Made in Dagenham musical opens at Adelphi in October

Gemma Arterton stars in the musical comedy Made In Dagenham at the Adelphi Theatre, previewing from 9 October. Picture: Alex James

A new musical adaptation of Made in Dagenham will open at the Adelphi Theatre on Wednesday 5 November, with previews from Thursday 9 October. Based on the hit British film, the new musical comedy will star stage and screen actress Gemma Arterton in the lead role of Rita O’Grady, with Adrian Der Gregorian as her husband Eddie.

Made in Dagenham will be directed by Rupert Goold (artistic director of the Almeida Theatre), and has a book by Richard Bean (writer of hit play One Man, Two Guvnors), music by Grammy Award-winning composer David Arnold (Bond series, Independence Day, Sherlock) and lyrics from Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer the Opera). Bunny Christie (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) will design with choreography by Aletta Collins (His Dark Materials at the National Theatre).

Based on the 2010 motion picture of the same name, the show is set in Essex 1968. Like millions of other working women, each morning Rita O’Grady just tries to get her husband out of bed, get the kids off to school and get to work at the factory on time. But life changes forever when it’s announced that the girls in the sewing room of Ford’s Dagenham car plant will have their pay grade dropped to ‘unskilled’. Quickly drawing on a strength she never knew she had, Rita leads her friends in a battle against the might of Ford and the corruption of the Union supposed to protect them.

Rupert Goold comments: “From my first watch of Made in Dagenham I knew it was a piece I wanted to be involved in bringing to the stage. It’s such an engaging, relatable and vital story and I’m convinced as a musical we can bring even more to it when we mount our production at the Adelphi. British theatre has world class playwrights and songwriters and this industry is at its most exiting when it’s creating new work. I’m thrilled to be surrounded by a creative team on Made in Dagenham that represents the very best in our business..”

Arterton said: “I’m beyond thrilled to be playing Rita O’Grady in Made in Dagenham. It’s an important story that I’m passionate about telling, and we intend to tell it with wit, warmth and, of course, a lot of singing and dancing in this production!”

Made in Dagenham is presented by Stage Entertainment, Glass Half Full Productions and Just for Laughs Theatricals.