This post also appeared on City Hub . It’s a play about grief and loss, but it’s far from maudlin. In fact, Pickled is a play filled with warmth, discovery, humour and a touch of sentimentalilty.
Created by Najee Tannous and developed by Tannous, Antony Makhlouf, Hayden Tonazzi, May Yousif, & Francesco Pelli, this two-hander is about two estranged gay Arab brothers brought together after the death of their mother. “It’s no secret, this show is about pickles,” says Tannous. “I think the title itself takes on so many different meanings and it’s dependent on how you interpret it.
I think it comes down to preservation.” The two brothers, played by Tannous and Makhlouf, have been left a jar of pickles as their only inheritence. The play evolves around their speculation as to the meaning of this stange gesture by their recently departed mother.
Tannous has drawn a lot on his own personal story in creating this show. Pickling and preservation of food was vital for survival for his ancestors, and continues to be an important part of cultural life in his family. The inspiration for Pickled came to Tannous during Covid when he heard stories about people having arguments over inheritence.
It made him wonder what his parents would leave him when they passed. “Is it gonna be their 1992 Toyota Camry, is that what I’m inheriting? Am I inheriting gold, like what am I inheriting?” He started thinking of the most obscure things they might leave him, and that led him on a .