WED 23 SEPT - SAT 3 OCT
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“Eldridge’s writing remains consummately naturalistic, peppered with intentional loose ends and recognisable, awkward humour.”
The Stage
It’s 4.0 a.m. ……a couple are in the kitchen together as dawn breaks. It is time for an honest conversation – but how much honesty can any marriage take? Middle is a truthful, moving and funny portrait of a forty-something couple whose marriage hangs in the balance.
David Eldridge wrote a trilogy of plays depicting relationships and the different kinds of loneliness that exist in and out of them. They are all continuous action plays that exist in real time. In all three there’s music and dancing, some food and drink and quite a bit of tidying up. The men all support West Ham United. The plays are set a decade ago, a time when the world was calmer, but standing on the edge of disruption.
Following the huge success of staging Beginning last year, Viki Betts will again direct the second in this trilogy. Where Beginning was a couple taking steps towards their first commitment together, Middle captures the middle years of a marriage, full of reflection, familiarity and questioning. Is this what they wanted or expected from being together?
Is this the beginning of the end, or just the middle?
A non-professional production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
Director's Notes
After having the pleasure of directing David Eldridge’s Beginning last year, I was asked whether Middle would be next. Part of me wondered if I should tackle something else first.
Then I was incredibly lucky to see the trilogy’s final instalment, End, at the National Theatre. As soon as the curtain came down, I turned to Sue Moore and said, ‘Yes, Middle has to be next!’
Middle shows us what can follow the romantic beginning: how love can disappear, change, or simply go unseen; how striving for what is thought to be success can make you lose sight of what is in front of you; or how believing someone else is the key to your happiness can take hold because they seem to share certain qualities.
Maggie and Gary begin to have the conversations that many couples don’t. They haven’t checked in with each other in years. Their lives are built on assumptions, compromises, and ticking boxes. Maggie has lost her sense of self through motherhood, with her ambitions put aside for domestic life. Gary, however, has taken on the responsibility of supporting them, pushing himself to the limit to provide what he believes he must.
Each believes they have made significant sacrifices, yet neither fully appreciates the other.
As with Beginning, this play unfolds within the same timeframe as the audience watches, creating an intimate experience. The natural dialogue swings from funny to cutting, from awkward to heartbreaking. It’s a rollercoaster.
I have to say a huge thank you to the small but mighty creative and technical team on this production, who have worked hard—while the theatre has been a building site!—to create the world of Maggie and Gary.
I am equally grateful to Chris and Lorna, who are two of the most generous actors I know. They have fully inhabited their characters, championing them even in our discussions about relationships, family, and the choices we make. Bringing Middle to life with them has been incredibly special.
I do hope you enjoy the Middle of this trilogy, and perhaps one day we will see End together too.
Viki Betts, Director Middle
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