Theater News

Sarah Lancashire, Reece Shearsmith Set for Betty Blue Eyes Musical in West End, Richard Eyre to Direct

Reece Shearsmith
(© lofg.com)
Reece Shearsmith
(© lofg.com)

Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith will star in the new musical Betty Blue Eyes, to play the West End’s Novello Theatre next spring, according to a report on Whatsonstage.com. Richard Eyre will direct, with choreography by Stephen Mear and design by Tim Hatley.

The show is based on Alan Bennett’s film A Private Function and features a book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The movie is set in a Yorkshire village after the Second World War, where the locals hope to celebrate the wedding of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in style by slaughtering an illegally raised pig. Chaos ensues when the pig is stolen and a food inspector arrives, determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing. Lancashire and Shearsmith will play Joyce and Gilbert Chilvers, a married couple at the center of the mayhem.

Lancashire may be best known for playing Raquel Watts on television’s Coronation Street. Her stage credits include Michael Grandage’s West End revival of Guys and Dolls, in which she replaced Jane Krakowski as Miss Adelaide, along with Blood Brothers, Little Shop of Horrors and Educating Rita.

Shearsmith is a member of the comedy sketch team The League of Gentlemen. His stage credits include As You Like It, The Producers, and Comedians, among others. His film and television credits include Psychoville, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Spaced, and Shaun of the Dead.