4TheRcrd Mag.

For those of you who have ever worked in a restaurant or café as a dishwasher, you’ll definitely relate to this show. Dishpig is a hilarious, fast-paced look at restaurant culture – touching on everything from the hiring process to prepping smelly onions and sitting around shooting the breeze on too-short breaks. It started out a couple of years ago, played to great reviews at the Fringe, and is now playing at Havana on Commercial Drive. It’s a one man show directed by TJ Dawe, performed by Greg Landucci, and written by both.

Landucci’s expertly delivered monologue brought a whole host of characters alive – from cute young server girls to pot-smoking line cooks to irritating and overzealous supervisors. His sharp and lively performance of a summer in minimum-wage dishwashing hell brought alive greasy garbage runs, kitchen accidents, soggy food, and all the other nastiness that comes with the job. His performance was so vivid, I could practically smell the stinky sink water running down his arm.

Now, I’ve never worked in a restaurant, but I hear gory stories from friends all the time about the nefarious goings-on behind the scenes – about the relationships, arguments, camaraderie, coworker hatred, busy nights, shitty tips and what have you. This show is a must watch for those who have ever worked in a restaurant – or those who eat at them!

Dishpig is playing on various days until March 1 at Havana Theatre. (Yes, that’s right, our favourite patio restaurant and mojito spot has a community theatre too). Tickets are $15. Which leads me to question: I wonder if Havana’s own ‘dishpigs’ have seen the show?

image credit: http://www.tjdawe.com/images/pictures/dishpig.jpg