Writer: Mustapha Matura
Director: Kalungi Ssebandeke
On the surface, Meetings appears to be a play predominantly about two things: meeting and eating.
It’s no coincidence that both words echo in the play’s title, one subsumed within the other. Such duality of meaning is a nod to the dynamics and conflicts which pervade the play: meeting vs eating, the global vs the domestic and progress vs the past. And so, just like its title, this is a play which is deceptively simple, initially appearing to be comfortably confined to the domestic, culinary setting effectively depicted on the round stage of the Orange Tree Theatre. But Meetings soon betrays a host of hidden meanings and uncomfortable conflicts, brought to life by a talented cast who portray the depth of their characters with careful consideration and admirable attention to detail.
Meetings provides a window of insight into the domestic lives of Hugh (Kevin N Golding) and Jean (Martina Laird), a commercially successful Trinidadian couple whose wealth and prosperity belie an increasingly strained marriage. Hugh is an engineer whose vocational dedication is increasingly called into question by a hankering for the flavours of the past and a developing moral conscience while Jean is a businesswoman with a commitment to the commercial and a staunch disdain for the domestic. The gap developing between them is catalysed by the introduction of Elsa (Bethan Mary-James) whose cooking allows Hugh to indulge his craving for the Trinidadian dishes of his childhood.
Golding and Laird aptly embody the attitudes of Hugh and Jean: Hugh is depicted as nostalgic yet energetic, embellishing the story of his day’s adventures with enthusiastic gestures and detailed narrative. Conversely, Jean is depicted as powerful and dignified: Laird brings her to life by imbuing her character with conscious authority and a steely drive to succeed in the world of business. And yet it is clear that their communication is lacking: ‘Meetings, is Meetings all Morning, dis Afternoon a going ter visit a site an later we have some more Meetings’, proclaims Hugh. ‘Meetings’ quickly becomes a byword for the daily lives of Hugh and Jean to which they will give the other person only limited access and insight
Elsa’s introduction introduces a new dynamic: the love between Hugh and the Trinidadian food of his youth. It is here that Kevin N Golding’s comic depiction of his character is at its best as he deploys body language and hyperbolic statements of enthusiasm (‘this is really good… really really good!’) to convey the newfound infatuation he has for food. Golding’s weak knees and childlike exclamations of excitement at every mouthful have the audience in peals of laughter, crafting some of the funniest moments of the play.
The cooking scenes are masterfully reinforced by the set design: a fully functional hob allows the audience to watch the sizzling and smell the cooking, while an assortment of other domestic appliances draws viewers into the four walls of the kitchen. Mary-James plays Elsa with a delightfully naïve happiness – eager to please her new employers, she clearly derives great pleasure from seeing her simple cooking commended so highly, and the relationship between her and Golding blossoms as a result, although hers is a slightly less well-rounded character than the other two.
The set design is so fitting because this is a play with the domestic at its core: the events of the play take place in and around the kitchen, often with food at their centre. For this reason, the moments where external events burst the domestic bubble often tend to feel less deeply considered than the characters themselves: the discoveries regarding the detrimental effects of Jean’s business feel as though they could have more time devoted to their revelation. Equally, the final moments of the play feel similarly rushed, with the differing outlooks of Hugh and Jean predictably coming to a head in a moment of irreversible disintegration. This, however, is more likely attributable to the writing, rather than performance: Hugh, Jean and Elsa are at the centre of this play and their strong on-stage dynamics leave little room for off-stage storytelling.
Like all good comedies, this play is more than just the sum of its comic moments (although it has wit, satire and hyperbole in droves). Meetings is a play drenched in flavour and with subtle undertones of its post-colonial context. Hugh and Jean ultimately come to embody a set of competing identity politics, with Jean castigating the ‘small island mentality’, and Hugh advocating a simpler, more nostalgic view of happiness. It’s a recipe for an entertaining play which cooks up a witty yet thought-provoking exploration of Caribbean identity.
Runs until 11 November 2023
