OPENING TONIGHT!
1st look at
Betty the Pig and the cast of
the 1st London revival of BETTY BLUE EYES
Premiering in 2011, ‘Betty Blue Eyes’, Book by Ron Cowen & Daniel Lipman, Music by George Stiles Lyrics by Anthony Drewe based on the film ‘A Private Function’ by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray, received nominations for ‘Best New Musical’ in the Olivier Awards, The Evening Standard Awards and the WhatsOnStage.com Awards.
It is 1947, war has ended but Britain’s citizens are suffering under the burden of food rationing, high unemployment and the coldest winter for decades.
The only bright spark on the horizon is the impending marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Enter Betty, an adorable pig who is being illegally reared to ensure local dignitaries of a small community in Yorkshire can celebrate the Royal Wedding with a lavish banquet whilst the local population make do with Spam.
‘Betty Blue Eyes’ is an utterly British musical, full of eccentric characters, such as odd couple Gilbert Chilvers – a humble chiropodist, and his wife Joyce, a nobody determined to be somebody; Inspector Wormold – an obsessive destroyer of illegal meat; Mother Dear – “She’s 74 and ravenous”; along with a weird assortment of bullies, spivs and snobs, and of course, Betty the pig.
It has a deliciously infectious, toe-tapping, retro contemporary score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, with a book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, adapted and expanded from Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray’s hilariously funny and sharply observed comic film ‘A Private Function’.
‘Betty Blue Eyes’, directed by Sasha Regan, is the first in-house production at the Union Theatre since Covid.
Cast: Sam Kipling, Amelia Atherton, Jayne Ashley, David Pendlebury, Stuart Simons
Josh Perry, Tom Holt, Emma Jane Fearnley, Jade Marvin, Katie Stasi, Laurel Dougall, Aimée McQueen, Shannon Farrell, Hannah Lawton, Kane Stone, Jonny Weston, Georgia Boothman, George Dawes.
Veronica Allardyce will be played by members of the Union Youth Theatre;
Nellie Regan, Ava Jennings-Grant and Coco Bennett.
Creative team:
Director Sasha Regan
Musical Director Aaron Clingham
Choreographer Kasper Cornish
Designer Reuben Speed
Casting Adam Braham
Produced by Sasha Regan & Stuart Simons
LISTINGS INFO
Sasha Regan and Stuart Simons
present
Betty Blue Eyes
Book by
Ron Cowen & Daniel Lipman
Music by George Stiles
Lyrics by Anthony Drewe
Based on the Handmade film ‘A Private Function’
and the original story by Alan Bennett and
Malcolm Mowbray
Adapted from the screenplay by Alan Bennett
Director – Sasha Regan
Union Theatre
Arch 22 & 23 Old Union Yard Arches
229 Union Street
London SE1 0LR
29 March – 22nd April
Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee 2.30pm
Previews: Previews 29th, 30th, 31st, March
Tickets:
Previews £20
Tickets £25
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Originally produced in London by Cameron Mackintosh
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International