Review: The Big Cheese (Golden Goose Theatre)

Review by Molly Gulvin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What do you get when you combine a thirty-year-old struggling artist, a middle-class London family and a cheese shop? The Big Cheese, a new comedy by Bylli Gomez, mixes all three in its debut at the Golden Goose Theatre as part of the Lambeth Fringe Festival. In a wonderfully chaotic hour, Gomez not only proves that there is a viable concept to be found in this new work, but presents a sharp and witty piece that entertains from start to finish. 

The Big Cheese centres on Bee, who has recently moved back in with her mum following tumultuous recent events, including a breakup and losing her job. In her desperate attempt to find work, she secures a trial shift at a cheese shop, but the day certainly doesn't go to plan. From accidentally destroying thousands of pounds worth of cheese to ending up overly involved with an uptight family through a chain of unfortunate events, it feels like there can be no end to Bee’s misfortune. Inspired somewhat by Gomez’s own experience of working in a cheese shop, the play uses its contents to provide a wider commentary on living in London as a young person today.

Gomez writes, directs and plays Bee in this production, and it's clear how her own experiences feed into the choices made in each area. The Big Cheese is simply naturally funny: the dialogue is realistic and light-hearted, and the narrative effectively toes the line between comedically unfortunate and practically impossible. Gomez’s writing flows authentically, with each event within the play being given suitable time to unfold. Although their development is limited due to the play’s running time (60 minutes), each character is also given their deserved attention, particularly Bee, who instantly wins audiences over. This work began as a television script, and the impact of this does linger on the final piece: a few moments have not been translated to the stage quite as smoothly as they could have, but these bumps are jumped over with ease thanks to the high quality of the rest of the writing. 

As previously mentioned, Gomez also serves as director of this production, with Selina Patankar working as the assistant director (alongside playing Mum). There has been clear time and care spent in shaping the creative vision for this piece and it truly impacts the overall performance, particularly the comedic moments: every performer is well-attuned to the comedic style of the work, letting beats stretch out to maximise their comedic potential. Each element of this production had clearly been handled with care, all working to set the tone for the performance wonderfully. The lingering television origins can once again be seen in the direction of the play, but the impact this has is minimal and sometimes even enhances the performance by ensuring the tempo remains upbeat throughout.  

This play really is an ensemble piece, with every cast member pulling their weight to create an excellent overall performance. In particular, Gomez takes Bee in her stride, creating a performance that is authentic and hilariously funny from start to finish. Aiden Witten, as Freddie, gives a naturally funny performance that takes every audience member on side - he truly secures himself as one to watch in this production. Whilst many characters are seldom seen, appearing in two or three scenes at a maximum, every performer makes the most of their onstage appearances. This is especially true for Selina Patankar: her few scenes as Mum have the audience laughing in familiarity and embarrassment in the best way possible. Ava de Winter similarly makes the most of every moment she spends onstage, delivering every comedic beat with confidence whilst ensuring that her performance remains (at least somewhat) grounded. 

Whilst the technical designs for this production are very limited, the decisions made do have a positive impact on the overall performance. Shelton Wong’s lighting design is perfectly suitable in every moment, emphasising the most important narrative beats whilst never detracting attention from the story at hand. Other creative elements, including the set and sound design, are entirely minimal, but help to set the tone for the production (aside from one moment where glass shattering can be heard before it is proclaimed that a wheel of cheese has been destroyed, leading to a brief period of confusion). The lack of creative design in this production is likely its largest downfall, as a more developed sense of setting would aid audiences’ immersion within the performance. With that being said, the direction and onstage events work tirelessly to make up for this, and the creative design that is on show does aid the piece where possible. 

The Big Cheese is a promising piece of work from Bylli Gomez, with huge potential for future life, whether that be on stage or screen. With writing that has natural humour falling from its every word, and an ensemble who ensure that comedy is well delivered from start to finish, the production in its current form has a lot to love. Given further development, this story’s deeper commentary may have time to settle even further into the narrative, but this iteration proves that any story is worth telling when done correctly - even ones about a cheese shop. 

The Big Cheese played at the Golden Goose Theatre until 11th October.