Theatre review: In Geoff Sobelle's Food, restaurants devolve into magical chaos

Straits Times

2 days ago

Food
Geoff Sobelle Singtel Waterfront Theatre Aug 6, 8pm
For those eschewing spoilers, look away now. American theatremaker Geoff Sobelle's magic theatre Food runs on surprise and chaos – glassware smashed to smithereens on the ground, and moulded earth models of bison seemingly materialising out of thin air.
Sobelle transforms from penguin-suited waiter to competitive eater that would put even the best mukbang (South Korean live-streamed eating) hosts to shame.
It is a devastating and bodily experience of how far humans have strayed from their evolutionary roots, the cost of endless building, and the unseen exploitation involved in the mundane ritual of dining in a restaurant.
Part of The Esplanade Theatre's The Studios season centred on the theme of sustenance, Food forgoes conventional narrative. Its target is always maximum visual impact – and even a tinge of fear in the audience, who can never be certain how violent Sobelle's next act will be.
There is absolute commitment, and then some, by Sobelle and his team, whether serving up raw ingredients or fast-forwarding through human civilisation, from agrarian to industrial.
Perhaps this devotion is best exemplified by an intricate and very large chandelier made of plastic debris that is a constant reminder of the current plastic era – a Damocles sword always waiting to fall, ultimately never used.
The apposite reaction is equal parts nervous laughter and horror. Yet, the constant sleight of hand by Sobelle, which would confound even professional magicians, also leaves room for a sliver of wonderment: 'Surely he isn't doing that. He is doing that, but is he really? And if yes, how?'
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Beyond Food's timely message of gluttony and waste, it is likely these thoughts will occupy the audience long after they have taken photos of the final desolate set and dispersed, their appetites either whetted or temporarily sickened.
Singtel Waterfront Theatre has been transformed beyond recognition, with a massive table seating 10 audience members on each side the centrepiece.
These are people who have paid extra for their tickets and one is wont not to envy them. They are the ones who have to order from Sobelle's deranged menu, and who are enlisted to read from extensive prompts.
There is many a reason for their wine spillage, which will not be revealed here. But Sobelle's inventory is endless, pulling out bowl after bowl of uncooked food that will transform how one sees a simple order of a baked potato.
A trip to the ice floes of the Arctic to secure fish is particularly transportive – though there is also laksa, the first of a series of localising touches that make this work feel properly regional. Until the light goes down and the next few perfectly choreographed, disturbing acts begin. You almost expect Sobelle to shout, a la Russell Crowe in the 2000 epic Gladiator: 'Are you not entertained?'
The sound design for Food is phenomenally good, roving and immersive and almost forcing the audience to echo-locate their source. Sobelle never drops his mask, and effortlessly takes the audience along on his maximalist vision.
The work may not say anything new, but it is an angry cry for more conscientious consumption, which must begin with a re-engagement of the senses. It is these that once brought people's ancestors out of the ocean and up the trees: a time more in tune with nature.
Book It/Food