The Way Old Friends Do at The Lowry

                                                                                                                                 

The Way Old Friends Do

The Lowry, Salford

Monday 22^th to Saturday 27^th May

Written by and starring Ian Hallard

Directed by Mark Gatiss

 

Devotion, Desire and …. Dancing Queens - a new play written by and starring Ian Hallard and directed by Mark Gatiss is heading to The Lowry, Salford next month.

 

The Way Old Friends Do is at The Lowry from Monday 22^nd to Saturday 27^th May.

 

In the late 1980s, two Birmingham school friends tentatively come out: one as gay, the other - more shockingly - as an ABBA fan. Thirty years later, they reunite to form the world’s first ABBA tribute band – in drag. Can their friendship survive the tribulations of a life on the road; one full of platform boots, fake beards, and a distractingly attractive stranger?

Simultaneously tender and laugh-out loud funny, this heartfelt story will appeal to anyone who understands how it feels to be a fan: of ABBA or of anyone. Written by and starring Ian Hallard (The Boys In The Band), the play is directed by Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula, Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen).

 

The cast includes Donna Berlin (Doctors) James Bradshaw (Endeavour), Sara Crowe (Olivier Award winner for Private Lives), Andrew Horton (Jupiter’s Legacy) and Rose Shalloo (Malory Towers). This wonderfully uplifting play also features the voices of two of the UK’s best-loved performers, Miriam Margolyes and the much-missed, late Paul O'Grady.

 

Writer and star Ian Hallard said: “It's a backstage play, very much in the vein of The Full Monty or Stepping Out: a bunch of plucky amateurs deciding to put on a show. It's about those characters and their relationships. Although Abba is very much the setting, and it's part of the show, it's not a play about Abba it's a play about being an Abba fan.”

 

Says director Mark Gatiss: “It's just the sort of play that people need right now. It's extremely celebratory, it's about friendship, about love, about fun. It’s also about life and about time and how it changes us. But principally, it's just a really entertaining show!”

On working together (Ian and Mark are married), Ian adds: “We've done it quite a few times before, but this is going to be a slightly different dynamic because we haven't worked together as director and writer, and certainly not on stage, so watch this space. But given past experiences, I have no cause for concern!”

 

James Seabright in association with Jason Haigh-Ellery and the Park Theatre presents the Birmingham Rep production of The Way Old Friends Do

Creatives:

Ian Hallard – WRITER

Mark Gatiss – DIRECTOR

Janet Bird – SET & COSTUME DESIGNER

Andrew Exeter – LIGHTING DESIGNER

Ben Harrison – SOUND DESIGNER

Gavin Joseph – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Marc Frankum CDG – CASTING DIRECTOR

 

“A super trouper of a show” 

★★★★ WhatsOnStage.com 
“A genuine love letter to ABBA… blisteringly funny one-liners.” 
★★★★ Broadway World 
“Hilarious and surprisingly moving. You won’t want to miss it.” 

★★★★ Westend Bestfriend 
The Way Old Friends Do

The Lowry, Salford

Monday 22^nd to Saturday 27^th May

Mon – Sat 8pm, Wed & Sat 2.30pm