Review: Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato, Lower Marsh Arts Club

Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato plays on the intriguing Spanish double entendre for ‘causa’: a legal case or a layered Peruvian potato delicacy. It is this latter celebrated dish that homesick protagonist Juana Campos (Betsy Loza) craves to recreate in her new London life, but her attic-grown antics embroil her in a very British biosecurity scandal.  

Ushered into the courtroom studio theatre by the Prosecution (Chloe Wigmore), we the jury oversee the forty-minute hearing of Campos’ alien potato breeding case, which is defended by Lawyer Barry (Cameron Krogh Stone) alongside a colourful canon of witnesses from Sammy Attalah.  

Court proceedings are punctuated by a panpipe motif depicting a series of flashbacks in Juana’s journey from pot washer to potato pariah. Loza’s coaxing tone and yearning eyes draw the jury back to her first encounter with pompous Soho restaurateur Mr Richmond (Attalah) with whom she finds employment. Upon trying his gentrified interpretation of her beloved causa, she begs to be heard as a native advisor, to champion her misrepresented cuisine. Writer Raquel Barta layers her political commentary with themes of isolation and inauthenticity as the sneering chef dismisses Campos, forcing her to switch tactics and go homegrown.  

Also switching, in an impressive comedic turn, is Attalah, returning to the stand as shady narcotics and potato seed dealer Luis Del Rio, whose laid-back Latino flirtation contrasts well with the rigid steeliness of Wigmore’s Prosecution. In Luis, Juana’s first ally is found, and a South American alliance is drawn. However, failing to be “impressed by her impresario”, Juana’s love interest is soon discredited, and the bumbling Barry’s defence left flailing.  

It is at this midpoint, one wishes the director would stand up and shout ‘Order!’ as interjections from both lawyers are not crisp but fluffed. There also needs to be a clearer sightline for where the judge is placed and when audience interaction from the jury is required. Attalah’s final two witnesses, a nerdy neighbour and a demented doctor, are less engaging and downbeat. However, an oddly entertaining dance number from the illegal potato itself (Lara Vivo), complete with evidence label and red pouty lips, does lift the starchy mood.  

With food security threats dominating climate change headlines, there is relevance in Barta drawing reference to the 19th-century Irish potato famine, given the instability of crop conditions in our modern times. Stark parallels can also be found in the handling of so-called ‘alien’ immigrants as well as fresh produce. But thankfully for the potato-loving public, all is resolved, even if for Juana, it is a pyrrhic victory.  

Causa has much cause for celebration, in particular in its search for Peruvian identity. However, peeling for more layers of nuance could satisfy the strongest of theatrical craving.

Written by Raquel Barta
Directed by Cameron Krogh Stone 
Produced by Untold Collective 

Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato has concluded its run at the Lower Marsh Arts Club.