Those Left Behind

Associate Artistic Director of the Berkley Rep David Mendizábal (Mexodus) brings Eduardo Machado’s The Cook to Peet’s Theatre in September. Crafting a poignant look at the loyalty and burdens carried by everyday people in the shadow of revolution, Yesenia Iglesias leads an excellent cast in this acclaimed, incredibly human play, contrasting the memory of a world left behind with the life that had to go on in its place.

What Is The Story?

As Cuba sits on the brink of Fidel Castro’s rise to power, Gladys, the cook to an aristocratic family fleeing to Miami, is asked to guard her wealthy employers’ grand estate until their eventual return. As four decades pass by, she keeps to her word through profound personal heartbreak and sweeping national change, only to face that realization that, when the family's descendant finally steps back through the door, her loyalty and sacrifice appear to have been ignored.