The Gap (Jim Cartwright) - Hope Mill MCR

[BurlyBeaR]

Hope Mill Theatre have announced the world premiere of new play The Gap by Jim Cartwright, starring Matthew Kelly (Noises Off, West End) and Denise Welch (Calendar Girls the Musical, UK tour), which will open at the venue on 9 February for a limited run, closing on 9 March 2024.

Directed by Anthony Banks, The Gap delves into the audacious adventures of Walter and Corral. He’s back up north, she’s still down south. They haven’t seen each other for fifty years, not since their Soho days, back in the swinging ’60s.

A chance phone call reunites them for one magical night and in next to no time, they’re back to their old tricks.

Jim Cartwright and Anthony Banks said: “It’s great to be collaborating again after our work on Mobile Phone Show in 2013 and Raz in 2016. We’re looking forward to Denise and Matthew bringing these characters to life – two extraordinary lives lived across half a century of changes."

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (8 July) here.

[benny20]

Bought my tickets...£50 each...

[BurlyBeaR]

Anyone have any feedback on this?

[benny20]

Going next Saturday night. Looking forward to it. Reasonable reviews

[david]

Feb 17, 2024 23:24:44 GMT benny20 said:

Going next Saturday night. Looking forward to it. Reasonable reviews

benny20 - did you end up going? If so what did you think of it? 

[benny20]

Really enjoyed it. Typical Cartwright. Nice flow to the production. Quite impressed with Denise. Thought Matthew was a little fumbly at times.
Good production. Not earth shattering by any means. Attracted quite a few new audience members to Hope Mill and it got a very good reception throughout and at the end

[david]

I was in two minds whether to and watch this but after reading the reviews and benny20 's positive post from his viewing a few days ago, I ended up getting a back row seat for today's performance and had a really good afternoon at Hope Mill. With a short run time of around 90 minutes (45 mins each Act plus a 20 min interval) time flew by watching Jim Cartwright's latest play and it certainly kept myself and the rest of the audience thoroughly entertained. Todays visit to HM to watch this was certainly a far more positive one than my last visit to watch "Head Over Heels". 

As a two hander production, both Matthew Kelly and Denise Welch make a great double act to watch having wonderful on stage chemistry as friends Walter and Corral. Kelly and Welch also play other side characters as well so there are plenty of quick costume changes in the play. In the play we watch as these two characters leave 1960's Manchester for the hustle and bustle of swinging 60's Soho and the ups and downs of their journey and the impact it has on both their lives over time. It really is a rags to riches and to rags again The whole piece is cleverly framed as retrospective look at their lives as an interview piece of a local paper in which the audience is brought into the play (and breaking the 4th wall) to act as the reporter to whom Walter and Corral tell their stories. In many respects, at times, particularly in Act 2 in which both Kelly and Welch get to deliver some wonderful, funny and sometimes rude monologues, it certainly felt a little like an Alan Bennett "Talking Heads" production.

Jim Cartwright doesn't shy away from looking at nostalgia, class and sex-work in the play and his wonderful dialogue has plenty of heart, humour (but with little emotional punch) that is brought brilliantly to life by these two actors in what is a fast paced play with snap shot scenes to show the passage of time that is aided by some lovely video projections onto moving panels and a nice sound design to help set the different scenes.