Betty Blue Eyes, the George Stiles and Anthony Drewe musical based on the Alan Bennett film A Private Function is set to tour theatres across England next year in a new co-production between Mercury Theatre Colchester, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse (the official press night will take place at Mercury Theatre Colchester on 18 March 2014).
Following Cameron Mackintosh’s 2011 West End production, the writers (including librettists Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman) have now updated the show ahead of this regional premiere, which is to be directed by Mercury artistic director Daniel Buckroyd (The Hired Man, The Butterfly Lion, The History Boys) and features choreography by Andrew Wright (Singin in the Rain, Barnum), design by Sara Perks (Gypsy, The King and I) and musical direction by Richard Reeday (The Hired Man, Dolly).
Buckroyd said: “I fell in love with Betty Blue Eyes the moment I heard George and Anthony’s wonderful witty score, and read Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman’s brilliant adaptation. They’ve somehow managed to capture all of the charm and drama of Alan Bennett’s wonderful screenplay, whilst adding a real theatrical sparkle to the story. We’re planning to take quite a different approach to the West End production – looking to bring out the ‘make do and mend’ feel of post-war Austerity Britain, so audiences can expect a real ensemble show with our very own piggy star at its heart.”
Stiles and Drewe added: “We’re tickled pink that these wonderful regional theatres have come together to produce the first ever tour of Betty in the UK. Ron, Dan, Ants and I were always delighted by the London audience’s reaction, but since the show closed we’ve been itching to hone the script and score a little further. We can’t wait to see what Daniel and his creative team make of our brand new version of this quintessentially British tale.”
It’s fair shares for all in Austerity Britain, except in the little town of Shepardsford, where humble chiropodist Gilbert Chilvers is struggling to bring home the bacon. The only light on the horizon is the social event of the year, a private function to celebrate the forthcoming royal wedding, and Gilbert’s wife Joyce is determined that they should be invited. But as the chance of an invitation slips out of reach, the Chilvers resolve that they must do whatever it takes to get their fair share of the banquet’s centrepiece – a rations-busting illegal pork roast!
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