Chef!

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Combining cookery, beatboxing, martial arts, breakdance and elements from Korean folklore, it is difficult to describe what Chef! is really about. There is a comical plotline about the magical capacity of the traditional Korean dish called Bibimbap. However, in the face of what is happening on stage, the story becomes quite irrelevant.

The show is visually very stylish and the use of interactive animation impressive. The stage with revolving doors is turned into what looks like a set from a TV cooking show while the performers introduce the ingredients of Bibimbap through song and dance while chopping up some vegetables. The entire cast are superb dancers and actors, communicating a lot through physical comedy. Two of the "chefs" are great beatboxers and the female cast members prove to have very good singing voices. All of this is garnished with humorously choreographed stage-fighting which should bring a smile to the grumpiest of faces.

There is some slight awkwardness involved when a member of the audience is invited on stage to try the dish (one which they have not in fact prepared – there’s no actual cooking in the show). Nonethless, Chef! provides an hour of insane entertainment but also an interesting insight into Korean culture where the new meets the old.