By nature Lance and I are home birds but we make one exception.. and that’s a night at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester . We are going for a lovely meal followed by the RSC Production of “The Constant Wife” starring Strictly winner and former Eastenders actress Kara Tointon.
The Lowry is a registered charity a non-profit organisation which only gets 6% of their income from public funding and as well as the theatre productions offers an art gallery and also workshops and a strong educational programme
The theatre is easy to get too by metro or if you are a little further afield like us there is plenty of
Parking with the onsite car park – we usually pay for this by the app rather than queuing on the way out . We are Lowry members which costs £40 and is an absolute bargain – for this you get priority booking , 2-4-1 tickets on most opening nights (which means the cost pays for itself on its first booking! ) and you also get 10% off in the restaurant and also the gift shop
We normally go and dine in the restaurant first as the quality of the food and the ambience are excellent and as they are geared towards pre theatre dining there is none of the panic of .. “are we going to get our food in time ?” Like when you book an ordinary restaurant
The restaurant itself is inside the Lowry theatre and has fabulous views of the water front and also views of MUFC Old Trafford ground , which could be a disadvantage if you are a Liverpool supporter 😂
The restaurant is very relaxed and informal and serves modern British menus with locally sourced ingredients. The menus are seasonal , so change 4 times a year – we had the Spring menu. The staff are fabulous , especially Rob and are attentive, knowledgable and unobtrusive
You can choose from either two or three courses and there are vegetarian options . The pricing is very reasonable – it is £32 for two course or £38 for three and as mentioned before there is 10% off for Lowry members – the tables can be booked online and prepaid at the time of booking the tickets or just direct on their website at a later date – really simple to do
For the starters I chose the Port of Lancaster smokehouse smoked salmon parfait and Lance chose the roasted parsnip and sorrel soup . Mine was absolutely delicious, the parfait was really fresh tasting with little pops of egg Caviar whilst Lance said his soup was hearty and delicious served with a chunk of fresh bread not as nice as the one I make at home he stated .. though that could have been a diplomatic comment 😂
For the main course we both chose the same Garlic & Herb Cumbrian chicken breast potato pave, parsnip purée, spring greens, golden beetroot, red wine jus – this was delicious . I’ve 👎🏼 had golden beetroot before but it’s lovely – actually has the taste and textures of pears, the chicken was cooked to perfection , really well seasoned and not overpowered by the herbs or garlic and the parsnip puree is sweet creamy and just yum
Feeling rather full what we particularly like about The Lowry restaurant is the option to have you dessert in the interval – it saves the queues at the refreshment stand and it’s ready at your table when you return. It gives you the option to let the first two course digest and really appreciate the sweet treats .. This is Lances favourite part of the evening I think 😂
I decided to have the sticky toffee pudding with plant based ice cream and it was the perfect combination of sweetness and stickiness – and Lance agreed with the spoonful I let him taste !
Lance decided upon the Basque cheesecake with sea buckthorne curd and bee pollen tuile . The curd is similar to lemon curd but made with sea berries so a little richer . Lance said is was perfect . Not too heavy not too light and went perfect with the cup of tea we also had !
So now to the show!
The Constant Wife
1927. Constance is a very unhappy woman. “Nonsense” says her mother “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances.” Constance is the perfect wife and mother, and her husband is as devoted to her as he is to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend. This is a Royal Shakespeare Company Production and is in connection the cruise company Cunard where it being performed in May upon its Queen Mary cruise from New York to Southampton.
The play starts with Mrs Culver (Sara Crowe – whom showing my age I remember from the Philadelphia cheese advert !) and her daughter Martha Culver (excellently played by Amy Vicary-Smith) discussing where it not to tell Constance Middleton (Kara Tointon) that her husband John Middleton (Tim Delap) is having an affair with her best friend Marie-Louise Durham (played in this performance by Jocasta King) . Martha a modern forthright unmarried young women is all for transparency and feels her sister should know the truth about what a cad her husband is whilst Mrs Culver believes that what her daughter doesn’t know won’t hurt her as she has a wonderful life as it is . As the plot unfolds it turns out that Constance has known about her husbands affair for a year having walked in on the couple unbeknownst to them whilst returning early from a trip taking her daughter to boarding school . Rather than confronting the couple immediately we witness the despair and internal wrangling as she experiences she encounters whilst deciding what do – her only confident being the loyal butler Bentley (brilliantly played by Philip Rahm) who it appears is harbouring a secret of his own.
When her sister invites Constance to go into the interior design business with her she after slight hesitation agrees and starts to plan her future her husband blissfully ignorant of what she has discovered
The re-emergence of one of Constance’s old flame Bernard Kersal (Alex Mugnaioni) who is still desperately in love with her provides a welcome distraction for Constance and is welcomed by her husband as it gives him plenty of time for philandering!
The affair is revealed when Mortimer Durham (played by Jules Brown) the husband of Marie-Louise finds a cigarette case belonging to the errant husband under the pillow on his wife’s bed and confronts the couple in front of the whole cast .To the incredulity of everyone Constance covers up the infidelity and the husband leaves feeling embarrassed and apologetic at his behaviour !
What unravels is a story and examination of a marriage, what really goes on behind closed doors and whether forgiveness really is sweeter than revenge? I don’t want to spoil the end apart from justice is served and would highly recommend you catch the production when it tours near you.
Tokay is as Lance says reminiscent of the old “Play for today” , a gentle farce with more than a few double entendres . The set and costumes are divine, Music specially written by Jamie Cullum , acting is top notch and it’s a brilliantly casted show. We left the theatre a little lighter and with a spring in our step – a thoroughly enjoyable evening with the best company .. who could want anymore ?
set photo credits to the constant wife website
Links:
The Lowry theatre https://thelowry.com
The Constant wife https://constantwife.com
LCChaosandhome 