Manchester

JOCK NIGHT | London, Seven Dials Playhouse

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The unique exploration of contemporary gay life and relationships, Jock Night, has been extended until Saturday, 11 November 2023, due to popular demand. Originally a a one night special at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre in 2017, Seven Dials Playhouse have received an overwhelming response to this full theatrical run of the show.

The play unfolds over a year of wild nights in Manchester’s vibrant Gay Village, casting a light on mental health, peeling back the veneer of modern gay culture, using comedy to highlight provocative issues within the LGBTQIA+ community, including a culture of chemsex and casual encounters.

David Paisley, best known for his role as ben Saunders in Holby City, leads the cast of Jock Night as Ben.  Sam Goodchild (Far Away; The Convert) and Levi Payne (Jekyll & Hyde) will join him reprising their roles from the 2019 run of Jock Night as Kam and AJ respectively. Joining them are George Hughes, making his London stage debut as Simon, and Matthew Gent (Phantom of the Opera; Les Misérables) who will be stepping into the role of Russell.

Adam Zane’s Jock Night is a raw, hilarious, and provocative comedy drama about contemporary gay life, love, and relationships following Paisley’s character, Ben, a Victoria Wood enthusiast in his forties, striving to find love.

Mike Lee, Producer of Jock Night, comments, “We are absolutely thrilled by the overwhelming response to Jock Night, our first show at Seven Dials Playhouse. Extending the show due to incredible demand is a testament to the compelling story that Jock Night tells.”

Playing at Seven Dials Playhouse 9 October – 11 November 2023.

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OPENING WEEKEND | London, Southbank Centre

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It’s back to school! Come to the Southbank Centre for an amazing programme Thu 21 – Sun 24 Sep 2023, and enjoy a multi-buy discount for this classical music mini music festival. Classical music is an integral part of the Southbank Centre, and the “Opening Weekend” will celebrate the full breadth of the art form today.

Toks Dada, Head of Classical Music at the Southbank Centre, explains the success of the Southbank Centre’s “Opening Weekend” last year: “Our goal is to create as many ways for as many different people as possible to experience this wonderful art form called classical music, building on the success of our first Opening Weekend last year – during which we welcomed over 10,000 people across our spaces, many of whom visited the Southbank Centre for the very first time.”

The weekend will feature two major choral works, with Resident Orchestra the Philharmonia Orchestra, performing Verdi’s Requiem (21 Sept, RFH), and Resident Orchestra the London Philharmonic Orchestra performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with soprano Sally Matthews, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and the London Philharmonic Choir (23 Sept, RFH).

Former Southbank Centre Resident Artist and star of 2022/23, Víkingur Olafsson, arrives in London launching his global Goldberg Variations tour (22 Sept, RFH).

Returning Resident Artists, Manchester Collective, make their season debut with a double bill beginning with Different Trains, featuring work by Barber, Steve Reich, Cassandra Miller and a world premiere by Jasmin Kent Rodgman co-commissioned by the Southbank Centre and Manchester Collective (22 Sept, QEH).

They will then move into the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer for a classical-inspired club night featuring music from titans of minimalism including Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

The Opening Weekend will also feature organist Carol Williams in Mad Rush (23 Sept, RFH) with a programme of organ classics, jazz arrangements, and Williams’ own compositions.

The Multi-Story Orchestra perform RPS award-winning The Endz (23 Sept, QEH), telling the story of two friends torn apart by gang violence in London, and a new version of immersive Living Programme Notes (24 Sept, Clore Ballroom) providing a deep dive into classical music for young people and their families.

The Philharmonia Orchestra appears a second time during the weekend with a programme including Shostakovich’s Concerto for piano, trumpet & strings featuring pianist Seong-Jin Cho and the Philharmonia’s Principal Trumpet Jason Evans (24 Sept, RFH).

The Hermes Experiment make their Opening Weekend debut (24 Sept, PUR), including a new work by composer Elaine Mitchener, commissioned by the Southbank Centre.

Lastly, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, one of the new Resident Artists for 2023/24, will close the weekend (24 Sept, QEH) with her international trio featuring clarinettist Reto Bieri, and pianist Polina Leschenko, with a programme including a new work composed by Kopatchinskaja herself.

Playing across the Southbank Centre Thu 21 – Sun 24 Sep 2023.

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INTERVIEW: MIRIAM BATTYE | Edinburgh, Roundabout @ Summerhall

Interview

Manchester-based writer Miriam Battye (HBO’s Succession) explains the deeply personal origins of her latest work, Strategic Love Play (2023), running at the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Soho Theatre.

– How would you describe Strategic Love Play (2023)?

It’s all one scene, one first date, two strangers who met on their phones. It’s highly unlikely that it will work out. But actually, if you stare at it, it’s very high stakes. It’s maybe the most romantic thing I’ve ever written.

– What inspired you to write this type of love story?

I wanted to work out why we all feel so hard done by in dating, and where on earth we get the wild idea it’s supposed to be gorgeous and easy. Why should it be? We’re all trying to package a gorgeous version of ourselves, and we’re also trying to not try – to present ambivalence.

– How do you feel dating has changed since the introduction of dating apps?

I think apps provided an incredibly effective solution to something that is genuinely painfully difficult. But I wonder if, maybe, it isn’t supposed to be painless. You’ve put your face in everyone’s phone and asked them to want you. And given them the brief idea that it’s totally their choice. You are totally available for their choosing.

– How is the cast?

We have the most gorgeous, top-tier cast. I worked with Letty Thomas on Scenes with girls (Royal Court, 2020), and I love what she does on stage: she is genuinely original, hilarious and stunningly powerful. And Archie Backhouse is a proper revelation.

– What are you most looking forward to, bringing this show to the Edinburgh Fringe?

I love the Fringe, I go every year as a punter. Throughout my career, I’ve done big TV shows, had my work ripped apart, got over it – but nothing is really more intimidating than the Fringe to me. It’s just a lot of people who care a lot about theatre. I want to astound people, reach out and grab their attention before they go on to the next thing.

Book to see Strategic Love Story at the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Soho Theatre.

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