Up Down Man
by Brendan Murray with music by Kieran BuckeridgeMyrtle Theatre Company in association with Salisbury Playhouse and Tobacco Factory TheatresArtistic Director: Heather WilliamsDirector: Brendan MurrayChoreographer: Bryn ThomasDesigner: Katie Sykes Lighting Designer: Michael Straun
“This is who I am – my name is Matty Butler. I’m not a child, I’m twenty nine years old. I like foxes, badgers, dancing, eating dinner, going bowling, Eastenders, dancing and foxes. I’d like a friend. Maybe Angel from Buffy. And we’d go on holiday and live together and have dinner and go dancing. I’m not a child you see. I’m twenty nine years old. My name is Matty Butler. This is who I am. And I like foxes.”
The long awaited sequel to the internationally acclaimed Up Down Boy, once again starring the gifted and charismatic performer, Nathan Bessell as Matty Butler – Up Down Man asks the question that faces every parent of an adult with a learning disability….
What will happen when I’m not here?
Image: Heather Williams and Nathan Bessell
Photographer: Richard Davenport
What People Are Saying
“I don’t think when it leaves Salisbury, this is the last we shall hear of Up Down Man. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it found its way not just to The Shed but to the National Theatre itself, it really is that good”
— British Theatre Guide
“Bessell’s acting was great, heartfelt and funny and his dance, professional, polished and highly focused”
— Disability Arts Online
“I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, and yet, everyone left the play smiling! This play is certainly a must see”