Classic Corrie in Jack Rosenthal Tribute at Midwinter Lassfest
CLASSIC scripts by Jack Rosenthal will be performed at the Lass O’Gowrie as part of the Midwinter Lassfest in January In a two-week tribute to one of the North’s greatest literary sons
The Lass O’Gowrie will be staging 3
classic Corrie episodes from 1968 and Hot Fat,
a long lost Play for Today from 1974.
Rosenthal was born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, and wrote 129 episodes during eight years working on Coronation Street. He also wrote more than 150 screenplays, including TV plays, feature films and adaptations.
Among the series he created were The Lovers starring Richard Beckinsale and London’s Burning, as well as co-writing the film Yentl with Barbara Streisand.
Although three of Rosenthal’s BAFTA winning plays from the Play For Today series have survived and made it onto DVD - The Evacuees, Bar Mitzvah Boy and Spend Spend Spend (about pools winner Viv Nicholson) – Hot Fat was one of the plays that was wiped by the BBC.
Now the Lass will be staging it as a full-cast live play, using the original script, with kind permission from his family. Jack died aged 72 in 2004 of myeloma, a form of cancer, and this tribute will be raising money for Myeloma UK.
Hot Fat explores how friendships and deals are made and broken in a sauna. It will be staged on Friday 13th January at 6pm and Sunday 15th January at 1pm and is directed by David MacCreedy.
ITV has also given permission for the first time ever for three Coronation Street scripts by Jack Rosenthal to be performed live - and the Lass O’Gowrie will become the Rovers Return, with the audience being the extras.
Two of the episodes (777 and 778) cover Dennis Tanner’s wedding to Jenny Sutton. The third episode (788) is a classic Ogdens comedy caper when Stand takes Hilda out for a Chinese meal and that will be performed in the Salmon Room upstairs.
Cast by June West, who worked on Coronation Street for 15 years and cast the BAFTA award-winning Road to Coronation Street, the three live episodes feature many actors, who have already appeared on the ITV1 soap.
Emma Edmondson, who was policewoman Mel Morton, plays Lucille Hewitt. Jeni Howarth Williams, who was Sheila Hayes, is taking on the role of Elsie Tanner.
Dave Dutton, who has played at least eight characters on the ITV1 soap, plays Jack Walker. Joan Kempson, who used to be the Rovers Return cleaner Edna Miller is playing Hilda Ogden.
Russell Dixon (pictured at the top of this article playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest), who was Dave Barnes (1978-1979) and Harry Potts (1992-1993) is Ena Sharples. David Crowley (a Corrie paramedic when David Platt fell ill in court and Carla nearly killed herself) is Dennis Tanner, Christine Barton Brown (a wedding shop assistant) plays Annie Walker, Colin Connor (DC Tandy) is Len Fairclough and Tom Burrows, who was the tram driver in last year’s massive crash, is Jerry Booth.
Jo Mousley, who played Dierdre Barlow and Hilda Ogden in Corrie the stage play is Linda Cheveski. Val Tagger, who was staying in the same hotel as Alma when she was dying, plays Minnie Caldwell.
Kathryn Worthington, a co-founder of Shrinkwrapped Theatre Company, is Emily Nugent. Geoff Dignan is Ray Langton. Terry Naylor is Ernie Sutton.
Landlord Gareth Kavanagh said: "We are hugely grateful to ITV and Jack's family for allowing us to stage these episodes and can't wait for you to see them! These brand new, full cast dramatisations will take place in the ground floor of the Lass making them a totally immersive and dramatic presentation."
They will be directed by theatre stalwart Helen Parry.
To make it even more authentic, episode one will be on Monday (Jan 9th at 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm), episode two on Tuesday (Jan 10th at 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm).
The standalone Ogdens episodes upstairs on Wednesday (Jan 11th at 7.30pm and 9pm) and Thursday (Jan 12th 7.30pm and 9pm). Then on the Sunday the Ogdens is repeated at 4pm, followed by the Omnibus edition of the first two episodes of 6pm.
There is also a preview of The Ogdens at Taurus on Canal Street on Sunday 8th January at 7pm.
It's all part of Midwinter Lassfest January 2-29 - sponsored by Greene King, Carlsberg and Molson Coors - with the award-winning Lass O’Gowrie becoming a one venue fringe festival, hosting an amazing 70+ events.
Opening the festival on Monday 2nd January is The Ballad of Halo Jones – a comic strip cult classic that has not been staged since the 1980s.
Halo and her friends live on the Hoop - a repository for the unemployed in the 50th century, but she won’t be beaten. She dreams of getting out, and becomes a legend in the process.
This is a brand-new full cast production of Books one and two the 50th century girl next door, created by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson and originally presented in 2000AD.
The full cast includes Louise Hamer (Halo), Claire Dean (Rodice), Michelle Ashton (Brinna), Benjamin Patterson (Toby), Laura Cope (Toy), Danny Wallace (Glyph) and Zoe Iqbal (Swifty Frisco).
Dr Who fans may also be interested in the live performance of Midnight by Russell T Davies, which will be directed by Bron Edge and opens on Monday 2nd January.
A group of strangers are on a giant space buggy, trekking across the surface of a poisoned diamond planet. Who could possibly go wrong? This is a brand new staging of Russell‘s powerful script in the claustrophobic confines of the Salmon Room, upstairs in the Lass O’Gowrie.
Tickets are available on the door or via www.wegottickets.co.uk by searching for the Lass O'Gowrie or following the links over at www.lassfest.co.uk. Please note, priority will be given to online advance orders and with our limited capacity, once they're gone - they're gone. For more details on Myeloma visit www.myeloma.org.uk
Written by Debbie Manley
To win tickets to any of the performances,
(1) Like our facebook page
(2) Post on our wall the time & date you would like to go
We will pick winners from the entries in the next few days...
