Toast, Park Theatre

Before Great Britain and One Man, Two Guv’nors there was Toast , the first major play by Richard Bean. Seven men come together to bake enough bread to feed the population of Hull. It’s just another Sunday in the bread factory. Everyone wants to be somewhere else, but there is a spanner in the works or rather, a vest in the mix. Amidst the industrial thump, thump of the machines the men have more to lose than just their wages, as events threaten bread production in Hull for good, and life as they know it for the men on the shift.

Playwright – Richard Bean

Irrepressible playwright Richard Bean received widespread acclaim for the riotously funny One Man,Two Guv’nors which starred James Corden at the National Theatre and later on Broadway.Toast draws upon Bean’s real life experiences, growing up in Hull and working in a bread plant, and is testament to his ability to find humour in any situation.

Director – Eleanor Rhode

Snapdragon Productions founder Eleanor Rhode directs this hilarious reservoir of mirth, fresh from the success of Ben Travers’s farce Thark staged at the Park Theatre last year. Thark was described in the Independent as, “blissful tomfoolery”, and Rhode has an excellent track record of drawing side-splitting performances from her cast.

The Cast

In stars Olivier Award winning Matthew Kelly and television’s Simon Greenall Snapdragon Productions has a duo capable of bringing Richard Bean’s work to life. Kelly has great pedigree, and following from his Olivier Award winning portrayal of Lennie in Of Mice and Men at the Savoy Theatre, he replaced Simon Callow alongside Sir Ian McKellen in the Theatre Royal revival of Waiting for Godot to excellent reviews. A star in one of the most iconic television comedies of all time, Greenall’s comic timing in I’m Alan Partridge as Michael opposite Steve Coogan remains the stuff of legend.

With an exciting director, talented cast, and delightful script, Toast is likely to thrill audiences this autumn.