Birmingham-born actor and self-confessed ABBA maniac Ian Hallard has always dreamed of performing as one of the Swedish supergroup’s female singers. Now he’s written a play which will finally allow him to achieve his ambition - as he explains to What’s On...

It might seem hard to believe now, when their music is celebrated and lauded across the globe, but there was a time - after their break-up - when the songs of ABBA were dismissed as lightweight pop and deeply uncool. Actor Ian Hallard’s ABBA-inspired debut play, The Way Old Friends Do (named after a track from the band’s seventh album, Super Trouper) kicks off at exactly that point in time, back in the 1980s, when two Birmingham school friends tentatively come out - one as gay, the other as a fan of the Swedish hitmakers.

The latter is billed as the more shocking revelation in the play’s pre-release publicity, something Ian bases on his own recollections of growing up in the city at the time.
“I grew up as a teenager during those dark times in the mid to late ’80s when ABBA were deeply unfashionable,” he says. “People wouldn’t believe it now, but I remember going to 18th birthday parties and discos, requesting Dancing Queen, and the DJ openly laughing at me.”

Thirty years on, with ABBA’s music getting the recognition it deserves, the friends reunite to form the world’s first drag act tribute band,  along the way facing a variety of trials, tribulations and stresses on their relationship. 
Ian is at pains to point out that although the tale reflects elements of his own life, it isn’t autobiographical - but he then proceeds to list all the ways in which it’s bound to be perceived that way.
“I will admit that one of my earliest memories is my mum knitting me a pair of yellow woollen plaits so I could dance around the living room to Take A Chance On Me, pretending to be Agnetha… but that isn’t a clue to which one I play [in the show]!
“The background and setting is autobiographical - it’s very much set in Birmingham and namechecks and references a lot of areas in the city. And there’s a character who’s a gay ABBA fan and is the same age as me. But in terms of the [play’s] events, I’ve never thought about setting up an ABBA tribute band in real life!”

Ian has often been asked about writing his own piece - he’s co-written with and edited scripts for his husband, Mark Gatiss - but never knew what to write about. 
“It felt a bit overwhelming to come up with a topic that hadn’t already been sufficiently tackled by someone else, or that I’d have an original enough take on. So I thought, cards on the table, if my agent rang tomorrow and had a new script for me, what part would I be most excited about playing? And I thought it’d be one of the girls from ABBA. Then I had to work backwards and construct a storyline that would enable me to play that part.”

The seed planted, in the summer of 2019 he began writing a first draft without telling anyone - his husband was away on a family holiday at the time - and it instantly became an all-consuming passion.
“Once I’d had the idea, it sort of gripped me, and I was up at six o’clock in the morning, writing straight through and going to the theatre in the evening with my laptop and writing in the dressing room - fortunately I didn’t miss any entrances! When I got to the end, I sent it to Mark because I knew I could trust him to read it.”

Acclaimed actor, writer & director Gatiss has written multiple episodes of Sherlock and Doctor Who, as well as plenty of other scripts, so Ian knew he’d get an honest appraisal.
“He could have said ‘Listen, I love you dearly, but this is terrible - delete it and never show it to another living being,’ but fortunately he didn’t!”
Spousal approval secured, there were further positive responses to readings conducted for ‘industry people’, including Sean Foley, artistic director at the Birmingham Rep.
“Sean was very keen, as I’m a native Brummie, the LGBT slant to it, and because the theatre wanted to encourage new writing and new writers.” 
Ian thought his dreams had been shattered when the Covid pandemic hit, just as the play was about to be scheduled.

“I went into a period of mourning for the playwriting career that never happened because no one knew if theatres would reopen. I took Covid very personally.”
Mercifully we’ve come out the other side, and even though the high-profile ABBA content and the involvement of Mark Gatiss as director would suggest a show big enough for the main house, The Way Old Friends Do will premiere in the Rep’s 350-seat studio theatre -  something which Ian is very happy about.
“This is a play, not a musical, so it’s not a massive Mamma Mia!-type thing with a huge cast,” he says, admitting the producers didn’t want to over-extend themselves initially, especially with audiences still reacquainting themselves with theatre post-Covid.
“The theatre is still in a very perilous place and audiences still haven’t come back in the numbers that there were before. Some people have just lost the habit, some are still nervous, and obviously the cost-of-living crisis is a real concern for people’s leisure activities. 
“We’re also aware that we need people to take a chance - no pun intended - on a new piece of writing. We’re very hopeful and optimistic. ABBA is a known brand, and the show’s tagline - ‘two old friends decide to form the world’s first ABBA tribute band in drag’ - certainly seems to intrigue and amuse people, but there are no certainties at the moment.”

One certainty is Ian’s enthusiasm for the pop group at the heart of his show. There’s scant room here to expand on his take on all things ABBA, but it’s no surprise that he’s a dedicated fan of the two female singers: “I love and adore them both, and think they’ve both got their strengths and vulnerabilities.” 
As for his favourite track: “There are very few ABBA songs that I don’t love, but my favourite is Under Attack.” He also confesses that he “sobbed” his “little heart out” at the “sort of extraordinary” ABBA Voyage show in London. 

In short, there really is no doubting his love for the Swedish super troupers. And nor is there any question about the pride he takes in the play he’s written about them - even though he finds it difficult to blow his own trumpet.
“As an actor I’m used to going out and telling journalists and interviewers that I’m in this amazing, witty, funny show - but now it’s my own work, my innate Britishness kicks in!
“There’s a lot of heart in it, and a lot of me. It feels quite vulnerable to be putting it out there because if people hate it - which I’m hoping they won’t! - then you can’t just write that off. Although it’s not autobiographical, it’s my passion, my love, and I’m very fond of the six characters I’ve created.
“I hope people will come and laugh and have a good time. And obviously there’s some dressing up as well!”

by Steve Adams