The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband

Directed by Jane Sherwood for Much Productions, Debbie Isitt’s The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband is the story of Kenneth and Hilary who have been married nearly 20 years.

As middle age encroaches, Kenneth finds himself in the arms of another woman and, at first, his new lover Laura seems to represent everything missing from his life. But there’s just one little problem: she can't cook.

Kenneth mourns the loss of Sunday roasts and the comforts of a settled life so, when Hilary invites Kenneth and Laura over for dinner, he readily accepts – unaware of what tasty treats Hilary has on the menu.

Playwright Debbie Isitt was born in 1966 in Birmingham, trained as an actor in Coventry and a string of award-winning black comedies then lured her to the world of writing. Her most renowned work, The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband, was first staged in 1993 and holds the same dark themes she carved her career from.

She has gone on to become a top film director with her trilogy of Christmas comedy films Nativity (starring Martin Freeman), Nativity Two: Danger in the Manger (starring David Tennant) and Nativity Three: Dude, Where’s My Donkey? all box office-winning labours of love. The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband continues to be performed all over the world.

“It’s a comedy about the two marriages and what Kenneth is like,” director Jane Sherwood said. “It’s simply a comedy about relationships and an affair.

“The audiences laugh a lot and cringe a bit, which is what we expect.”

Phoebe Deklerk, who plays Laura, described the challenges of the production. “It’s not easy staging a play in a café, which is obviously not purpose-built as a theatre space,” she said.