Principal casting announced for Victoria Wood musical FOURTEEN AGAIN
Two of musical theatre’s most loved leading ladies, Ria Jones and Sally Ann Triplett, will play best friends Lou and Peggy respectively in the world premiere of brand-new musical FOURTEEN AGAIN at The Victoria Wood Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere from 1 May, now extended to 6 June.
Both actors had worked alongside Victoria, with Sally Ann Triplett creating the role of Miss Berta in the original West End production of the musical Acorn Antiques, and Ria Jones performed with Victoria in her comedy show and TV special The Angina Monologues.
The musical FOURTEEN AGAIN begins at the local Slimming Club, where Peggy is reunited with Lou, her best friend from school who she hasn’t seen since they were teenagers. As kids, no two friends were ever funnier or more fun, but here, now, today they are shadows of their younger selves - and a story unfolds of looking back to the future, full of comedy, love and pain, with Victoria’s amazing songs moving the musical fast forward.
Further casting is to be announced.
Writer and lyricist Tom MacRae said: “I wanted to create a show that is genuinely dramatic and surprising, with high stakes and real tension, as well as celebrating Vic’s innate sense of comedy and the warmth of her world, populated with loveable, relatable characters and celebrating friendship. My starting point was ‘The Ballad Of Barry And Freda’. The one song that was tricky to place was ‘Litter Bin’ about a teenage mum abandoning a child in a bin. It was just so sad. How could I introduce that idea into a comedy? And then I had a brainwave - and that unlocked an idea that the entire show is now built around. Left to my own devices, I would never have integrated such a tragic element into such an upbeat story. So, thanks Vic, my amazing and inspirational collaborator – I owe you one.”