Northern Meal Rituals & Gastronomic Tales

Written by Faye Draper on 08th June, 2010
Tagged with: alex kelly, third angel, faye draper, meal-time, tea-time, food, rituals, north, northern, tea

Northern Meal Rituals & Gastronomic Tales

Tea is an Evening Meal is a project that has allowed me to gather rich and varied stories from friends and strangers whilst sharing a good old cup of tea...

From the array of food that children have got stuck up their noses, to the detailed rituals people carry out at meal times, I have gathered tales from young and old including those that dine at tables or those that prefer a tray. Through talking to a wide variety of people, I am now aware of the ingenious and varied way in which children deceive their parents into believing they have consumed all their greens. (Hiding vegetables under mash is a popular choice!)

My research provoked a number of questions. Can you eat food after someone else has touched it? Would you ever eat out in a restaurant alone? Is it ok to re-boil water that already been boiled in the kettle? Do you set the breakfast table before you go to bed at night?

For Tea is an Evening Meal, audiences will gather around a large wooden dining table, where they will be in touching-distance of the performer, drinking-distance of a nice cup of tea, and listening-distance of my gathered table tales. The show creates an intimate experience, without being intimidating for our gathered audience. They will listen to tales as if they were guests at a friend’s dinner party. It premieres at Northern Stage on Thursday 17 June, when it begins a six show run over 3 days

I am the host and I will welcome you with a brew and a biscuit. You’ll have the opportunity to reminisce, laugh, and play a little. The 13 people that join me at this tea-time table also join all the people I have shared meals with and gathered stories from. From Alan and his aggression problem, to the girl sat in the wrong chair, the stories allow you a glimpse into other people meal-time experiences.

At Northern Stage, they’d like to hear some of your own meal-time rituals or gastronomic tales. We encourage (or even dare!) you to share some of your wonderful or weird stories, by commenting on this blog post. Tea is an Evening Meal is about northern England dining rituals… how does this compare with the rest of the world?

The timing of the show is made more interesting as I am currently 6 months pregnant. With initial concerns about the intensity of so many shows (27 weeks into growing a baby), I soon found this change to my appearance poignantly adds to the way I am now preparing my own table, making decisions about my family’s meal-times. Through the journey of creating the show I have decided my children will enjoy water more than pop; I will continue to call my evening meal tea; and may even add bread and butter to a meal when my hungry family gobble up all the food in minutes (even if the meal is pasta-based.)

Tea is an Evening Meal has been created in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in collaboration with Third Angel’s Alex Kelly. Together, we began the development process when up in Newcastle in February. Alex was at Northern Stage performing Class of ‘76 (also part of Northern Stages). In between shows Alex and I met at the very table that the audience will gather around. The new collaboration has allowed the work to draw from both performer’s experience of making playful and new theatre as well as our personal experience of times at the dinner table.

So come along… come straight from work to the 6.30pm show to give yourself a bit of chill out time before you head home, or have your tea first then join us at 8pm. If your week days evenings are full of their own pre-planned rituals come join us on Saturday at 2pm or 8pm. This 45 minute experience will reignite a lifetime of tea-time experiences.