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French Paste to open at the Shaw Theatre

Written by Shaun Critten
Saturday, 31 May 2008
*French Paste* is coming to London’s Shaw Theatre in July 2008 in association with the London Pride Festival. Written by Richard Gallagher, it is a hilarious and touching celebration of human relationships and how far society has moved since the late eighties. 1987 was the year Margaret Thatcher won her third election; it was the year when Britain was battered by freak storms; it was the year when the gay community were first threatened with what became Section 28 ... and it was the year Tom Markham met the woman he'd been impersonating since the night he met Stephen. Stephen does politics; Tom does drag. Tom loves Over the Rainbow; Stephen keeps warning about the next cyclone. If it weren't for Tom's friend, Pam, the couple would never have stayed together. When Tom’s idol, Geraldine Clarke, comes into their lives they have to take a long, hard look at who they really are. Tom isn't to know that Geraldine has her own problems and, yes, the next cyclone is due.Cast includes:Michael Fish: BBC TV weatherman who was famously, but incorrectly, blamed for failing to predict the hurricanes of 1987. French Paste opens with the recreation of that particular weather forecast delivered by Michael himself.Samantha Hughes: Theatre credits most recently include Menopause The Musical (Shaw Theatre), Gentle Hook, Present Laughter and Table Manners, as well as leading roles as ‘Sheila’ in A Chorus Line and ‘Mrs Lyons’ in Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers in both the West End and Toronto.Simon Rawlings: Recent theatre credits include Herr Flick in ‘Allo ‘Allo (UK No 1 Tour), Don’t Dress For Dinner (West End and UK No 1 Tour), Whose Life Is It Anyway? (UK No 1 Tour). Simon was also assistant director for the UK tour of CarouselDieter Thomas: In 2007, Dieter recently played Tom in the only other production of French Paste to be staged in London. Theatre credits most recently include Thoroughly Modern Millie, Songs For A New World, Dolly West’s Kitchen.Sue Vincent: TV credits include Casualty, If … William and Mary, Mayo, Coronation Street and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard. Writer Richard Gallagher also directs this production. He is the author of nine other plays including How to Dispose of a Human Corpse, based on the Dennis Nilsen killings and Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, about the life of Dorothy Parker. His short story, Mother's Day, was filmed by Yorkshire Television and starred Kathy Staff He has also worked as a theatre journalist for the Greater Manchester Theatre Magazine and is the author of I’ll Be Watching You and When Kids Kill (Virgin Books – ‘True Crime’).French Paste was originally staged at the Green Room, Manchester in 1991 and was nominated for a Manchester Evening News ‘Best New Play’ award. Former EastEnder Michael Cashman MEP, who played ‘Stephen’ in that original cast, feels that staging French Paste now is important so that we can look back and see how far our society has come. “Aside from being a very funny and entertaining piece, French Paste serves as a marker of how far we have come and a warning against slipping back. It is also salutary to remember that many young gay people of today have little sense of their own history. Written in the great heyday of the gay liberation movement, this play asks them to reflect on how change was achieved by ordinary people who had to do extraordinary things.” For further information, images, interview requests and press tickets, please contact Shaun Critten at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 07841 649 428.Run sheet French Paste by Richard Gallagher The Shaw Theatre, 100-110 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AJ (nearest tube Kings Cross) Tuesday 1^st to Saturday 5^th July 2008 – 20:00hrs (matinees on Thursday 3^rd and Saturday 5^th at 16:00hrs) Additional performance on Friday 4^th July 2008 at 16:00hrs with all proceeds in aid of the DEC Burma Cyclone Appeal Tickets priced from £20 to £30 available only from The Shaw Theatre Box Office on 0870 033 2600 or online at www.theshawtheatre.com Cast Michael Fish, Samantha Hughes, Simon Rawlings, Dieter Thomas, Sue Vincent Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?

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