Beginning, the Barn Theatre’s second two-hander of the season, opens in Welwyn Garden City this Friday.

The first of a promised trilogy by prolific British playwright David Eldridge, it collected five stars, and sold out when, directed by Polly Findlay, it premiered at the National’s Dorfman Theatre in 2017.

Transferring to the West End at the end of its run, the "brave, beautiful, intimate two-hander" was immediately singled out by critics as a classic of British theatre.

Both comedic and tender, it captures a moment when two lonely people, Laura and Danny, who live in the age of internet dating, find themselves having to deal with a moment of awkward attraction in the ‘old fashioned way’. 

In the early hours of the morning Laura’s surveying the remains of her housewarming party at her North London flat, while Danny, the uncomfortable last guest, is not sure if he wants to stay or go.

The unlikely couple have to find the courage to kiss and admit they like each other, without the crutch of social media.  

"I wish I’d met you online," he says. So where do they go from there? 

When to see the show

Beginning runs from Friday, March 22 to Saturday, March 30, at the Barn Theatre with evening performances at 8pm and a matinee on March 30 at 2.30pm.

Tickets cost £15, from the Barn Theatre box office on 01707 324300, or online at www.barntheatre.co.uk

Director Paul Morton comes to his Barn directorial debut with an impressive back catalogue of acting and directing with Hertford’s The Company of Players, most recently directing Shakespeare in Hollywood, and playing Edward in The Cane for their 2023 season.  

He said: "Beginning was the play I’d wanted to direct for some time, so I didn’t hesitate when Clive Weatherley, Barn Artistic Director, asked me to direct something in this season.

"I’ve got two terrific Barn actors, neither of whom I’d known before and, with such a small cast, we have the luxury of really thinking about their inner worlds and back stories, which all helps to fully realise the characters of these two lonely people."

In welcome returns to the Barn stage, Pete Bryans — last seen in The Crucible — plays Danny, a 42-year-old divorced middle-management guy living with his mum.

Laura, played by Jessica Drucker, who made her Barn debut two years ago in Alys Always, is a 38-year-old managing director.  

Not much in common then except, perhaps, loneliness. 

Over the course of the play, which contains adult themes and strong language, both begin to open up to one another: they dance to Bros, consume fish finger sandwiches and share their mutual loneliness.

Beginning is the first of Eldridge’s trilogy. The second, Middle, premiered and sold out at the National in 2022, and the third, End, is expected this year.