Something deliciously funny is cooking in New West Theatre’s kitchen.

The Kitchen Witches is a two-act comedy by Caroline Smith. New West Theatre has picked it up for their ongoing Canadian Plays series. 

The company performs a variety of shows every year. Most notably are their music-comedy revues during the summer and holiday seasons, as well as two Canadian-produced plays.

General manager Jeremy Mason says the Canadian Play series sometimes deals with serious moral dilemmas and social issues.

“We did a show called In a World Created by a Drunken God, which was about a young First Nations man who finds out that he has a father and a brother who are both white.”

The main character is asked to provide a kidney to the dying father he has never met.

But, says Mason, “The Kitchen Witches is just a straight-out comedy – a lot of slapstick, a lot of farcical elements.”

It is the story of two rival cooking show hosts who are forced to host a show together to be able to stay on the air.

“It’s basically a sitcom. It’s essentially an episode of The Golden Girls. It’s really that style of comedy,” says Mason, who also performs in the production.

 His character is the producer and director of the cooking show and also the stressed-out son of one of the hosts. He must keep the bickering hosts under control to make sure the show goes according to plan.

Theatre-goers can also expect to see Erica Hunt, a familiar face in New West’s productions.

Karen Johnson-Diamond of Calgary also returns after last seasons’ production of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again.

“They’re both very, very funny ladies. Both have strong improv backgrounds and character backgrounds.”

“I don’t have to worry about being funny, because everyone else is,” says Mason.

The production is being sponsored by The Kitchen Centre, which allows New West Theatre to get all the food-props needed for the show.

Mason says there is an iron-chef style cook-off in every show, and a judge from the audience gets the privilege of sampling some treats.

Tickets for The Kitchen Witches can be purchased at the Ticket Centre in person or by calling 403-329-7328. They can also be purchased online at www.lethbridge.ca/tickets.

The Kitchen Witches runs March 8 to March 17 at 8 p.m. at the Sterndale Bennett Theatre. Matinées are available on both Saturdays.