Tea for Two

Tea for Two comes to the Neville Studio at Nottingham Playhouse on Friday 23 October. It's a dark comedy and romance written by David Gibbons, an actor-musician and writer originally from Leicestershire, and it's billed as his writing debut. The show is a two-hander, performed by Gibbons himself and by Georgie Matthews, an actor, singer, producer and improviser based in South Wales.

On the surface, it starts as an ordinary coffee break between Maria and her former partner Jake. From there it goes off the rails, unfolding into something far more surreal, with loops, déjà vu and moments of panic. It asks how humour can both protect and betray us, and how letting go can start with picking up the phone. The title Tea for Two plays on that initial coffee break, though the two people sitting across from each other end up in a very different place by the end.

One thing to keep in mind: this is presented as a work in progress, still in development. It's not a finished production, and the audience is free to leave and return at any time, so you can drop in and out as you like. It's part of AMPLIFY SEASONS, Nottingham Playhouse's artist development programme for Midlands creatives, now in its fourth year and with over 1,200 members, supported by The Fenton Arts Trust and the Noel Coward Foundation.

Tickets are £14.00 general admission, plus a non-refundable £2.50 booking fee. It runs in the Neville Studio, the smaller, more intimate space within the Playhouse, which fits a two-hander like this. If you're into new writing and don't mind seeing a piece while it's still being worked on, it's worth a look.