I receive the programme for this production on my phone just ten minutes before the show begins. But as it turns out, there’s nothing hurried or unprofessional about what I’m here to see – Breakfast Time, a mixed media production presented on BATS’ ground floor Stage.

I don’t usually examine what’s on the stage before a performance begins, but tonight the contents of it beckon. There’s a kitchen table, a trolley with a water dispenser, a toaster, a loaf of bread, a whisk. It’s suggestive of domesticity and orderliness.  

But we’re going to see a film, accompanied by a “theatrical deconstruction”. We get the film first, which introduces us to a couple of young people, Reuben (Bon Buchanan) and Ana (Bella Petrie), who are thrown together by the marriage of their respective parents – Reuben’s mum and Ana’s dad. The wedding was only the night before and all four have fetched up in the home of Ana’s mum.  

Reuben and Ana are making breakfast. So far, so domestic. Eggs feature – should they be scrambled or poached? Mum’s voice is heard. We see close ups of a bowl for the eggs; the whisk comes into play. Conversation is desultory – the two young people don’t say all that much; the talk is of tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic. Dad’s voice is heard – the newly weds are looking forward to breakfast.

Now for the deconstruction. Onstage the same two people, the same domestic scene. Eggs and tomatoes go into the pan accompanying Ana’s reminiscences of childhood. But the former desultory dialogue is now sharpened into an ever-deepening discussion of their backgrounds and differences: political, social, philosophical. “You go to university,” she accuses. “The system works for people like you.” He wants to be an architect, she a poet.

The juxtaposition of dialogue with breakfast making is provocative and mouth-watering. “Politicians are pricks,” declares Ana, shaking the eggs in the pan. They sizzle suggestively.

The dialogue is fast – comments are thrown like darts. At times the two sit on opposite sides of the stage to symbolise their differences. We long for them to find points of agreement, even closeness. But that longing is what keeps us viewers riveted as Rueben and Ana predict futures for each other. We’re left with the poignant sight of Rueben forlornly buttering toast while the smell of the now cooked breakfast wafts over us.

With Breakfast Time, Brick Haus Productions have created something remarkable in concept, performance and technical expertise. Film director Aiden Fernando, theatre show co-director Genoveva Reverta, and performers Bella Petrie and Bon Buchanan constitute an extraordinarily talented bunch. They cook up a truly unique theatrical storm – go savour it!

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