Interview with Tanya Truman and Natasha Karp - How to make a mess
Photo taken by Rebecca Need-Menear
How to Make a Mess is a new musical playing this summer at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in London. Written and composed by Emily Rose Simons, directed by Grace Taylor, and produced by Tanya Truman in collaboration with Chromolume, this production promises to be an unmissable feast for the senses.
The show offers a joyful celebration of feeding yourself through the exploration of recipes and the stories they hold. It navigated themes of grief, the power of choosing what we let into our lives, and what we leave behind.
After the death of her estranged mother, Anna (played by Natasha Karp) inherits something unexpected: Nigella Lawson’s seminal cookbook, How to Eat, along with the book comes an imagined version of Nigella herself (played by Tanya Truman), who guides Anna through grief, comfort, and change—one recipe at a time. Cooking becomes a way for Anna to reconnect with herself, letting go of old rules and learning how small, everyday choices can open up something much bigger.
Previously titled Becoming Nigella, this heartwarming musical has been developed through work-in-progress showings at Oxford Playhouse (BEAM 2023), The Other Palace Studio, and Manchester Jewish Museum. Blending storytelling, original music, and a playful, theatrical embodiment of the iconic Nigella Lawson, the show presents a deeply human story.
Previously titled Becoming Nigella, the show is now called How To Make a Mess. What does this new title tell us about Anna’s emotional journey throughout the musical?
Natasha Karp: As the show went through various stages of development, Becoming Nigella, just didn’t resonate with the story we are telling about Anna. I love the double entendre of ‘How to make a Mess’ which speaks to the mess that is her emotional state as well as in the kitchen.
How do you turn the act of cooking on stage into a musical performance? Does the rhythm of the kitchen influence the rhythm of the songs?
Natasha Karp: Cooking is naturally rhythmical and therefore lends itself to music. I’m a big masterchef fan and love the way it’s cleverly edited such that the cracking of an egg is on a certain beat. The difference is we are doing it live, which comes with its own fun and potential challenges…
Tanya Truman: During a couple of the songs, we are physically cooking and preparing food live on stage - which has naturally influenced the style and the tempo of these particular songs. Then there are also lots of moments where we’re singing about other things entirely - however food and cooking have absolutely influenced lots of the lyrics and musical language of the show.
The show explores Anna’s relationship with her estranged mother. How does Nigella’s cookbook help her bridge the gap between her past and her future?
Natasha Karp: Ah, well that would be telling. ‘How to Eat’ is almost its own character in the show and we will take our audiences on a journey through it alongside Anna’s journey.
Anna and Nigella have a very unique dynamic on stage; one is real, the other is imagined. How did you both work on creating that special bond during rehearsals?
Natasha Karp: Anna craves the maternal relationship she didn’t get from her mother. There’s a real beauty in how we create that bond, which, yes, is imagined but ultimately is very real for us on stage. Tanya and I have known each other for over a decade, so that bond is just very natural for us, and we hope our audiences will embrace and share in that bond.
Tanya Truman: As Tash says - we’ve known each other for a long time, and the friendship we’ve built has been really key to us collaborating so closely. We’ve been really lucky to have been in the room together multiple times over the last 3 years during this show's development stages, and have built up a great rapport together, which at times can echo Anna and Nigella’s dynamic! I look forward to exploring this further during our upcoming rehearsals.
The show mentions that small, everyday choices can open up something bigger. What is a 'small choice' from the show, or from Nigella’s philosophy, that you have started applying in your own life?
Natasha Karp: In How to Eat Nigella describes it as…the simple desire to make yourself something to eat. I find cooking relaxing, but I’m often poor, so really have to remind myself that I enjoy cooking and will feel better if I make myself something to eat.
Tanya Truman: Something I’ve applied from Nigella’s philosophy is that things don’t always have to be perfect or optimal - they can just be good. That philosophy takes unnecessary pressure off, but also reminds me that I’m only human at the end of the day.
If How To Make a Mess were a pie, which flavour would it be and why?
Natasha Karp: Hmm, I think it’s a home-cooked raspberry and apple pie. A pie that has that element of sharpness, but ultimately, you feel like you’ve had a warm hug.
Tanya Truman: Got to be a lemon meringue pie! On the surface, it’s sweet, light, marshmallowy and fluffy but has a bitter, tart, unexpected tang.
How To Make a Mess is playing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until June 28, 2026
