Theatre to play Cupid with performances for lonely singles

MARIANNE MACDONALD

Arts Reporter

Do you like the theatre, country pubs, long walks? Do you often spend lonely evenings with a takeaway and a video? Then help is at hand: the Royal Court Theatre is launching a singles night.

The idea is the brainwave of the theatre's manager, Dafydd Rogers, 26, who happens to be single. It will pilot the scheme on a Tuesday night yet to be decided in October. The play on offer will be Steward of Christendom by the Irish playwright Sebastian Barry - fairly serious stuff, but the Royal Court does not intend to change its production schedules.

If it proves successful, a lesbian and gay night will follow and staff speculate that it could reach the point where family matinees and couple's evenings are the ones which have to be themed.

The Royal Court's move, welcomed by the Society of London Theatres as a "great idea", could end the perception that going to the theatre alone is as sad as watching videos on Saturday nights or joining Dateline.

"We are very excited about it. The idea came to me on a whim," said Mr Rogers. "People seem to feel they can't go to the theatre on their own unlike the cinema, where you can see a film alone with no stigma attached."

The theatre in Chelsea, south-west London, does not plan to restrict ticket sales or sell tickets in blocks of one because it believes that married couples will steer a wide berth on the nights concerned. "Singles nights are very successful in New York where the singles scene is kind of hip. Here it has this anorak image," explains Mr Rogers. "There anyone can wander into a singles bar and it's very laid-back."

Staff have been heard discussing how the scheme could be marketed with suggestions the Club 18/30 advertising campaign ("It's not all sex, sex, sex") could be adapted. Enthusiasts also say the theatre's 15-minute intervals provide a perfect opportunity for small talk and a chance for a pick-up.

Those really dedicated to finding a partner might do well to nip down to Watford beforehand. Apparently the local Asda has been experimenting with the genre with marked success.