Sam Lupton will play Dave Fishwick in Bank of Dave The Musical. Picture: Ellie Kurttz
Sam Lupton (Only Fools and Horses, UK tour, Wicked, Apollo Victoria) will take on the central role of Dave Fishwick in the upcoming world premiere of Bank of Dave The Musical.
Directed by Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster, the musical which tells the story of Burnley’s own Dave Fishwick is due to make its debut at The Lowry in Salford from 2-16 May followed by Leicester Curve from 20-30 May. The musical has a book and lyrics by Rob Madge (My Son’s a Queer, But What Can You Do?), with music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary (The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾: The Musical).
Lupton will join the previously announced cast which includes former Emmerdale regular Hayley Tamaddon (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre/UK and Ireland tour, Thoroughly Modern Millie, UK tour) as Nicky, Lucca Chadwick-Patel (Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre, My Beautiful Laundrette, Curve/UK tour, Mamma Mia!, Novello Theatre) as Hugh, Claire Moore (A Christmas Carol the Musical, Hope Mill Theatre at The Lowry, Miss Saigon, Theatre Royal Drury Lane) as Maureen and Lauryn Redding (Coven, Kiln Theatre, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Gillian Lynne Theatre, West End) as Alex.
The cast will also include Zachary Willis (After The Act, Royal Court, New Diorama), as Danny/Andy, Mark Peachey (The Wizard of Oz, Curve) as Cher/Clarence, Joni Ayton-Kent (If/Then, Savoy Theatre), as Megan/Mary, Adam Colbeck-Dunn (Les Misérables, Sondheim Theatre, The Sound of Music, Curve), as Marco, Hannah Nuttall (Cinderella, Theatre Royal Wakefield) as Mavis, Rosie Strobel (42nd Street, Kilworth House Theatre) as Barbara, Minal Patel (My Fair Lady, Curve) as Ali, Elliot Broadfoot (Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder!, Ambassadors Theatre) as Omari, Althea Burey (The Parent Agency, Chester Storyhouse) as Betty and Jhanaica Van Mook (101 Dalmatians – The Musical, Hammersmith Apollo) as Claire.
Bank of Dave The Musical will feature choreography by Ebony Molina, set and costume design by Amy Jane Cook, musical supervision by Toby Higgins, orchestrations by Tom Curran, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall, video design by Duncan McLean, casting by Harry Blumenau, associate direction by Ollie Khurshid and James Robert Moore, associate choreography by Dale White, musical direction by Matthew Jackson and production management by Chris Easton.
Following on from a best-selling book, a BAFTA-winning documentary and a hit Netflix film, Bank of Dave The Musical is the latest development in the inspiring story of the self-made millionaire who took on the banking system to help local people and small businesses.
Commenting on the production, Fishwick said: “This all feels very surreal! I left school at 16, absolutely useless with no qualifications whatsoever. I started work on a building site as a builders’ labourer, and went from builders’ labourer to building the first new high street bank for 150 years in Britain. Then Hollywood turned up, not just once but twice! And now the magical world of theatre has arrived; from Burnley to Broadway – via the magnificent Lowry in Salford and Curve in Leicester first of course! Watching myself on telly was unbelievable; however, watching someone play me live on stage will be totally surreal. I am just an ordinary lad from Burnley, who does extraordinary things, and if I can make it happen, you can too! Always have the courage to follow your dreams!”
Writer Madge commented: “A couple of years ago Pippa Cleary and I were asked to turn Dave Fishwick’s inspirational story into a musical (I know! You weren’t expecting that, were you? But, much like Miss Saigon, Dave too has a helicopter, so a musical seemed a natural fit). Safe to say, it has been nothing short of a joy. I am deeply proud to be telling this special tale of community, hope and perseverance. In a world that seems more fractured every day, I am so thrilled to be offering an alternative where our Dave and his brilliant company of players can help mend the broken pieces. As he himself would say, rule number one: never give up. Rule number two: never, ever give up.”
Composer Cleary added: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be developing this brand-new musical with the amazing Rob Madge. The whole process has been filled with laughter and a real sense of purpose, just like Dave’s story itself. Writing these songs has been such a joy, capturing the humour, grit and heart that makes this tale so uniquely British. We’ve had an absolute blast bringing Dave’s fight for fairness to life, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it for themselves next year.”
Bank of Dave The Musical is produced by ROYO, Future Artists Entertainment, Curve and Lowry. Katie Lander is the consultant for Finestripe Productions.
Angela Thomas
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