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Capital Stage's 'How To Use A Knife' Perfectly Melds Farce With Drama

  •  Jeff Hudson 
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 | Sacramento, CA
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Capital Stage is premiering a raucous new play called “How to Use a Knife,” set in a frenzied restaurant kitchen, where the surly cooks crank out orders as fast as they can. The show begins as an expletive-laced comedy, then veers into serious dramatic territory.

Picture a noisy kitchen, with stainless steel counters and stockpots. And we’re talking about a restaurant that serves lots of burgers. The portly chef has clearly worked in high class restaurants. He’s come down in the world, and he knows it.

Chef: Fire! Two greens, one cabbage. Order in, two burgers, one medium, one rare.

The chef wears a battle-tested, world-weary look, and he’s given to angry outbursts. He’s clearly got a troubled past. But he’s determined to run a tight ship, even in this joint, and he isn’t afraid to put a little disciplinary heat on his staff.

Chef: Half your paycheck every week gets a bar and Corona. And you come stumbling out in the morning, and I’ve gotta deal with the consequences.
Carlos: I gotta deal with you, too, Chef!
Chef: Oh, you got lip!
Carlos: I have no lip.
Chef: Yeah, you got a little bit of lip.
Carlos: I have absolutely no lip, Chef.
Chef: (Bleep), Carlos, I’ve seen Taco Bells in South Carolina run better than this.
Carlos: Oh, that’s where you worked before here?

Over in the corner, there’s an African immigrant washing dishes. He doesn’t say anything for a long time, and the Chef assumes he doesn’t understand English.

But as it turns out, the dishwasher speaks English rather well, and in a quiet moment, he asks the Chef to teach him some of the finer points of cooking. The first lesson involves how to use a knife, which is where the title of the play comes from.

Chef: Now the knife becomes a part of me. Where I move it…
Dishwasher: Like I have blades for hands.
Chef: Exactly.
Dishwasher: And I keep strength on all points.
Chef: Wherever you move…
Dishwasher: … I am a knife.
Chef: You are!
Dishwasher: I feel strong.
Chef: You feel like a COOK!

A mutually respectful relationship begins, akin to friendship. But it gradually becomes evident that just like the chef, this dishwasher has a past that he doesn’t want to talk about. And then the immigration authorities show up, looking for a guy who seems to work under a lot of different aliases.

The play shifts from a sassy, stressed-out kitchen farce into a drama about weaponry, ethnic conflict, guerilla warfare, and things much worse than that.

Capital Stage HOW TO USE A KNIFE 5653 Photo By Charr Crail

Charr Crail / Capital Stage

This show features multiple standout performances, including Harry Harris as the red-eyed, substance-abusing chef approaching the end of his tether, and Adrian Roberts as the quiet dishwasher, whose serene exterior conceals something sinister.

“How to Use a Knife” is yet another excellent and well-balanced production from Capital Stage, which seems to move from strength to strength these days.

Cap Stage -How To Use AKnife -P

Charr Crail / Capital Stage


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 Capital Stagetheatre review

Jeff Hudson

Contributing Arts Reporter and Theatre Critic

Jeff Hudson has been contributing arts-related stories to Capital Public Radio since 1995, with an emphasis on theater and classical music. He attends over 100 performances annually, ranging from modern musicals to medieval masses.   Read Full Bio 

 Email Jeff Hudson

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