You Once Said Yes (Tour – Salford)

Venue: The Lowry (and various)
Where: Salford

I had no idea what to expect for a performance about which the only thing I knew was that I needed a sensible pair of shoes, and, as I waited to go in, a lady came out and advised me “that was mental” before disappearing into the night.

You Once Said Yes is just what it says – an exploration of what can happen to you if you say “yes”. It could be said that all plays, all theatre take you on a journey, but that’s normally a metaphor; this time, you really are taken on a journey. You are guided around The Lowry, the Outlet Mall and the BBC buildings at MediaCityUK through a series of events, ‘co-incidences’ and encounters – vignettes cleverly woven together  – leaving you longing for the next delicious moment and eyeing complete strangers with suspicion in case they are your next happenstance.

This is not sit-down theatre with a glass of Chardonnay at the interval to look forward to – this is theatre on an intimate scale, expertly written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Katie Lyons. As the performance tours, it is rewritten to perfectly match the location, and characters are written around the actors leading to some first rate performances and totally absorbing characters.

The one thing I can’t describe is what will happen once you pass through the box office, for even the smallest nugget would spoil the surprise and sour the journey.  Instead, you need to leave your expectations behind you and say “Yes”.

– Geoff Hodge