The Kitchen Sink- an enjoyable performance that will make you laugh but also provides moving performances from an excellent cast that will leave you with a twinge of sadness.

The Kitchen Sink by Tom Wells Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch 
Life revolves around two things in this resurrection of Tom Wells’ play The Kitchen Sink; the eponymous kitchen sink with its’ dodgy plumbing and a slowly moribund milk float!  Is the kitchen sink a metaphor for this Yorkshire family; one time working then on the blink?
Set in the kitchen mum Kath (Sally George) has a strength and vitality about her which she tries to enthuse into the family, despite her experimenting with various cooking dishes! Son Billy (Dominic Jones) is desperate to get into Art College in London and has spent hours on his picture of devotion to Dolly Parton in the hope that this will swing his entrance place. Daughter Sophie is a feisty – some may say stroppy – teenager, mad on her Judo and getting ready to take her Black Belt test so she can become an instructor. One external character is Pete,( Joseph Redd) the plumber and erstwhile suitor of Sophie, he is the man who tries to fix the kitchen sink.And, last of all, lugubrious Martin,( Ken Bradshaw) the milkman; desperately hoping that the summer will increase his diminishing customers, but worried as his milk float is facing the scrap heap!
The play moves through the seasons. Billy gets his place at Art College, Kath  is excited, Martin shows no emotion, being more concerned about his milk float. Sophie takes her Black Belt but fails disastrously having punched the instructor after being taunted by him and other candidates for being a girl. (do things change?) The family leave her with Pete who does his level best to calm her, all to no avail.
Martin has taken Sophie to work with him on the float to help out, but the summer doesn’t bring more customers and the float is getting worse by the day which is depressing him greatly, Billy is having anxiety about his move to London but Kath assures him he is making the right move. Mum in the meantime is trying new recipes which are not finding favour with the family.
Christmas approaches; Kath has cooked Sushi for lunch with is the ultimate straw for hapless Martin, Sophie is being bullish, Billy has left college but is living in a squat, Pete arrives to tell Sophie that he is off to Australia for three months and maybe for good,
Martin’s milk float finally gets towed away to the scrap yard and now he must seek work; Kath meanwhile blows her top and yells at them all for not showing their gratitude for her hard work and support over the years.She smashes the taps on the sink causing water to flood the kitchen – cue Pete to the rescue!
Throughout the play the sink gurgles, splutters and spurts with Kath finding the solution – a hammer! 
Pete, we find out is an orphan, raised by his gran who has taken to canabis and hip hop and is now apparently doing a bit of dealing, on her demise she leaves her money to Pete.
The play has a linear quality about it, but, for me, the ending was slightly disappointing – it rather seemed to leave us hanging.
Voice coach Mary Howland did a sterling job as at no time did the accents drop which was great. Caroline Leslie, the director, extracted all the talents from the cast and the set design by Zoe Hurwitz caught the period and atmosphere perfectly.
Having spoken to some members of the audience they thoroughly enjoyed the evening and it made them laugh, despite a twinge of sadness.

Throughout this play the kitchen sink, gurgles and splutters and spurts.