Lunch in Soho with a former lover – but Zanzotti’s is under new management, and as the wine takes effect fond memories give way to something closer to the bone . . .

Christopher Reid’s poem, which since its first publication has been filmed by the BBC and presented on stage in numerous venues, follows the lunchtime reunion of two long-separated lovers. Every smallest detail is cherished, as step by step the narrative moves towards its tragicomic outcome.