Love, Loss and Chianti Opens at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios
Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst stars in double bill written by poet Christopher Reid
Robert Bathurst and Rebecca Johnson
Following the success of its first stage production, Persona, it's all change at Hammersmith's recently reopened Riverside Studios with the opening today, 25 February, of Love, Loss and Chianti, a double bill from award winning British poet Christopher Reid, starring Robert Bathurst from ITV's Cold Feet and Downton Abbey.
The two part evening, directed by Jason Morell, sees Robert and co-star Rebecca Johnson, recently seen in the BBC's The Trip, reprise their roles in two books by Christopher Reid - the critically acclaimed The Song of Lunch, alongside the premiere production of his autobiographical and Costa Book Award winning verse, A Scattering.
Both will be intertwined with animations from celebrated cartoonist Charles Peattie.
Star Robert Bathurst says: "This has been a project I’ve been preparing for what feels like a long time, with the vital support of the poet Christopher Reid. I proposed to him this double-bill and have been doing try-outs in art galleries, theatres, clubs and pubs.
" Charles Peattie’s rich, vivid animation serves the language beautifully, it also allows us to play these pieces on a larger scale and bring Christopher’s clear, perfectly phrased, witty, emotionally charged and beautifully characterful writing to mainstream theatre audiences."
A Scattering, written during the three years surrounding the death of his wife, is Christopher Reid’s
deeply affecting verse poem; an unmawkish depiction of loss, articulating
emotions most of us find hard to express.
Transporting audiences from a hospice bed to the
hills of Crete, the verse captures the author’s stages of grief and attempted
resolution.
Celebrating love and acknowledging loss, The Song of Lunch is a hilarious and poignant drama
set in a Soho Italian restaurant. Following its huge success at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018, this bittersweet tale returns to the stage, presenting a reckless attempt to rekindle lost love
between two former lovers.
A Scattering and The Song of Lunch are bound together by the power of memory and yearning,
championing the vivid and emotive language of Reid’s verse. On the day he finished writing A
Scattering, he began The Song of Lunch – a fictional, farcical diversion from the mood of his past
three years.
Peattie’s witty and skilful animation creates a visual feast, illustrating both the action and the
characters’ internal thoughts. This multi-disciplinary double-bill dissects the human condition to
reminisce on the past, the shoulda woulda coulda mentality, and the ability to love
unconditionally despite uncontrollable circumstances.
Riverside Studios say: " Love, Loss & Chianti is a show for anyone who has ever loved and lost, and been on a rubbish date!"
Tickets, priced £37.50 - £30 (£25 concessions) are available online or from the box office on and 020 8237 1010.
You can follow the show and its creators on Twitter @RobertBathurst, @SuzRos, @RiversideLondon, @SFTWshows, and #LoveLossandChianti.
February 25, 2020