Theatre / Bristol old vic
A five night run for critically acclaimed play ‘Bacon’ at Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio
It’s Year 10’s first day back at school. Mark is new and too scared to make friends; Darren is out of control and too scary to make friends. The two of them need each other – but neither would ever admit it.
This is the background to Sophie Swithinbank’s multi-award-winning play Bacon, developed as part of Soho Theatre’s Writer’s Lab and first performed at London’s Finborough Theatre.
The remounted production, presented by HFH Productions with support from HOME, Manchester, comes direct from the Edinburgh Fringe this August to Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio for five nights, beginning on September 12.
Corey Montague-Sholay and William Robinson in Bacon – photo: courtesy of HFH Productions
Corey Montague-Sholay and William Robinson will reprise their Off West End Award-winning performances as Mark and Darren; Matthew Iliffe – recipient of Best Director at the same awards, returns to steer this 2023 run.
“The murky and grey area of sexual exploration within friendships does not get wide representation on stage,” reflects Swithinbank, who won the 2023 Peggy Ramsay/Film 4 Award for Bacon, “because it is not a love story, and therefore has no specific genre.
“But during the debut run at Finborough Theatre, many people spoke to me directly about how much they connected with the story, and saw themselves in it.”
In a feature for Everything Theatre, Swithinbank calls the play “a relationship drama for the modern age”.
She writes: “At once tragic and euphoric, it questions whether we can do better to guide teenagers through the process of becoming adults. At the heart of Bacon, is the study of the journey from boy to man, and why so often, boys fail to make it there.”
Bacon (age recommendation 16+) is at The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic on September 12-16 at 8pm with an additional 3pm matinee show on Saturday. Tickets are available at www.bristololdvic.org.uk.
Main photo: Ali Wright
Read more: A clutch of Edinburgh Fringe shows will transfer to a packed autumn season at Bristol Old Vic
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