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jaydarcy
20th May 2023

The Lowry welcomes old friends for a night of devotion, desire and Dancing Queens

The Way Old Friends Do, a play about the first ABBA tribute band in drag, visits The Lowry as part of its UK tour
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The Lowry welcomes old friends for a night of devotion, desire and Dancing Queens
Photo: The Way Old Friends Do

The Way Old Friends Do is a new comedy about devotion, desire and dancing queens.

In 1988, two school friends tentatively come out to one another: one as gay, the other – more shockingly – as an ABBA fan.

Nearly thirty years later, a chance meeting sets them on a brand-new path and they decide to form the world’s first ABBA tribute band – in drag! But can their friendship survive the tribulations of a life on the road which includes 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.

The killer cast is made up of Olivier nominee Ian Hallard (Where the Heart is, Crooked House, The Boys in the Band), BroadwayWorld Regional nominee Donna Berlin, James Bradshaw (The Grimleys, Hollyoaks, Endeavour), Olivier winner and 2 x nominee Sara Crowe (Private Lives, Calendar Girls, Sheila’s Island), Andrew Horton (Jupiter’s Legacy), and Rose Shalloo (Malory Towers).

Written by Hallard and directed by his husband, the legendary Mark Gatiss, this play is sure to be funny, fierce and fABBAlous!

 

The Way Old Friends Do runs at The Lowry (Quays Theatre) from May 22 to 27 and tours the UK until June 10.

Jay Darcy

Jay Darcy

Theatre Editor. Instagram & Twitter: @jaydarcy7. Email: [email protected].

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