Cultures clash in the kitchen in Chris Bush’s play, Hungry. Lori, an ambitious chef with a love for experimental dishes, falls for Bex, a young working-class woman who comes to work under her. With timelines split between the past and the present, we see the couple’s relationship blossom over food but also floundering as flaws and differences come to the surface.

From the start, the pair are ill-matched: Lori craves gourmet food, Bex enjoys a Pot Noodle. What Lori calls a marquise, Bex calls a mousse. But attraction leads to passion over the stainless-steel worktops and an intense relationship develops. Initially, Bex enjoys all the new flavours and opportunities that her lover and mentor introduces her to but she comes to resist Lori’s well-meaning but overbearing efforts to control and change her.

With wit and compassion, Bush presents and unpicks the complexities of relationships but, with Bex being of mixed heritage, the story also provides a canvas to explore ideas around cultural appropriation, colonialism and class, with subtlety and a lightness of touch that does not overwhelm the narrative. Melissa Lowe and Eleanor Sutton are excellent as the two women, from their early tentative flirtation and banter through to the pain of break-up and recriminations. Directed by Katie Posner, Hungry is an enthralling drama seasoned with plenty of humour and overlaid with lots of ideas to chew over.

Hungry runs at Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall for Edinburgh Fringe until 28 August 2022. Tickets at festival.summerhall.co.uk and edfringe.com.