Who would have thought, in 2026, that comedy would still be called upon to spoof the sexism of the Christian church? So it is with Kate Owens’ Cooking With Kathryn, in which a woman from America’s Bible belt struggles to keep up appearances as she hosts, for the first time, her late mom’s community cooking show. Owens was nominated for the best newcomer award at Edinburgh fringe for this one, and you can see why. She’s a teasing and charismatic presence here, playing a type – woman on the edge, her panic barely concealed by too much makeup and a flashing smile – that audiences will instantly recognise.
Maybe she’s too recognisable: the show’s argument, that Christian zealotry subjugates women, is nothing if not familiar, and Owens discloses Kathryn’s particular crisis (her tyrannical mom; her lovelessness) very explicitly right from the get-go. But if the terrain feels well trodden, Owens brings it to sparkling life, as the daughter flailing to become the home-maker of her late mom’s dreams. The cookery workshops descend into slapstick disaster, via an erotic egg-beating skit and a hastily improvised tinfoil bandage. Proceedings are given a psychotically needy edge when Kathryn’s supposed sweetheart is discovered sitting in the front row.
