Production Details

Two Mexican chefs get caught in the tailspin of Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, the world’s bloodiest foodie and suspected plotter of the Lockerbie crash. Is it the culinary big time or high stakes espionage? Taste the tyrant and smell the fear of his people. Inspired by real events and premiered at Baja’s Hotel California, where the authors first met, critics raved, "Intense and charming...an immersive experience that beautifully connects food, passion, and power.” -Theatre is Easy, NYC. "Do not miss this fine performance."- San Diego Free Press and “Highly recommended... Alvaro Flores is wonderful.” -KC Fringe Official Review.

Audience members are invited to a reception with the artists following the performance on Friday June 9.

July 2013, in Baja California Sur, Mexico, playwright Lance Belville heard Carlos Ambrosi's account of cooking for dictator Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. Belville was intrigued as he had been a young foreign correspondent in Brazil and reported on that earlier dictatorship until ABC pulled him from Rio as he had documented the regime's torture and was himself in danger. Storylines converged. In 2016, after almost three years of research and writing, Belville and Ambrosi's Qaddafi's Cook opened at The Hotel California in Todos Santos, Mexico, played in Fringe Festivals from Hollywood to New York City, was part of The Latin American Season at Actors Centre, London, UK, and most recently was presented by The District Theatre in Indianapolis. Carlos Ambrosi and Adrian Paredes, Mexico, with actor Alvaro Flores, London, and co-producers Lynn Lohr and Tom Berger, USA, work as a collective to present Qaddafi's Cook.

Artist Biographies

Alvaro Flores
Alvaro originated the role of Fredy in Qaddafi's Cook. He is a London-based actor, singer and musician of Mexican origin. He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court Theatre, the Park Theatre, Young Vic Theatre and more recently with the Watermill Theatre on the actor/musician play Our Man in Havana. @alvarofloresact

Carlos Ambrosi
Co-author Ambrosi was Qaddafi’s cook. His 20+ years of hospitality began as a chef and then moved to hotel management. He lives and works in Tulum, Mexico. A strategic leader in operational and administrative functions, Carlos is also a researcher in shamanism, comparative mythology, and Zen Buddhism.

Lance S. Belville
Co-author, the late playwright Lance S. Belville, has had more than 100 productions of his 50 plays, including off-and off-off-Broadway. He was co-founder and playwright-in residence of Minnesota's History Theatre. His plays have toured to 30 states and to Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Belville received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in playwriting and a Kudos Award for Best New Play from the Twin Cities Drama Critic Circle.

Adrian Paredes
Composer/Sound Designer Adrian Paredes, Mexico City, is a multidisciplinary artist whose core work is based on music and translated into visual and performing arts such as happenings, sculptures, digital illustrations and audiovisual installations using high-end technologies to merge science with art in hybrid formats---VR, AR, and MR with surround soundscapes, creating immersive spaces and multisensorial experiences.

Lynn Lohr
Director/Actor/Co-Producer Lohr co-founded the History Theatre with Belville and ran it for 15 years including its move to its current 597 seat home in St. Paul, MN. Her directing credits besides Qaddafi's Cook include Belville plays--Atlanta Burning Sherman’s Shadows, Cowboy & Widow, Scott and Zelda The Beautiful Fools, and US premieres of plays by Frank McCourt, David Edgar, and Marie Jones.

Tom Berger
The decades long theatrical career of Co-Producer/Production Manager/Designer Tom Berger includes over 60 world premieres and regional and national tours. He is currently co-producing a world premiere Brazilian-based musical based on the journals and reportage of Lance S. Belville.