Latest news with #TwoPints
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Coventry hosts UK premiere of Roddy Doyle's Two Pints play
Two men sit at a bar, drinking Guinness and putting the world to setting, though, is not a Dublin pub - but Coventry's Belgrade Theatre, where Roddy Doyle's play Two Pints is part way through its first-ever UK Irish writer - known for novels including Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and The Commitments, for which he wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation - uses the play to explore themes of ageing and friendship."They drink, but they're not drinking to drink," he said. "They're drinking for each other's company, really. That's what it's all about." Two Pints was first performed in 2017 in, appropriately, a pub in Dublin, before embarking on a tour of watering holes across wrote it soon after his father's death."The plot was inspired by the experience of visiting the hospital to see him, and dreading it," Doyle explained. "Wanting to go, but dreading it."So the rhythm of that time – visiting the hospital, going up for the last time to say goodbye to him, and then the funeral – is the plot of the play, really."The experience made Doyle reflect on the way men - especially men of a certain age - confide in one another."[I realised that] people, particularly men, will often open up if they're walking side by side rather than facing each other."It struck me that that was like being in a bar." 'Respite from anxieties' While admitting to "liking a good pub", Doyle is not trying to make light of the dangers of alcohol Doyle, the pub has a long tradition of bringing people together."When it came to two men of my generation meeting, there was no choice," he said. "It was the pub or nowhere. It was the one place men go."It's respite, isn't it, from life."Respite and withdrawal, from, I suppose, the trickier parts of life, the anxieties."Just for a while." Much has been made on social media of the creative swearing employed by Doyle's barstool philosophers, and, indeed, the Belgrade warns potential audience members of "some strong language".But Doyle insists it is not gratuitous."I examine every word," he explained. "And I try to make sure that is is something that those characters would say. It's part of the rhythm of the speech of working class Dublin people, and a lot of Irish people."I'm not saying it's a good thing or a bad thing, but it is what it is." 'It's a universal story' Like much of Doyle's work, Two Pints focuses on the lives of working-class Irish, told largely through nothing more than his hope is that his work - from The Commitments to Two Pints - has an international appeal."Groups of young people coming together to express themselves musically is a universal story, isn't it?" he said. "And the same with this one."Men growing older together, and finding comfort in each other's company, is a universal story." Two Pints is being performed at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until 24 May. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Two Pints review — setting the world to rights on a barstool
Roddy Doyle's Two Pints began as short dialogue sketches shared on Facebook. After they were collected into a book in 2011, Doyle then adapted Two Pints for the stage in 2017, when it was performed in pubs around Ireland: a natural fit for a play where two men drink Guinness and shoot the breeze. It fits less well in the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry — quite literally, in that Claire Winfield's lovingly rendered old boozer set hugs the back wall of a venue where seating is arranged on three sides, rather than end-on. With its two characters only ever sat side by side at the bar, Sara Joyce's production leaves a strange, square vacuum of empty space where action would normally be. This spatial oddness
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Two Pints review – Roddy Doyle's boozy banter is a masterclass in comedy
While less dedicated or prolific writers were off boozing with their mates down the local, Roddy Doyle has spent almost a decade writing about it. From 2012-2019, he published three novels – Two Pints, Two More Pints, Two for the Road – in which two sixtysomething Irish men chatted over Guinness, their alcohol units far beyond those specified in the titles. Comprising only dialogue without even character names, the books seemed to call for dramatic form and, in 2017, Doyle premiered a play titled Two Pints in a Dublin pub, the speakers now distinguished as One and Two, tended by Raymond, an almost-silent barman. During lockdown, Doyle added six online duologues, The Zoom Pints, in which the men spoke while drinking alone at home. The collected craic packs a 432-page paperback – The Complete Two Pints. The theatrical banter is now revived in Coventry, and lightly updated to post-Covid Ireland. Summoned by bells from the Belgrade theatre bar, we double-take at a near replica – similar optics and crisp packets – though in reverse: Claire Winfield's set puts us behind the beer pumps, facing the drinkers. One (Anthony Brophy) is wiry, sarcastic, the drink a relief after visiting his dying father at a nearby hospital. Two (Sean Kearns), often the butt of jokes, is whimsical, quieter but also, we may come to feel, wiser. The conversations tend to fantasy, often involving women they like on television. They cast and review imaginary TV series, including Celebrity Car Park Attendant, in which Nigella Lawson is their favourite ticket vigilante. Another shared passion – football – informs a reverie about which famous players they would and wouldn't like to meet if there is an afterlife. In which conversation, the 'if' is the biggie, the laddish chat gradually overtaken by questions of life and death and the sins of the Irish Catholic church, made urgent by the condition of One's father. As proved by the easy adaptability of his novels to the screen – The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van – Doyle has an unusual facility with dialogue and gags, which the actors grace. When Brophy remembers the pub raising money 'to send the under-17 girls to Korea', Kearns, after a perfectly held pause, queries: 'Did they ever come back?' A reference to Ave Maria being sung at a funeral somehow moves via the Andrews Sisters to deep family memories. Some may resist the sweariness of the banter – the two words most likely to be bleeped on TV are as common as conjunctions – or its insistent masculinity, although Doyle and director Sara Joyce aren't necessarily endorsing this or expecting the audience to do so. But this is a masterclass in comedy writing and acting. At Belgrade theatre, Coventry, until 24 May
Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Two Pints of Lager cast now - booze, meltdowns and doomed reunion plans
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps had us in stitches for years - but a rumoured reunion still hasn't been planned. Here's everything you need to know about where the cast is now There was one go-to TV series in the early-Noughties that still lives rent-free in our heads. And despite fans clamouring for years for a reunion, the cast of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps are still holding out on us. The BBC sitcom revolved around the friendships and love lives of five twenty-something pals. And given the show's title, a lot of the action revolved around their local pub in glamorous Runcorn, Cheshire. First airing in 2001, Two Pints quickly became a cult classic, with many viewers considering it one of the all-time best British comedies, and others finding it a guilty pleasure. Across nine explosive series there were fights, cheating and a tear-jerking death of a main character that had us all in floods of tears after he was eaten by a shark. There was even that ground-breaking episode where viewers got to decide whether Gaz should be with Donna or Janet. Excitement had been building for a potential reunion for years... but unlike other classics like Friends and Gavin & Stacey, Two Pints still hasn't given us closure. In 2019, actor Will Mellor revealed he had been speaking to show creator Sue Nickson about a reunion after fans got in touch on social media. Will told fans: "Well, I have been listening and reading your messages and I think we are going to get a Two Pints special off the ground. "I spoke to Susan Nickson (the show's creator) and we are hopefully going to try and get a Two Pints special going. Just to say thank you for all the support of people who love the show and got behind it. "Watch this space, just got to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's and hopefully a Two Pints special will be on the way." But dreams of a comeback were crushed because one cast member wouldn't pick up the phone (more on that below). Here's what happened to the Two Pints cast after the show wrapped. Will Mellor - Gaz Wilkinson Mechanic Gaz was your typical bloke who loved beer, booze and babes, as well as having a soft spot for Hollyoaks and Monarch of the Glen. Gaz had some strange habits, like only using bread from the middle of the loaf, and was an avid collector of pornography. He was madly in love with Donna but the pair split when he had a one-night stand with her best pal Janet. They got back together after a road accident and finally got married in series 7, but on their wedding day, Gaz discovered he was the father of Janet's son. Donna left so Gaz and Janet could be together, but then returned in series 8, with viewers voting for Gaz to choose Donna. He was left in a year-long coma after a car accident then decided to travel the world, but Donna revealed she would not be coming after a heartbreaking discovery. After Two Pints, Will played a womanising salesman in EastEnders and made guest appearances in Merlin and Waterloo Road. He starred in White Van Man, Broadchurch, In the Club, Death in Paradise and Line of Duty. Will, who is the voice of the Funky Pigeon ads, was also a frequent panelist and guest judge on Celebrity Juice. "They were the best times, it wasn't like hard work, it was like being with your friends," said Will as he reminisced about the show. "We'd go out at weekends and be together everyday, we were a lot younger and had no responsibilities so we could have a few drinks and wake up fresh every day, but now if I have a few drinks it takes me three days." During the Covid lockdown, he and Ralf launched their podcast, Two Pints with Will & Ralf, after hearing from fans that they were loving watching reruns of the sitcom. "Nostalgia is a big thing, people grew up with that show, and we did have a script called Two Pints, Last Orders," he revealed in 2024. "Susan Nickson, the original creator, wrote it, and the BBC said they didn't want to revisit it. So there is a massive hunger for it." And Will said he could see himself signing up for a reunion special if it was in the works. "People are begging us to really bring it back, and I would always be up for going back there and revisiting it, whether it be a documentary or a one-off special, because it was a massive part of my life and people loved it," he added. Sheridan Smith - Janet Keough Janet was the homely girl who loved "things that go bleep bleep", having a Cheeky Vimto down the pub and rich tea biscuits. Having been with Jonny since the start of the show, Janet realised she wasn't in love with him after they got engaged and dumped him. But she got jealous after seeing him with another woman and persuaded him to get back together - with the pair marrying in series 5. They had a son, Corinthian McVitie Keogh, but tragedy struck when Jonny was killed in a horrifying shark attack. She realised that she loved Gaz but he chose to be with Donna, so she moved away to Milton Keynes. Sheridan Smith is the most famous star to come from the show - with her career sky-rocketing thanks to her talent. The actress has received critical acclaim for her performances in a string of TV dramas including Mrs Biggs, Cilla, The C Word and The Moorside. She is also known for her comedy roles in Gavin & Stacey as Smithy's sister, Benidorm, and Jonathan Creek. As well as the telly she is a star of the stage, performing on the West End in Little Shop of Horrors, Legally Blonde, and Joseph. Sheridan won two Olivier Awards, a BAFTA, an NTA and received two International Emmy Awards. But after her late father's cancer diagnosis, the talented star was embroiled in a series of scandals. She had a public "meltdown" in 2016 while starring in the West End adaptation of Funny Girl, amid reports of missing curtain calls, appearing on stage under the influence of alcohol, and disappointing the audience. Eventually she took a leave of absence from the show from "stress and exhaustion". Sheridan admitted hearing Graham Norton make a joke about her being a drunk while he was hosting the BAFTAs was her lowest point. "I was so humiliated," she told an ITV documentary in 2020. "It's a room full of your peers, people you want to work with or have worked with. That night, for me, was like the final straw before my brain totally went off the deep end. "Here I was in unbelievable distress, and a room full of people in my industry were laughing at me." But with therapy and tackling her drinking, Sheridan managed to recover and even discussed in 2021 wanting to be a part of any potential Two Pints reunion. "It would be quite funny to see where Janet ended up," she mused at the time. "She'd probably have about 20 kids or something, still in the pub!" It would have been music to the ears of her former co-star Will, who had claimed in 2020 that Sheridan hadn't spoken to him in three years, and there would be no reunion if she wasn't available. Speaking on The Morning After With Paul Danan podcast in May of 2020, Will said: "Sheridan just won't talk about it. She's not spoken to me in over three years now. It's like she just won't pick up the phone about it. There is just no point in going down that route. "I don't know what happened, we last spoke about three, maybe four years ago and since then she won't reply to my calls or text messages at all. I wanted to be there but she's just not interested so there is no point in going there. We can't get a Two Pints reunion together without her." Natalie Casey - Donna Henshaw Loud-mouthed Donna was Gaz's long-term girlfriend and then wife. Not afraid to say it how it is, Donna had a vicious temper and once killed an ex-boyfriend's budgie. Donna and Gaz briefly split after he had a one-night stand with her best pal Janet, during which time she considered plastic surgery, but they got back together after his accident. They finally married in series 7 but then Donna got a job in London and left Gaz. He then chose to be with her when she returned in series 8. Donna had quite a tragic ending as she cancelled plans to travel the world with Gaz after finding out she may have cancer, but didn't tell him the heartbreaking reason and waved goodbye at the airport. Another former Hollyoaks cast member, actress Natalie Casey co-presented Big Brother's Little Brother with Dermot O'Leary. She went on to have a successful theatre career, starring in The Vagina Monologues, The Wedding Singer, Fame, and Legally Blonde. She has become a popular narrator and was the voice of Dinner Date. Since 2022 she has narrated Cash In The Attic. Ralf Little - Jonny Keogh Daytime TV lover Jonny had some very bizarre tastes, including eating cat food, desiccated coconut and a Jammy Dodger fetish. While Johnny had a secret obsession with Titanic and kids' cartons, he struggled with his feminine side and lashed out at anyone who mocked him. Unemployed Johnny, who described himself as a "lazy gobs***e", tried to do best for his son and wife Janet. In a cruel twist at the start of series 7, Johnny was killed off-screen. Janet discovered he had been eaten by a shark after winning a shark-jumping competition in Hawaii. Since his character's demise, actor Ralf Little has appeared in BBC series Robin Hood and in 2019 was confirmed as the new lead star of Death in Paradise. At the start of lockdown, Will got together with Ralf to bring back the spirit of Two Pints with a new project. In May 2020 they released a brand new podcast, Two Pints with Will & Ralf, to talk about the old days and have some pub banter while at home. Off the back of that success, the pair landed themselves a TV series, Will & Ralf Should Know Better, which has just announced it has been recommissioned for a second series. Will said: "I'm so happy to be making a second series of this show with Ralf - we had so much fun filming series one and it seems the public loved it just as much as us. The reaction to series one was overwhelming." And Ralf added: "Somehow, they've let us do this again! I'm buzzing to be back with Will for round two — more adventures, more questionable decisions, and probably more moments where we ask, "What on earth are we doing?". I'm incredibly grateful for the response to the first series, and I can't wait to get started on the next." Ralf also filmed a travel series with former Royle Family co-star Ricky Tomlinson. Kathryn Drysdale - Louise Brooks Ditzy Louise was best known for that incredible high-pitched voice, which barmaid Kelly said "chills her to the bones". She was always on the hunt for the man of her dreams but was always clinging onto her childish side - having a love of Sylvanian Families, Steps, and the Disney Store. Louise was once arrested and charged with incitement to GBH after changing Johnny's profile at the Office of National Statistics to that of an armed criminal, which resulted in him getting shot. Louise got pregnant by Donna's younger brother, Dion, calling her baby girl 'Louise Louise Brooks'. She left Runcorn to join a " weird moon-worshipping cult" at the end of series 8 after meeting a new popstar boyfriend. Louise was supposed to come back for the final series, but didn't because actress Kathryn Drysdale was busy filming Benidorm. She also appeared as Taylor in the first St Trinian's movie. Kathryn has made guest appearances in Death in Paradise, Horrible Histories and Plebs, before landing the part of Meghan Markle in The Windsors. More recently, she stole the show in the Netflix mega-hit Bridgerton, playing the duplicitous Genevieve Delacroix - owner and dressmaker of the most popular Modiste.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Popular Death In Paradise star says he's 'buzzing to be back' as he returns to screens after shock show exit
Popular Death In Paradise star Ralf Little has said he's 'buzzing to be back' on our screens after his heartbreaking departure last year. Ralf, who played DI Neville Parker, left the Caribbean-set BBC crime drama in 2024, after four years heading up the show, making him its longest-serving police officer. But fans will be delighted to know he is now back on the small screen for the second series of his reality show Will & Ralf Should Know Better, with friend and fellow actor Will Mellor. The pair, who famously worked together on Noughties sitcom Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, launched their chatty Two Pints With Will and Ralf podcast in 2020. They then followed it up with the hugely successful first series of their TV show on U and U&Dave in October last year, exploring the challenges of midlife. And now a second series is to follow in two three-episode blocks, one coming later this year and another in 2026 - to Ralf's absolute delight. He said: 'Somehow, they've let us do this again! I'm buzzing to be back with Will for round two - more adventures, more questionable decisions and probably more moments where we ask, "What on Earth are we doing?" 'I'm incredibly grateful for the response to the first series and I can't wait to get started on the next!' The format sees Will, 49, and Ralf, 45, meet a range of fascinating new people and try out challenges to push them out of their comfort zone. This series will include everything from trying out stand-up comedy for the first time, to survive the country's most haunted pub, to cross-country orienteering with no mobile phones. But most importantly, it gives an insight into their years-long friendship, first forged more than 20 years ago when Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet of Crisps began, in 2001. Will - also known for his roles on Hollyoaks and EastEnders, as well as a turn on Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, in which he finished fifth with partner Nancy Xu - said of this second series: 'We're back! 'I'm so happy to be making a second series of this show with Ralf - we had so much fun filming series one and it seems the public loved it just as much as us. 'The reaction to series one was overwhelming and I can't wait to dive back in.' Death In Paradise viewers were devastated last year when Ralf confirmed he was leaving the show, which centres on a different DI every couple of series. His character DI Parker sailed away from the show's setting on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie to travel with former Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell (Josephine Jobert), who he had a blossoming relationship with. The actor has since been replaced as the show's primary police officer by Don Gilet - known for 55 Degrees North, EastEnders and Holby City - as DI Mervin Wilson. Ralf said at the time, departing at the end of series 13: 'So, there you have it! The secret's out! My time on Saint Marie has come to an end. But, what an end! 'New adventures await Neville and he got to sail off into the sunset with his best friend, and, you know, who knows what happens for them next! 'I just want to say, just an enormous thank you to everyone who watched and supported the show. 'When I arrived, four-and-a-half years ago, I knew I had big shoes to fill. Coming into a series beloved by millions, including me, was a huge responsibility.' It comes after the BBC shared news about series 15 of Death In Paradise at the end of last month, with a first-look image. It comes after the BBC shared news about series 15 of Death In Paradise at the end of last month , with a first-look image Series 14 wrapped up in March with a dramatic finale and saw Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington), prepare to leave his role in the police department. But fans soon received an update on the next instalment from producers. The Death In Paradise social media account on X shared a photograph of a clapboard on a beach, which attracted thousands of likes and comments from eager viewers. The post confirmed filming for season 15 had already started. It was captioned: 'We're back in paradise! Filming has begun this week in Guadeloupe on the brand-new series of #DeathInParadise.' Will & Ralf Should Know Better will be available to watch on U.
