Concrete Playground

It is time that the term "dinner theatre" be shaken up and given new meaning. While it may be fun to watch Dracula saw a woman in half while you guzzle spaghetti, there are more fun and involving concepts waiting to appropriate the term. A big contender for this is Wasted, a pop-up restaurant experience that will be hanging out in Ten Buck Alley for a three-night tease in mid-May.

The brain-child of chef Douglas McMaster and producer Kym Lenoble, Wasted is a provocative dining experience that invites its guests to not simply consume, but to engage with the food they're eating. It is the nature of the food in particular that is something to get excited about — McMaster's six course menu will take the philosophies of nose-to-tail cooking and sustainable food practices to a whole new dimension. Guests will be introduced to culinary delights that are normally thrown away during conventional meal preparation, a practice that leads to NSW producing around 800,000 tonnes of food waste a day.

This is what we should expect when we think of "dinner theatre" — a full engagement of the senses and intellect with food, fellow guests and staff all participating to produce a collaborative evening that leaves everyone feeling fulfilled in body and mind.

Book a seat immediately, because this pop-up will be gone quicker than a council collection. And, for an extra $50 you can match wines to every course. It would be a crime to waste all of that grape juice, after all.