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Dates of run: until June 28
Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London
Written and composed by Emily Rose Simons
Directed by Grace Taylor
Musical director: David Merriman
Produced by Tanya Truman Productions in collaboration with Chromolume
Cast: Natasha Karp, Tanya Truman
Running Time 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
Not the Bible, not “Winnie the Pooh” not even Harry Potter – “How to Eat” was the book the loving father of Anna (played by Natasha Karp) gave to his daughter to learn to read and as a life manual.
It sits rejected and gathering dust on the kitchen shelves until its author Nigella Lawson (Tanya Truman) magically appears, fairy godmother-like, when Anna’s own mother dies.
The manifestation is justified by Lawson’s words that she wanted her recipe-followers to feel she really is in their kitchen.
As the premise of a musical that blends aspects of Lawson’s life – divorced parents, childhood unhappiness and Jewish heritage – with music that needs more umami and less chilli it’s initially promising, but the decision to have a cast of only two adds to a sense the texture is too thin.
The engaging outset is laugh-out-loud funny as the birthday girl Anna sings into her “gratitude diary” and dreams of every day being “all mine” until she’s 93.
Her mood is dashed by the kind of phone call we all dread and she enters a downward spiral that reaches a nadir with a curdle of egg yolks and olive oil that refuses to become mayonnaise.
As abruptly as the first plunge from happiness, we get beyond mess to a kitchen bursting with culinary delights as aides to emotional fulfilment, but not miracle cures – or as Nigella sings in one of the lines that don’t quite land: “No matter the tenderness of a lamb chop, it won’t save you from grieving”.
Truman as Nigella absolutely looks the part and, with a few adjustments to the recipe, it all just might be transformed into the latest cult musical hit based on unlikely ingredients.
How to Make a Mess
Dates of run: until June 28
Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London
Written and composed by Emily Rose Simons
Directed by Grace Taylor
Musical director: David Merriman
Produced by Tanya Truman Productions in collaboration with Chromolume
Cast: Natasha Karp, Tanya Truman
Running Time 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
Not the Bible, not “Winnie the Pooh” not even Harry Potter – “How to Eat” was the book the loving father of Anna (played by Natasha Karp) gave to his daughter to learn to read and as a life manual.
It sits rejected and gathering dust on the kitchen shelves until its author Nigella Lawson (Tanya Truman) magically appears, fairy godmother-like, when Anna’s own mother dies.
The manifestation is justified by Lawson’s words that she wanted her recipe-followers to feel she really is in their kitchen.
As the premise of a musical that blends aspects of Lawson’s life – divorced parents, childhood unhappiness and Jewish heritage – with music that needs more umami and less chilli it’s initially promising, but the decision to have a cast of only two adds to a sense the texture is too thin.
The engaging outset is laugh-out-loud funny as the birthday girl Anna sings into her “gratitude diary” and dreams of every day being “all mine” until she’s 93.
Her mood is dashed by the kind of phone call we all dread and she enters a downward spiral that reaches a nadir with a curdle of egg yolks and olive oil that refuses to become mayonnaise.
As abruptly as the first plunge from happiness, we get beyond mess to a kitchen bursting with culinary delights as aides to emotional fulfilment, but not miracle cures – or as Nigella sings in one of the lines that don’t quite land: “No matter the tenderness of a lamb chop, it won’t save you from grieving”.
Truman as Nigella absolutely looks the part and, with a few adjustments to the recipe, it all just might be transformed into the latest cult musical hit based on unlikely ingredients.
Barbara Lewis © 2026.
By Stephen McGrath • added recently on London Grip, comedy, musicals, plays, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, comedy, musicals, plays, theatre