Nigel
Slater’s Toast Coming To Newcastle
PW Productions and Karl Sydow present The Lowry
production:
Nigel Slater’s Toast
Newcastle Northern Stage
Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 September 2019
From making the perfect sherry trifle, waging war over
cakes through to the playground politics of sweets and the rigid rules of
restaurant dining, this is a moving and evocative tale of love, loss and...
toast.
Following its world premiere at The Lowry, Salford in May,
a sold-out run at as part of Traverse Festival 2018 at the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe, and a London transfer to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Other Palace, Nigel
Slater’s Toast announces further dates for its UK tour and it will arrive in
Newcastle in September.
 |
Marie Lawrence as Joan, Jake Ferretti as Josh,
Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater, Lizzy Muncey as Mum |
Fresh from the West End run, Giles Cooper will continue to
star as Nigel Slater, with further casting to be announced. Giles’s theatre
credits include This House, People and After The Dance at the National Theatre,
and Henry V and The Duchess of Malfi at Shakespeare’s Globe. Roles in hit
British films include Pride and The Lady in The Van.
Nigel Slater said: “With the London run approaching its
conclusion, it’s an extremely exciting time as the words on the page will soon
come to life once again for audiences around the country. I’m thrilled that the
play will continue its journey after The Other Palace.”
 |
| Jake Ferretti as Josh, Marie Lawrence as Joan |
Originally produced by The Lowry for Week 53 festival,
Toast is written by Henry Filloux-Bennett and directed by Jonnie Riordan. Henry Filloux-Bennett explains: “Having written ‘Toast’
whilst working at The Lowry, that the production is coming back to the North of
England after its run at The Other Palace is exciting enough. Now that I have
moved to the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, I’m completely delighted
that we get to open the tour of ‘Toast’ here in Yorkshire, starting as it will
our 25th Anniversary season.”
 |
| Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater, Lizzy Muncey as Mum |
Based on the British Book Awards Biography of the Year,
Toast is a new play based on Nigel Slater’s award-winning autobiography.
Vividly recreating suburban England in the 1960s, Nigel’s childhood is told
through the tastes and smells he grew up with and the audience with be
enveloped by the evocative sights and sounds of cookery that defined the definitive
moments of his youth.
The author of a collection of bestselling books and presenter
of nine BBC television series, Nigel Slater has been the food columnist for The
Observer for 25 years. His memoir ‘Toast - the Story of a Boy’s Hunger’ won six
major awards, has been translated into five languages and became a BBC film
starring Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore. Nigel’s latest book
Greenfeast has recently been published by HarperCollins.
The food writer and journalist Nigel Slater
tells Matthew Amer about seeing his memoirs brought vividly to life on stage in
Toast, bringing food into the theatre and the surprising impact his story has
had on audiences.
 |
Stephen Ventura as Dad, Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater,
Lizzy Muncey as Mum |
What’s Toast about?
Toast is the story of a little boy who feels abandoned because
his mother dies when he’s very young and his father falls in love with another
woman. The boy’s life suddenly changes with the arrival of a woman who’s
completely different from his mother. It’s about learning to make your own way
and gaining the strength to do something surprising at that young age, make big
decisions about your life.
It’s your story, but it sounds like you’ve
managed to separate yourself from the character of Nigel.
I have, a little bit. There’s 50 years between us! He will
always be another person until I sit in the theatre and watch either very
tender scenes or very upsetting scenes. Then suddenly all those emotions come
flooding back and it isn’t that little boy any more, it’s me. The words I spoke
stayed with me. I put them in the book and now they’re on stage as well.
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| Nigel Slater with Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater |
What moved you to write your memoirs?
I wasn’t the driving force, actually. I was asked to write
an article about the food of my childhood. When I started writing, I realised
that everything I was tasting brought back a lot of memories. Every food item
was associated very clearly with a particular part of my life or vignette from
my childhood. The day after it was published, my editor said “I think it should
be a book.”
How did you feel when playwright Henry
Filloux-Bennett asked about adapting it for the theatre?
I said “No.” I just didn’t see how it would work on stage.
But when he sent part of the script I was completely blown away. I could feel
the emotions; I could almost reach out and touch the people. I thought “This is
going to work, let’s have a go.”
Jonnie Riordon, the director, has done this thing that
directors do of making the show not a slightly sad story of a little boy losing
his mum and being forced to live with a stepmum he didn’t like, but a really
joyous performance. Right from the start, he decided that the heart and soul of
this show is food. When I walked in on the very first night at the Lowry in
Salford, I thought “Where’s the smell of toast coming from.” It was Jonnie
walking round waving bits of toast before the audience sat down.
There’s magic to it when the food appears. For instance, my
stepmother will open a cupboard and there will be a wonderful cake or some
pastries waiting. It’s like little doors keep opening and food keeps appearing.
The food is almost a cast member in its own right. The cast, as well as having
to remember their lines, positions and all the usual things actors do, also
have to run into the audience and hand out sweeties and treats. It really makes
quite an impact.
 |
Jake Ferretti as Josh, Marie Lawrence as Joan,
Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater, Stephen Ventura as Dad,
Lizzy Muncey as Mum |
How involved with the production have you been?
It is my story, so I do feel protective of it. But Henry
got the spirit of the book straight away and Jonnie picked up the sense of fun,
so I felt it was all in extremely good hands. I’ve kept a close watch on it, but
everyone understood it is more than just a story of a little boy and his mum.
It’s a bigger than that. It’s affected many people.
There are so many children that have felt abandoned after a
bereavement. There are so many children that don’t understand why this new
person’s come into Dad’s life or Mum’s life that they have to accept. It isn’t
just my story. Lots of kids have that emotionally tough time. I hadn’t realised
so many people would come up to me, send me letters or write emails saying
“That is my story. That happened to me.”
How important is it then that a story that so
many people can relate to is touring the UK after its London run?
I’m thrilled that it’s in London. I’m overjoyed. But the
fact that it’s going to all those cities around Britain is such a buzz. It is a
countrywide, universal story; children having a tough time but not being able
to talk about it. I couldn’t be happier that it’s going round the country.
 |
| Giles Cooper as Nigel Slater |
How closely have you worked with Giles Cooper,
who plays the younger Nigel?
We have become very good friends. We talk a lot and he asks
a lot of questions, which is great, but I’ve never, at any time, said “Nigel
wouldn’t do that” or “Nigel didn’t say that.” I don’t want a carbon copy of
little Nigel. And Giles is just wonderful. He plays Nigel with aplomb.
Finally, what can audiences expect from a trip
to see Toast?
They can expect a magic, the luxury of nostalgia and some
fantastic surprises and treats that you don’t usually get at the theatre. It
might be worth popping in a Kleenex as well, because there have been quite a
few tears.
Photos: Simon Annand
On The Web:
Facebook @ToastPlay
Twitter
@ToastPlay
Tickets:
Age recommendation : 11+
Tickets from £10. Box Office: 0191 230 5151
