food/drink
TOP OF THE CROPS
A FOODIE FAÇADE
With the promise of a combination of circus skills
and top quality cuisine, Madeleine Keenan gets a
taste of food and theatre show Façade.
A theatrical dining experience that will literally
get your plate spinning arrives in south Wales this
month.
You can forget pre- and post-theatre dining –
instead, combine the two at theatre show/dinner
Façade, where you can enjoy a three-course
meal while the performance unfolds around
you. Devised by circus-theatre troupe Crashmat
Collective, this intimate show is something very
different from your Saturday night takeaways or
weekend theatre trips. With no separate stage, the
audience becomes a part of the show, blurring the
boundaries between performer and audience.
In Façade the performers don’t just pose as
staff in a café, they actually are the staff,
moving between tables and serving the audience
their food and drink as the narrative of their
relationships and fantasies unfold. The show
promises to enchant audiences with its mix of
hilarious and touching moments.
If this wasn’t enough, this theatrical dining
experience is also teamed with impressive
displays of circus skills, including aerial and
Chinese pole acts. The show succeeds in creating
an environment where it seems as if anything is
possible.
With all this going on around you, it might be
easy to forget about what’s on the table in front of
you but, if you can take your eyes away from the
dramatics unfolding in front of you, make sure you
stop to appreciate the food on offer. With a choice
of three main meals, including baked salmon
steak with Mediterranean vegetables and garlic
and herb chicken, as well as double chocolate
brownies for desert, the show is just as much
about the food as the performance.
The combination of engaging, dramatic
performance and breathtaking circus skills,
brought together in a stage-less, real-life setting
promises to be a meal out like no other.
For a day out that will make you feel like you’ve
fallen int