Lesley Manville, Sophie Thomspon, Alison Steadman, and Noma Dumezweni Will Guest Star at Crazy Coqs

Olivier Award-winning actress Lesley Manville will be the first star of stage and screen to be interviewed by Avril Freck (AKA Fiona Lindsay) as part of a brand new series of evenings of conversation, music and dancing to be held at London's intimate live performance venue, The Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zédel.

This unique salon-style series of events, entitled Avril Freck - Notes on Love and Being Alone, begins on 11 May. As well as a star interview, the evenings will be interspersed with selected songs and poetry performed live, music, serenades, and hot topics of conversation as picked by the audience.

Lesley Manville, who has just been nominated for a BAFTA for her role in Sherwood, starred in the film Mrs Harris Went to Paris, Mum for TV and is a frequent collaborator with Mike Leigh said 'If I'd had no experience of romance or love or of being alone then it wouldn't be worth buying a ticket. But I'm a woman in her 60's who's lived a life ..... go figure'.

Future special guests include: three more celebrated and Olivier Award-winning actresses - Sophie Thompson (Into the Woods, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Gosford Park) on Monday May 29; Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacy, Abigail's Party and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice) on Monday June 26 and Noma Dumezweni (Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Black Earth Rising and The Little Mermaid) on Thursday July 13. Further guests are yet to be announced.

Creator and Executive Producer Fiona Lindsay says: 'The entire evening will be a mix of conversation meets club night, meets a night out that feels like a night in - it's for women who are hot (!) and men that want to be cool. I'm really looking forward to chatting to our guests about romance, being alone, and what they've learned about love through the roles they've played. It will be an immersive and participatory evening that leans strongly into women in their prime sharing their experience, focusing on joy and looking forward.'

Other women who will be part of these very special evenings which will explore the challenges and adventures of mid-life love, romance and facing yourself are: Psychotherapist Sasha Bates, Singer and Musician Juliette Pochin and DJ Cookie.

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