Tag: Stephen Tompkinson

Drop the Dead Donkey reunites for The Reawakening, opening at Richmond Theatre

The original cast and writers of TV comedy Drop the Dead Donkey are reuniting for a new stage adaptation.

Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! – by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – will star Stephen Tompkinson, Neil Pearson, Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Ingrid Lacey, Jeff Rawle and Victoria Wicks.

The reunion comes 30 years after the launch of the trailblazing series, with the team performing on stage for the very first time. Directed by Lindsay Posner, the production opens at Richmond Theatre in 2024.

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! exposes the underside of the broadcasting industry in all its riotous glory. Whether you’re one of the legions of die-hard fans of the TV sitcom that was watched by millions, or a British comedy fanatic, come and experience this hilarious revival of an all-time comedy classic.

Produced by Hat Trick and Simon Friend Entertainment, it is written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, directed by Lindsay Posner and designed by Peter McIntosh, with lighting designs by Peter Mumford.

The show will run at Richmond Theatre from January 30-February 3, 2024.

For tickets, visit https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/drop-the-dead-donkey/richmond-theatre/

Ingrid Lacey
Jeff Rawle
Neil Pearson
Robert Duncan
Stephen Tompkinson
Susannah Doyle
Vicky Wicks

Hampstead Downstairs sets spring casts

Hampstead Theatre has confirmed the casts for three shows set to play in its Downstairs venue.

The world premiere of Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn and directed by James Macdonald, will feature Geraldine Alexander, Pearl Chanda, Thusitha Jayasundera, Tom Mothersdale, Grace Saif, Tony Turner and June Watson. It runs from March 24-April 29.

Set in a cottage by the sea, four women live in a house made for five. Meals are prepared, stories are shared and the tide breaks on the shore. When only one of their two guests arrive for the summer, it isn’t quite the reunion they were all hoping for.

Another world premiere, Biscuits for Breakfast, by Gareth Farr and directed by Tessa Walker, will feature Boadicea Ricketts and Ben Castle-Gibb. It runs from May 5-June 10.

A tender story of dreams and survival, it introduces Joanne and Paul, who aren’t an obvious match – she is spiky, defensive and a survivor, while he is quiet, considered and hiding profound grief for his father. The pleasure Paul takes in cooking – and the astonishing food he prepares – creates a bond between them. When the hotel where they both work closes and they start to spiral into poverty, it throws everything up in the air – first the dreams of a cookbook and a restaurant, and, eventually, even the dreams of a future together.

Finally, Stumped, by Shomit Dutta and directed by Guy Unsworth, will feature Stephen Tompkinson and Andrew Lancel. It plays from June 16-July 22.

Before Samuel Beckett became the playwright universally known for Waiting for Godot, he was a cricketer. He is still the only Nobel prize-winner to feature in the pages of Wisden as a first-class player. His friend and fellow Nobel prize-winner, Harold Pinter, whose best-known works include The Birthday Party and Betrayal, described cricket as ‘the greatest thing that God created on Earth’. Exploring what the friendship between these two playwrights may have looked like, Stumped, was first streamed online as a digital only production in 2022. Now, Dutta has extended it into a full-length play and its stage premiere production at Hampstead Theatre coincides with the Ashes test match at Lord’s, a stone’s throw from the theatre.