Managed to intercept edgy thespians before performance and make a deal (8)
I believe the answer is:
transact
'a deal' is the definition.
(I know that deal is a kind of deal)
'managed to intercept edgy thespians before performance and' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'managed' could be 'ran' (both can mean organised or was in charge of) and 'ran' is present in the answer.
'performance' could be 'act' (act is a kind of performance) and 'act' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'make' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for transact that I've seen before include "Carry out, like business" , "Conduct business, negotiate" , "handle" , "Perform or carry out business" , "Buy or sell" .)