''The Way Old Friends Do'' is a play by Ian Hallard. It is a comedy that tells the story of the world's first drag

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

, formed by two old schoolfriends who meet again by chance.

Plot

The play follows the ups and downs in the friendship of Peter and Edward, who were at school together in Birmingham in the 1980s. Edward came out to Peter as gay, and Peter as an ABBA fan. They find each other again after twenty years of estrangement and book a one-off gig at the local theatre as a drag ABBA tribute band. They decide to play

Frida Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

and Agnetha, and recruit wannabe actress Jodie and eccentric rehearsal pianist Mrs Campbell as Björn and Benny. Stage manager Sally is the final member of the team. Avid Australian fan, Christian, convinces them to pursue the idea, and they embark on a life on the road. However Christian's romantic involvement with Edward leads to the breakdown of his friendship with Peter.

Production history

UK Tour (2023)

The play made its world premiere in The Studio at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

on 17 February 2023, before touring the UK. The production was directed by

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...

West End (2023)

The play transferred to the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End from 17 August until 9 September 2023.

Cast and characters

Critical reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Arifa Akbar and ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' Aleks Sierz both gave the play 3 out of 5 stars, while the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' Nick Curtis gave the play 2 out of 5 stars.

WhatsOnStage.com WhatsOnStage is a UK-based theatre website providing news, reviews, interviews, and a comprehensive listings database of performances across the country. The platform claims to list over 5,000 performances at any given time and also operates a tick ...

's Diane Parkes gave the play 4 out of 5 stars, and

Libby Purves Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. Early life and career Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...

gave it 4 out of 5 stars, describing it as "ABBAsolutely a delight" and that "you're a curmudgeon if you don't warm to it."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way Old Friends Do (play), The 2023 plays British plays West End plays