A brand new drag ABBA show is set to hit The Lowry stage this summer.
The Way Old Friends Do follows two old school friends as they from the world’s first ABBA tribute band in drag.
Directed by Mark Gatiss and written by and starring his husband, Ian Hallard, the laugh-out loud show will be hitting Salford from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 May.
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).
The 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.”
Director Mark Gatiss said: “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!”
“We’ve [worked together] 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.”
The Way Old Friends Do is at The Lowry from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 May. For more information visit The Lowry website.
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