⭐⭐⭐ (Three Stars)

Dubbed “A Totally Unauthorised Love Letter to Nigella Lawson”, How to Make a Mess tackles grief, self-care, and the healing properties of eating well in a two-hander musical at Upstairs at the Gatehouse. How to Make a Mess seemingly has all the ingredients for a heart-warming and hilarious fringe musical. However, tonal inconsistency and uneven lyric writing hold the production back from ever reaching its full potential.

In the musical, we meet Anna (Natasha Karp), grieving the loss of a parent and consequently not taking care of herself properly. Alone in her flat, her old copy of Nigella Lawson’s How to Cook seems to call to her - despite her preference for takeaways and convenience foods and childhood neglect leading her to believe she’s not capable of cooking for herself. When she does give in and open the book, Nigella (Tanya Truman) herself - or, more accurately, a hallucination of her - bursts out from a kitchen cupboard and proceeds to coach Anna through her aversion to cooking and self-care until (in a Mary Poppins-esque manner) Anna no longer needs her.

Taking place entirely within Anna’s flat, the set design, featuring a modern kitchen and island, by Christianna Mason is initially impressive. However, when the cupboard doors are opened throughout the play and the false backs are immediately obvious to the audience, it undermines what should be a grand reveal later in the show of Nigella having magically stocked them with cooking supplies. Furthermore, the amount of noise produced when the ingredients are put into the cupboards does little to aid in the illusion here.

It is commendable how live cooking is incorporated into the show, though, with eggs being cracked and mayonnaise being whipped up throughout scenes. Both performers, under Grace Taylor’s direction, take this challenge in their stride. They both also navigate the vocals impressively throughout the show. The material gives Karp as Anna much more to work with and she believably navigates the character’s emotional journey. Truman has more of an uphill battle with the role of Nigella - the more comedic of the two characters - and, while clearly taking inspiration from Nigella Lawson’s intonation in her delivery, the show’s comedic moments don’t consistently land: there are only so many times that Nigella can pout and say something suggestive and still get a laugh from the audience. Nigella makes a grand entrance, complete with a sequin apron and boa, but the production never again seems to aim for camp in the way it does at this moment. As the show progresses, the character of Nigella shifts between seductive mentor and nagging presence without establishing a consistent tone. The directorial choice from Taylor to have Nigella directly acknowledge the audience with winks and nods (while Anna never does) works well to bring humour to the production.

The songs in the musical (with music and lyrics by Emily Rose Simons) have some enjoyable - if somewhat forgettable - melodies. However, the lyrics are a major barrier to their success. Often, lyrics solely consist of either recipe instructions or dialogue and rhymes are scarcely found. Many of the songs featured in the show feel as though they’re there simply because it’s a musical so it needs songs rather than in order to progress the story or to express emotions that are too strong for spoken words alone.

Overall, while there are elements of How to Make a Mess to enjoy, the show could most definitely use further development to rectify the issues holding it back.

How To Make A Mess runs at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 28th June 2026.

Tickets Available Here