L'Addition
Tim Etchells, Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas ("Bert and Nasi")
Forced Entertainment, Bertrand Lesca, Nasi Voutsas
Lowry, Salford
October 23-24, 2026; 70 mins, no interval
We're lucky to get two nights of L'Addition, a compact, absurdist comedy from contemporary performance duo Bert and Nasi. Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas have worked together for over 10 years, touring their expanding collection of largely self-devised theatre pieces.
L'Addition is about one everyday transaction: a waiter pours a glass of wine for the restaurant's customer. The scene is repeated over and over again, with roles swapped. The relationship between waiter and customer changes each time, yet in many ways nothing important changes. The waiter overpours, the wine overfills the glass, drenching the tablecloth which is rapidly removed, then replaced for the repeat. Each repetition is different, but essentially the same.
The whole thing is very funny; attention being retained because an audience can't anticipate exactly how the pair will react to the situation. Who has the power? Will anything change? Will it simply continue?
The audience is immediately engaged. Bert and Nasi arrive on stage, breaking the fourth wall with a helpful preamble to make sure we can follow. It's almost patronising, knowingly so, yet highly endearing, pulling the audience on side despite almost excessive rambling,
The long relationship between the two actors pays dividends, allowing the action to flow naturally, apparently instinctively. Their timing is impeccable.
I found I had moments of a similar response to that of farce. Why can't they just recognise the reality of the situation and intervene with truth or action? How would I behave as the customer? Surely not like that? I'd take action, behave differently, prevent the disaster.
Of course it doesn't happen that way; the logical part of the mind is happily overtaken by the quality of what is before us.
Original music by Graeme Mill heightens the absurdity, and direction by Tim Etchells keeps the pace and anticipation on point, even during some lengthy moments of stillness. The fourth wall breaks again at the end as the audience is brought back into the reckoning.
The whole play works, and will stay in the mind for a long time, probably resurfacing on many future restaurant visits.
I wonder if, beyond the examination of the roles we play in the set pieces of our lives, there is a deeper, more general meaning. Maybe. Maybe disaster is looming, we see it ahead, but despite our part we keep repeating the same behaviour, rather than changing the outcome and choosing who will pay the cost. Maybe that's an absurd interpretation on my part.
Bert and Nasi tour extensively in Europe and the piece certainly has a European flavour. Manchester's status as a European City continues to rise. I'd love to see more of this type of production, not just visiting, but perhaps even made in Manchester?
More info and tickets here
