Berkeley Rep Docent Talk: The Cook

These docent talks provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays that Berkeley Rep presents each season.
About this Event

Join us for a docent talk, in person and on Zoom, on The Cook in the intimate environment of the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute! Done in partnership with Berkeley Rep.

Deepen your theatre experience with our docent talks, offered during all upcoming performances. Led by knowledgeable volunteer docents, these engaging sessions explore the history, themes, and creative choices behind each production - giving you fresh insight before the curtain rises. Whether you're a longtime member or a first-time visitor, all are welcome. Arrive early, grab a seat, and discover the story behind the story.

About The Cook

By Eduardo Machado
Directed by David Mendizábal
Peet’s Theatre

plays from Fri, Sep 4, 2026 - Sun, Oct 11, 2026

An aristocratic Cuban family flees from Havana to Miami on the eve of Castro’s revolution, entrusting their mansion to their devoted cook Gladys who vows to protect it until their return. For forty years, she keeps her promise, enduring loss, upheaval, and the slow unraveling of a country’s dreams. But when the aristocrats’ daughter returns, Gladys finds she has sacrificed everything for a bond that has been forgotten. Berkeley Rep’s Associate Artistic Director David Mendizábal (All My Sons, Mexodus) directs Eduardo Machado’s sharp, funny, and quietly devastating play where two worlds are held in tension: the life carefully preserved, and the life that had to be lived.

About the Docent Program

The Berkeley Rep Docent Program is part of the theatre’s commitment to provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays it presents in each season. The Docent Program has grown steadily since its inception in 2005. It is part of Berkeley Rep’s goal to engage the theatre’s audience and the community in a dialogue of ideas.

Docents are volunteers who are theatre-lovers. They facilitate discussions for performances at Berkeley Rep to provide an opportunity for audience members to discuss their experience of seeing a play. Docents also give Talks in the community to provide information about each play and create shared experience through a discussion around plays. The talks cover historical and cultural context, the playwright’s intent, the process of the development of the play, and production elements. Talks also include discussion questions. Participants do not have to have seen a performance of the play to participate in the discussion. Both the Berkeley Rep Docent Pre/Post-Show Discussions at the theatre and the Docent Talks in the community broaden the conversation about theatre and the world it creates.

Free for members, $5 for non-members