Kitchen Theatre: Space for Grief, Community, and Activism

HowlRound: Motivated by my interest in non-traditional theatre’s potential to mobilize social action, I was led to attend Aglio e Olio: a performance categorized by its creators as “kitchen theatre.” The event was invite-only—which I acquired through recommendation from a friend—and took place in the director’s home kitchen. Conceived to give creative, communal space for the writer/performer’s grief over the loss of her father, the invitation gives scant detail beyond the promise of a “multi-sensory experience.” Although the play itself tends closely to its focus on the interrelatedness of food, family, and loss, I found the ingenuity of Aglio e Olio’s approach applicable to challenges many modern activists are facing.