonkingly bad review. I just couldn’t. Instead I feed back details of my experience straight to the restaurant or their PR agency.
It’s a bitter sweet stance to take because I know that my blog and social media following would be exceptionally popular if I wrote bad reviews! Instead I only promote those places and experiences worthy of being shouted about!
This play really struck a cord with me, about how easy it is to make or break a restaurant on the back of a review especially if you are a big time critic with a large following.
The play introduces us to the critic gods - Giles Coran, Jay Rayner and AA Gill. All of whom at some point in their careers have taken down eateries or propelled restaurants to fame and fortune.
MY THOUGHTS ON ‘OUT TO LUNCH’ AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE
Tuckwell is played by rising star Fabian Bevan, who graduated last year from the Fontainebleau School of Acting. Tuckwell’s character is a total ‘drama lama’ from the opening scene of him sprawled on the floor, where he ends up a further twice in the show. He is egocentric, excessive and funny!
Emily Cairns as Tuckwell’s ruthless agent Angie, has performed in off-West End musical comedies and she most definitely is the one with the singing voice.
Sam Scruton who plays Jezzer, chef and restaurant owner recently became a viral sensation with his hilarious reaction videos. His character Jezzer is portrayed as a feeble and incompetent cook who becomes the dish of the day, the entree to end Tuckwell’s fame hunger!
This is a very funny satirical play that’s an hour of lighthearted and easy watching comedy. There’s some songs (Emily is most definitely the talented singer in this trio), there’s quite a lot of swearing but its not offensive and there is a lot of laughter.
If you are into your food and love dining out; always mutter a ‘pffft sake’ at people taking a million photos of their food; a foodie or like me, someone who writes and lives for food, then this play is ONE TO WATCH at the Edinburgh Fringe this year! You WILL laugh!
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Out to Lunch, Underbelly, Bristo Square, Edinburgh.
Starts at 12:50pm. 1 hour long
Runs from the 3rd - 29th August daily