Worth An Encore

The Rivals restaurant and bar is the Royal Exchange Theatre’s newest production. JANET REEDER puts it under the spotlight.

- Janet Reeder

SHERIDAN’S The Rivals was the first ever production at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. The 1976 staging starred Tom Courtenay and Patricia Routledge and heralded a golden era of exceptional theatre in Manchester.

With stars like Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave, John Thaw, Bob Hoskins, Andy Serkis and more, treading the boards here, it was also a place for some stellar star spotting.

Indeed the Royal Exchange Cafe, as it was back then, was all part of the dramatic fabric of the place. In those early days you could pick a newspaper from where it hung on the wall and read it munching on simple but wholesome favourites like granary bread and cheese and home-made soup, surreptitiously glancing over at director Nicholas Hytner, or actor Albert Finney. Post-performance, the cafe was where everyone retired to for drinks before going home.