Two lonely people and a fish finger sandwich!
…a play that leaves you caring deeply about its characters and which adds unusual poignancy to the dating game.
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Bloomsbury Publishing.
Beginning is the first of a proposed trilogy of plays exploring different stages of relationships. It was first presented at the National in October 2017 and subsequently transferred to the West End. The second play Middle opened in October 2022.
Set in the aftermath of Laura’s housewarming party at her new flat in Crouch End, Danny, having attended simply as the ‘plus one’ of a friend, is the last remaining guest. Laura is single, childless and with no immediate family; Danny is divorced, living with his mother, and has not seen his daughter for a number of years.
The play begins with them nearly kissing and charts their journey in real-time as they both seek to get back to that point. While Laura is clear from the outset that she fancies Danny and wants him to stay over, Danny is reluctant to share his true feelings. Over the course of the play, both begin to open up to one another: they dance to Bros, consume fish finger sandwiches and share their mutual loneliness and isolation in the city and where they are in their lives. They’re an unlikely couple but their mutual uncertainty leads to moments of tenderness and humour.
…a play that leaves you caring deeply about its characters and which adds unusual poignancy to the dating game.
David Eldridge’s new play is a wry, funny and touching meditation on the loneliness of the singleton in the era of the dating app.
It’s the tentative (anti) romance for 21st-century London life and it is, quite simply, magnificent.
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Beginning
Beginning by Dabid Eldridge has no specific diversity message within its narrative. The play can be cast with complete neutrality on race/ethnicity. Parts of its story lend themselves to gender, ethnicity and age specificity in certain roles but this could be open to artistic judgement, permitting maximum flexibility to achieve the most diverse cast possible.
Part 1, 18th Jan 8pm
Part 2, 19th Jan 8pm
Parts 1+2 20th Jan 2.30pm
Part 1, 23rd Jan 8pm
Part 2, 24th Jan 8pm
Part 1, 25th Jan 8pm
Part 2, 26th Jan 8pm
Part 1, 27th Jan 2.30pm
Part 2, 27th Jan 8pm
