Sensory Memory: Josh Hinton’s A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen to return to IPAC

Josh Hinton is back for a second time at the IPAC with his revered show A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen that swept audiences last year.

Teasingly delicious smells creep through every nook and cranny of the room as Hinton recounts some very intense and very real stories from his childhood. ‘What smells?’ you might be asking. Well, as you listen to the stories spanning from immigration to wars and memories, Hinton cooks his grandmother’s chicken curry live on stage, mixing memory with the sensory.

Here’s what we found out.

SERENA: Has the show changed at all over the past year or stayed mostly the same?

JOSH: So, the concept has stayed the same, very much so. The bones have stayed – I’ve sharpened some scenes and writing that I wasn’t super happy about last year. But, the main thing is that it can constantly be improved on so that’s what I’ve kind of tried to take away.

SERENA: Any particular parts that you’d like to share?

JOSH: So, my main takeaway from last year was how moving it was for certain communities and that feeling of not knowing where you belong and being mixed race in that sense. I didn’t understand how potent that would be in the show so I’ve tried to work on those themes a bit more.

SERENA: Have you tried to add more potency or less?

JOSH: I’ve added more. I’ve tried to be more reflective in especially my memories and really see those times where I didn’t feel like I belonged growing up – where those sat in the show a bit more.

SERENA: Last time we spoke you mentioned you wanted to continue down the playwright path. Have you written anything else so far or have anything in the works?

JOSH: Nothing new yet. I think most of this year has been trying to craft this one as best as I can. But, I think that, through this whole process, it’s given me clarity on the sort of shows that I want to do and the things that interest me – almost like investigative theatre. This is kind of me going on a journey and discovering something and I think that kind of stuff really intrigues me.

SERENA: How do you see The Sultan in the Kitchen in the future?

JOSH: I will take every opportunity to perform this show and reach wider audiences. In this industry, I don’t think anything is for certain, so I’m just super glad and thankful that I’m able to do it again this year.

The biggest opportunity is being able to take it to the Brisbane festival. So that’s coming up in September and the show is deeply connected to Brisbane. The restaurant that I talk about, The Sultan’s Kitchen started in Brisbane in 1983. So, it feels like this beautiful opportunity to take it to a city that really has quite a deep connection for me. The whole of my mother’s side of the family lives in Queensland and most of them in Brisbane so it's a beautiful opportunity – a full-circle moment.

SERENA: Has your family seen the show before or is this the first time?

JOSH: A few of them came to Wollongong for the season last year, but for a lot of them this season in Brisbane will be the first time watching it. And, I’m very excited to see their reaction. I’m telling the stories that they have all heard since they were kids as well and I think it’ll be quite meaningful for them rather than an audience member who may not know the people I’m talking about as deeply.

SERENA: Do you think that the potency of the show, as you mentioned, will affect them more because of this?

JOSH: I think I was reflecting on this a few days ago but because I’ve grown up on all these stories and my grandma, my meme [meh-meh], has been telling me these stories since I was a kid, I never realised how impressive they really were until other audience members reacted. They said: “Oh my god, did that really happen? Did she hide in a bomb-shelter? She was there during World War II?” You can forget the scale of some of these stories until you watch it in person, so I hope there’s that factor for my family members when they come and see the show: “Wow, she’s gone through some incredible things in her life.”

SERENA: What are some of your favourite shows?

JOSH: I saw an amazing show last year in Edinburgh called The History of Paper and that was a beautiful – almost like a musical – at the Traverse there. So, that was one that has really stuck with me from recent memory. That was incredible.

I saw, it’s called The Death of England Micheal and Leroy in London. And I’m always a fan of musical theatre, so I love In the Heights and Hamilton.

It’s kind of hard – I don’t really have specific ones but I’m lucky that I get to see a lot of theatre.

SERENA: Have you ever considered acting?

JOSH: Maybe at some point if the opportunity came along, absolutely. I do thoroughly enjoy the creative process of being involved in the making as well though. So, I think that I might feel like something’s missing in that process if I just came in as an actor.

SERENA: Did you want to add anything else?

JOSH: IPAC season is the 20th to the 23rd of August. I was super thrilled and happy of the outcome from last year and seeing how it affected the audiences so I’m keen to do it all again and hope that it can reach an even wider audience.

For more information about times and tickets, visit the IPAC website.