Story about search for Edmonton’s best butter chicken adapted for stage

Ramneek Singh and Playwright, Colin Doyle, talk about their play, "Butter Chicken Odyssey," that's opening next week.

The story of a man sampling more than 50 butter chicken dishes in Edmonton in search of the best is headed to the stage.

Ramneek Singh is about to perform “The Butter Chicken Odyssey” for the first time at Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, adapted from his reviews of 51 butter chicken dishes in Alberta’s capital city.

“I completely ravaged my insides. I’m on cholesterol meds now,” Singh told CTV Your Morning Edmonton’s Cory Edel on Wednesday.

“It’s OK. I did it for the culture.”

The journey started in 2024 when the food blogger, inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, decided to explore his Indian heritage more deeply.

As Singh worked his way through the city’s dozens of butter chicken offerings, dramaturge and playwright Collin Doyle followed along for the reviews.

“Ramneek said to me afterwards, ‘There’s only so much you can write about butter chicken.’ And he started writing about his culture and growing up in Mill Woods and his life. So those are the parts I was like, this can make a really great play,” Doyle said.

Some of Singh’s favourite butter chicken spots – Mezbaan Indian Bistro, Bharat Masala, Zaika Bistro and Masala Tree – are found in south Edmonton.

As the pair began working on the show in January, they bonded over growing up in Mill Woods.

“Everything about me, I can trace back to Mill Woods,” Singh said, recalling his father’s immigration in 1977 and the later explosion of Desi culture in the south-side community.

“His looking at Mill Woods from a different perspective of my growing up in Mill Woods and how they overlapped at certain areas was something I really loved about his writing,” Doyle added.

The show premieres March 27 during the theatre’s Springboard’s event.