The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights – Park Theatre, London

Writer: Hannah Doran

Director: George Turvey

Tensions in the back room of a butcher’s run high in The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights. Billy (Ash Hunter) and JD (Marcello Cruz) are both facing a cut test, but with sales falling, Paula (Jackie Clune) can only afford to keep one of them on. The constant action of the work keeps things vibrant in a play that could easily collapse into a kitchen sink drama. Tensions flare from the start as T (Mithra Malek), Billy’s cousin, begins working there, and JD quickly gets a crush.

But the tension that really pushes the play forward isn’t interpersonal, it’s political. The rapidly gentrified neighbourhood means new neighbours, who get their meat from Amazon-owned supermarkets. And the politics aren’t just outside the shop, as David’s (Eugene McCoy) voting record and JD’s immigration status both come into question. But The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights remains firmly sensitive towards hot-button topics while making it clear where its sympathies lie. Numerous employees are ex-convicts, and this is always treated with kindness. It also serves to allow the audience to like Paula and see that she is benefiting the community despite being a business owner with the power to fire anyone at will. This is greatly helped by the strength and likability in Clune’s performance.

Much of the more heightened scenes revolve around Hunter’s ability to ramp up emotion in a believable and engaging way as Billy. He does so, but at times makes the most obvious choice in conveying those shifts in mental state. George Turvey’s direction is often keen to take the easiest, most well-trodden route, with menial cleaning tasks repeated without adequate motivation or care. Characters who clean surfaces multiple times a day, every day, should do so with precision and clarity of purpose, and here they do not. These are small refinements which could help elevate this performance to a level where, even if audience members don’t know why they feel completely held, they will sense the confidence and clarity of the choices made.

Similarly, some of Mona Camille’s design work lacks refinement. Uniforms don’t feel quite accurate to their real versions, and the fake meat sometimes leads the actors to hack rather than slice. Nevertheless, gathering that much fake meat on stage in a way that is both interactive and functional to the action is an impressive feat.

It is, however, clear why The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights won the 2024 Papatango New Writing prize. Hannah Doran’s script is efficient, heartfelt, and driven with a ferocious energy that replicates the constant pressure and camaraderie of the hospitality industry. This is why it is frustrating to see routine directorial decisions made with a script that offers so much. There are ample opportunities for feelings to come through under the surface if actors are directed to play against the lead emotion of the text.

Overall, The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights weaves a fantastic tale of the effects of national politics on local communities and is surprisingly effective at creating sympathy for business owners without losing focus on the workers who are really at risk. It is a play that feels necessary, timely, and deserves to be transferred to New York and beyond.

 Runs until 29 November 2025