ITV announces Coronation Street anniversary play
The past 50 years of Coronation Street are going to be brought to life in a new stage production. Coronation Street: Abridged Live! will take theatregoers on a journey of the ITV1 soap's many births, deaths, marriages and other major events in the stage show, which runs for just under two hours. Long-term Coronation Street script writer Jonathan Harvey will write the stage show, which is being produced by the soap's current executive producer Kieran Roberts in conjunction with Phil McIntyre Entertainment Limited. The production will feature such Corrie legends as Ena Sharples, Hilda Ogden, Bet Lynch and Curly Watts but no cast members, past or present, will appear on stage. Kieran said of the project: "The very heart of British television has been beating with the pulse of Coronation Street for fifty years. That’s a lot of memories, a lot of drama, a lot of poignancy and a lot of laughter. “I’m thrilled at the prospect of bringing to life on stage all the great stories and characters of 50 years of Coronation Street and I’m sure the play will be a real treat for Corrie fans as well as a great night out in the theatre”. Coronation Street Abridged Live! launches at the Lowry Theatre, Salford, in August before going on a tour of the UK. For ticket Information please contact the Lowry Box Office on 0843 208 6000. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop
Get the What to Watch Newsletter
The latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more!
Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.