After a major role in Mike Leigh’s Peterloo and stand-out performances in Dead Man’s Shoes and 24-Hour Party People, alongside TV roles including Shameless and Peaky Blinders, Neil Bell writes and directs this innovative piece of immersive theatre at The Talleyrand, Levenshulme, from Thursday 20th until Saturday 22nd December.
Bell is a Manchester theatre dynamo, having directed the Joy Division play New Dawn Fades at the Dancehouse he recently wowed the Edinburgh Fringe to five-star reviews with his turn in The Political History of Smack and Crack.
His latest production is an intimate, immersive experience, inspired by the ‘lunchtime theatre’ traditionof ‘70s and ‘80s Soho (a first-rate meal from Break Bread Catering is included in the £13 ticket price).
The candlelit restaurant is both auditorium and stage. Dinner is served… and on a neighbouring table,Emma and Paul (played by Sue Womersly and Phil Dennison) are on a date. As Bell puts it, “Theirdeep-seated fears and resentments are about to spill out all over the dinner table. You are compelled toeavesdrop as this flawed relationship becomes like a slow-motion car crash. Paul has come to adecision… Emma makes a breakthrough.”
An earlier production, at Sandbar in the city centre, met with widespread acclaim as a brutally funny piece of new writing brimming with wit. For this new production, Bell’s Eat thEATre company benefits from the added acting talent of newcomer Cal Jones.
Performance Calendar:
Thursday 20th December 7PM
Friday 21st December 7PM
Saturday 22nd December 7PM
Booking:
www.ticketline.co.uk/venue/the-tallyrand#contact
Tickets cost £13 (£14 with booking fee)
