THEATRE REVIEW: Half Baked ★★★

Half Baked

Birmingham REP Theatre

Monday 9th March 2015

Set in a baking shop, with six aspiring bakers themselves, about to say goodbye to the shop and move onto different things, Half Baked is a heart-warming telling which tells the stories of those individuals and the relationships they share between themselves.

It my seem weird that the first time we meet them they are about to say their farewells to a place that clearly holds a lot of memories for each of them, but as the production rapidly moves along, you as an audience member feel like you have been with them throughout every success and mishap this team has been through themselves, and this is solely down to the brilliant writing of these characters and the chemistry that all the actors possess on stage.

The fact that there is so little time all together to establish these characters, the fact that the production doesn't just focus on one main individual, but giving everyone a chance at their own little stories, whilst also intertwining them with the others from the play, makes you really feel you know a good enough sense of what all these characters are about, and the struggles they go through as they try to make one final cake before they finally say goodbye to the shop, and most of all to Ethel, their trusty oven to which has clearly provided them with good memories.

Overall, Half Baked is a wonderful story about Passion and Drive to be the best you can, the struggles of going through life and really believing in yourself physically and mentally, but most of all, its about friendships, and the people who make you feel the best about yourself, no matter what the situation.