Viva Brighton Issue #80 October 2019

THEATRE
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Nigel Slater's Toast
A feast of nostalgia
Photo by Piers Foley
“When I say ‘Jammy
Dodgers’ the audience
goes crazy,” laughs actor
Giles Cooper, “And as for
‘Cadbury Mini Rolls’…”
It’s one of many nostalgiaevoking
moments in Toast,
the stage adaptation of
Nigel Slater’s bittersweet
foodie memoir that
arrives at the Theatre
Royal this month. The show follows the
longstanding Observer food writer – played by
Cooper – from his 1960s boyhood in suburban
Wolverhampton, through his teenage sexual
awakening, to his first proper job at The Savoy.
A different dish – some of them recreated on
stage – prompts each memory; the burnt toast
his adored but short-lived mother made for
him; the family’s early experimentations with
then-exotic spaghetti bolognese, and of course,
Slater’s infamous masterclass in seduction via
Walnut Whip. “It’s a total nostalgia-fest,” says
Cooper. “One of the unifying things between
us, regardless of race, gender, politics and so
on, is that we all know and love food. It’s such
a part of our identity and memory. That’s what
Toast, and what Nigel as a writer, encapsulates
so perfectly.”
He has worked closely with Slater throughout.
“That’s a unique experience as an actor, to
have the person you’re playing present or at
the end of a phone.” He now prides himself
on having the writer’s mannerisms and vocal
inflections down pat. “We did a radio interview
together the other day down a phone line. The
DJ asked us a question and Nigel and I both
started chatting. She had to stop us and say she
was terribly sorry but she didn’t know which
of us was talking. I was
delighted.” Cooper has
also had a few cooking
lessons from his subject
in preparation for a
scene where he cooks
live on-stage. “I enjoy
that moment in the show
immensely because I
don’t have any lines. I’m
on stage for the whole
two hours so it’s nice to be quiet for a while.”
It’s not something one is prepared for in drama
school, however. “There was one moment
in London, during the press night, when I
looked up and saw Nigel Slater and Nigella
Lawson in the audience watching me cook. I’ll
be honest and say I did lose my stomach for a
second there. I decided I wasn’t going to look
up again.”
Contrary to assumption, Cooper says he
doesn’t actually get to eat on stage: “It wouldn’t
be very pleasant for the front row.” But, as a
child with ‘an enormously sweet tooth’ the
section about sweetshop favourites – which
involves handing out the likes of Black Jacks
and Parma Violets to the audience – is one
of his favourites. “I love seeing people’s faces
when we start passing them round. There’s so
much affection and excitement.”
Slater’s story touches people in all kinds of
ways, he adds. “I’ve had people come up to me
afterwards who knew nothing about Nigel but
liked the look of the show and then had such
a powerful reaction to the memories the show
evoked they felt compelled to come and talk to
me afterwards. That, as an actor, is gold…”
Nione Meakin
Theatre Royal Brighton, October 28-Nov 2
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