The Hot Wing King at the National Theatre

Around the midway point of its first act, the principal cast of The Hot Wing King burst into song. Indeed, the kind of all-singing, all-dancing number that could leave you mistakenly convinced you were watching a musical. As the lovingly dysfunctional quartet of anxious Cordell (Kadiff Kirwan), pragmatic Dwayne (Simon-Anthony Rhoden), goofy Isom (Olisa Odele) and seen-it-all Big Charles (Jason Barnett, a deadpan standout throughout) take to the kitchen in preparation for the annual Memphis Hot Wing Contest, the ritual is equal parts play, prayer and sportsmanship. Never is Katori Hall’s play – a Pulitzer Prize-winner now making its London debut – more alive and dynamic than in the cosy familial dynamics of the kitchen, already musical enough in their flow that the impromptu singalong to Luther Vandross’s Never Too Much feels like the natural next step.

Later, when a hot sauce calamity befalls the hopeful new chicken wing batch, the results are both comical and distressing; serious and deeply unserious simultaneously. The extent to which these men care about this seemingly frivolous (of course, it’s anything but) pastime often rings with a deeper sense of truth than the more contrived dramatics driving the engine of the story. Instead of merely being a hangout lark, The Hot Wing King also aspires to be a domestic epic in miniature, and it is in the latter area that the play is on shakier ground. A subplot involving Dwayne’s ne’er do well nephew (Kaireece Denton) coming to stay can feel incongruous, not least when the boy’s under-sketched backstory works in police violence, mental illness and the prison of traditional masculinity. Worthy though these beats may be – and earnestly played by Denton and Dwane Walcott as his wayward father – they also have the persistent feel of dramatic checkpoints being ticked off, rather than organic outgrowths of the core narrative, in addition to bringing the play perilously close to three hours in length.

Still, The Hot Wing King always re-centres on its four principals, all gay, Black and cheerfully disinterested in conforming to stereotypes. Of particular interest is the dynamic between Cordell and Dwayne, by turns romantic, frustrated, resentful and hopeful. When charting the modest yet tenderly felt tale of two troubled men finding their way back to one another in the kitchen, the play’s unabashedly warm romantic and familial optimism proves hard to resist. Indeed, taking the play’s joyous reception from a raucously engaged audience at its first performance into account, it may prove a true crowdpleaser in the coming months. And yes, for the full experience, it is best seen before eating, the better to savour the chaser of spicy food bound to follow.

Thomas Messner
Photos: Helen Murray

The Hot Wing King is at the National Theatre from 18^th July until 14^th September 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for The Hot Wing King at the National Theatre here: