The Way Old Friends Do (NHB Modern Plays)

By Ian Hallard

In 1988, two Birmingham school friends tentatively come out to one another: Edward as gay; Peter, even more daringly, as an ABBA fan.
Nearly thirty years later, they meet again – and take a chance by forming the world's first ABBA tribute band in drag. It's a riot of platform boots and dodgy beards, 'Waterloos' and 'Chiquititas', and they couldn't escape if they wanted to. But can Edward and Peter's friendship survive the tribulations of a life on the road?
Ian Hallard's The Way Old Friends Do is a tender, laugh-out-loud comedy about devotion, desire and dancing queens. It premiered at Birmingham Rep in 2023, directed by Mark Gatiss, before touring the UK, including a run at Park Theatre, London.
The play offers every theatre company and drama group all the ingredients to give their audience the time of its life.
'Camp, funny and jolly good fun' - Sunday Times
'A super-trouper of a show that reminds us all of the part music can play in our lives and our friendships… Hallard's script is keen-edged and perceptive, rapidly creating characters and imbuing them with life views that make the audience both laugh and feel a tinge of sadness' - WhatsOnStage
'Hilariously funny… a positive joy to watch from start to finish… bang on the Money, Money, Money' - Reviews Hub
'Side-splittingly funny… the easy comedy of the first act gives way to a dramatic series of genuinely surprising twists in the second ahead of a touchingly sentimental conclusion… a genuine love letter to ABBA with plenty for the die-hard enthusiasts to enjoy, but when all is said and done it is ultimately a story about enduring friendship' - Broadway World
'With a script this funny and charming, you won't want to miss it' - West End Best Friend

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Feb 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781788506199

Ian Hallard

Ian Hallard is an actor and writer. His plays include: The Way Old Friends Do (Birmingham Rep and tour, 2023); and Adventurous (online, 2021).

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