June 8, 2016 | Theatre,

How to Make Banana Bread, 7 Fingers Style aka #CIRCUSBREAD

250 grams flour (2 cups)
5 grams baking soda (¾ tsp)
A pinch of salt
115 grams butter (½ cup or one stick)
110 grams sugar (½ cup)
2 eggs
6 ripe crushed bananas
vanilla extract
chocolate chips

Cream the butter. Add sugar and crushed bananas. Mix well. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the dry ingredients and add slowly to the creamed mixture. Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

The last thing one might expect to find on the blog of a theatre company is a recipe. This may even be a first for theatre blog history, if there is such a thing. A recipe posted in advance of our upcoming Cuisine & Confessions, though, is perfectly apt for this return of  Les 7 doigts de la main (7 Fingers) to the ArtsEmerson stage.

Generally, we are discouraged from eating in theaters. High school auditoriums and grand opera houses alike are plastered with “No Food or Drink” signs. Food is relegated to after parties, lobbies and the hidden pockets of hand bags to sneak after the lights go down. Cuisine and Confessions flips this script on its head. Food is the focus of this show in a more than metaphorical sense. The set and the plot focus around an oven that runs throughout, cooking a banana bread that the audience (spoiler alert!) will get a chance to taste at the end.

This is a show about the power of sharing meals and secrets with our loved ones. It explores the ways in which the food we eat connects us to each other and to our own past. When we cook for others, we build relationships and we build memories. Here in Cuisine & Confessions, the food becomes a way into the storytelling of this entirely unique circus show, granting the audience a full sensory experience. When we say come the circus, stay for the banana bread, we really mean it!

So, we invite you to try out this delicious morsel that inspires theatrical greatness in advance of the performances! Why not create a batch of 7 Fingers-style banana bread, take a pic, and let us know how it tastes and who you shared it with? Just hashtag your picture with #CircusBread and we’ll make sure to share it with our followers.