Is there anything more satisfying than a lovingly prepared meal? Well, perhaps, one that is served up as a side to good theatre. My English Persian Kitchen by Hannah Khalil is a thoroughly flavourful feast of a play that transports its audiences, through its aromatic delights, into an Iranian kitchen.
Adapted from the real life of Atoosa Sepehr, the play tracks one unnamed woman’s fast escape from her abusive husband in her home country of Iran and her subsequent settling in England. I’d expect hearing the account, which is rich in emotion and nostalgia, would be deeply poignant even if told without all the glorious trimmings added by Khalil. But here it is shared as the woman (a tremendous Isabella Nefar) cooks up a delicious, fragrant ash-e-reshteh live on stage.
