No longer booking
  • Venue Hampstead Theatre, London
  • Performance dates Booking to 25 November 2023
  • Running time 2 hours 20 minutes (including interval)
  • Age guidelines 14+

★★★★ “Entertaining, poignant play” – Telegraph

To Have And To Hold, Richard Bean’s uproarious new comedy premieres at Hampstead Theatre this October.

Writer of the international smash-hit comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, Bean’s play tackles the prickly problem of dealing with ageing parents who just don’t want to be dealt with!

Starring Olivier Award winner Alun Armstrong (New Tricks, Braveheart) and Marlene Sidaway (Pride and Prejudice, Mum).

Richard Bean returns to Hampstead after successes with Kiss Me and In the Club. Work elsewhere includes Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre), Young Marx (Bridge) and Made in Dagenham, The Musical (Adelphi).

Director Richard Wilson returns to Hampstead after the success of his production of Peggy For You. He is reunited with Bean whose plays Toast, Under the Whaleback (both Royal Court) and The Nap (Sheffield Crucible) he also directed.

To Have And To Hold runs from 20 October 2023 until 25 November 2023 at Hampstead Theatre.

“He talks about going to Switzerland, to that place where you pay them to kill you… And I say “go! It’ll do you good. Broaden your horizons…you’ve never been abroad!”

After sixty years of marriage, happily settled into their retirement village in Yorkshire, Jack and Florence have elevated bickering almost to the status of high art. That said, they’re otherwise getting along fine with the support of a cousin and the hilarious interventions of the man known locally as ‘Rhubarb Eddie’. But will their anxious son, shuttling between London and LA, and their errant daughter, contemplating a move to Australia, leave them to live out their days in peace?

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Performance Information

Check booking calendar for full details

Stars and Creatives

Who is in the cast of To Have and To Hold?

The cast features Alun Armstrong as Jack Kirk and Marlene Sidaway as his wife Flo Kirk, their children are played by Christopher Fulford and Hermione Gulliford. The cast is completed with Rachel Dale and Adrian Hood.

Who are the creative team of To Have and To Hold?

Written by Richard Bean and directed by Richard Wilson.

The production is designed by James Cotterill with lighting by Bethany Gupwell and sound by John Leonard. The casting director is Robert Sterne CDG and Assistant Director is Jos Vantyler.

Important Notes

Contains strong language, minor references to murder and suicide

Access Performances:

Captioned performance 21st November, 19:30; Audio Described matinee 25th November, 14:30

Venue Information

Hampstead Theatre , Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU

Nearest Tube or Train: Swiss Cottage (Jubilee Line)

Nearest Buses: C11, 13, 31, 46, 82, 113, 187, 268

Directions

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Critics' reviews of To Have and To Hold

★★★★ "This entertaining, poignant play positions Richard Bean as Alan Bennett’s heir apparent" - Telegraph

★★★★ "Great gags in Bean's bittersweet comedy" - Daily Mail

Frequently Asked Questions

To Have and To Hold is playing at the Hampstead Theatre in London
The running time of To Have and To Hold is 2 hours 20 minutes (including interval)
The age recommendations for To Have and To Hold are: 14+
Yes, To Have and To Hold has matinee performances on the following days: Thursday, Saturday
No, sorry, To Have and To Hold has now completed its run and is no longer on sale.

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