A new play set in a restaurant is inviting audiences to eavesdrop on a couple’s conversation over dinner.
As Clouds Go By is a new play by Brighton-based writer Mark Burgess and was commissioned by Jane Arden for the British Actors’ Group (B.A.G.).
The play is fully sold out at Elate Café Restaurant in Rottingdean, but audiences can catch it in the ballroom of the Norfolk Arms Hotel on August 21 and 22 as part of the Arundel Festival.
Ms Arden, who has worked as a professional actress for more than 30 years and has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, said: "Sharing a space with the actors is exciting – without that fourth wall that a conventional theatre provides, it’s a guaranteed unique experience as the live drama unfolds while audiences watch and enjoy drinks at the surrounding tables they have just dined at."
The play centres on a couple, Rachel and Simon, enjoying a meal in their favourite French restaurant in Sussex.
As the evening unfolds, their conversation reveals dreams, missed opportunities and the often-blurred boundaries between truth and lies.
Audiences will enjoy a meal as part of the immersive experience, with actors performing among diners to create an authentic, site-specific atmosphere.
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Directing the production is Caroline Smith, an Olivier Award-nominated director whose career includes work with Willy Russell, Alan Bleasdale and Alan Ayckbourn.
The British Actors’ Group was founded by Ms Arden after she performed in a play written for Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s theatre restaurant.
Inspired by the intimacy and immediacy of dinner theatre, she launched her own company to produce sixty-minute plays and reviews as part of the dining experience.
B.A.G. has since performed in venues including the Capital Club Bahrain, Capital Club Dubai, private members' clubs in Hong Kong and locations across London and the UK.
Friday and Saturday night performances of As Clouds Go By will raise funds for the East Bali Poverty Project in memory of Ms Arden’s brother, who died in the 2002 Bali bombing.
She said: "Clive loved Bali, he would be so happy to know that we are helping support a charity there that helps educate children."
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