# UK Soap and Drama Discussion > Coronation Street > General >  Corrie writer pens anniversary play

## Perdita

A stage production celebrating 50 years of ITV soap Coronation Street is to go on tour across the UK, it has been announced.

Coronation Street: Abridged Live! - penned by the soap's long-term script writer Jonathan Harvey - will condense the programme's history of births, deaths, marriages and other dramatic events into one show running for just under two hours.

The Weatherfield drama's executive producer Kieran Roberts is to be the play's chief producer, teaming up with Phil McIntyre Entertainment Limited.

Speaking of the project, Roberts commented: "The very heart of British television has been beating with the pulse of Coronation Street for 50 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."

Although the production is expected to feature Corrie legends like Bet Lynch, Tracy Barlow and Richard Hillman, none of the past or present cast will appear on stage. The project is also unrelated to the planned Coronation Street musical.

Coronation Street: Abridged Live! will launch at Salford's Lowry Theatre in August before embarking on a tour of the UK.



Thank you, but No, thank you, as far as I am concerned.

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## Perdita

ITV has today confirmed full details of the forthcoming Coronation Street anniversary play penned by the show's long-term scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey.

The stage production, now titled Corrie!, is to celebrate 50 years of the Weatherfield soap, condensing the programme's history of births, deaths, marriages and other dramatic events into one action-packed two-hour show.

Former cast member Charles Lawson, who starred as Jim McDonald on the serial, has signed up to narrate the comedy play.

Speaking of the project, Lawson commented: "I am delighted to be narrating the piece and I am looking forward to this 50th celebration of the 'established church'."

Meanwhile, the production's full cast lineup has been confirmed as Leanne Best, Simon Chadwick, Katherine Dow Blyton, Matthew Wait and Josie Walker - who will play all the roles between them. Chadwick, Blyton and Wait have all had minor Weatherfield parts in the past.

As previously announced, Coronation Street's executive producer Kieran Roberts is to be the play's chief producer for ITV Studios, teaming up with Phil McIntrye Entertainment Ltd. The project is unrelated to the rumoured Coronation Street musical project.

Corrie! will be performed at The Lowry theatre in Salford between August 12 and 25. Tickets are on sale now and are priced between Â£19 and Â£25.

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## Perdita

Coronation Street writer Jonathan Harvey has revealed more details of what fans can expect from his forthcoming play celebrating 50 years of the soap.

The show's long-term scriptwriter has penned Corrie!, an upcoming stage production which will condense five decades of births, deaths, marriages and other dramatic events into one action-packed two-hour show.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo about the project, Harvey explained: "It was great to write, but really hard work trying to work out what was going to be in it. With all the major characters, just trying to work out what their journeys had been through the show, what scenes we needed to show, and stuff like that.

"Ken, Deirdre and Gail are the linchpins of the evening and other stories and comedy themes are dotted in and out to give a flavour of how the show's been over the last 50 years."

Harvey added that his production does not only focus on comedy as it also contains emotional and dramatic moments.

He said: "There needed to be space in the play to savour big emotional scenes and the big fights on the Street and Gail discovering Richard Hillman's a serial killer. You want to see those scenes and you don't want to be laughing in them, you want to be hooked and moved and excited."

Corrie! - which will see five actors taking on all the roles between them - is to be performed at The Lowry theatre in Salford between August 12 and 25.

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## alan45

Katherine Dow Blyton has revealed that starring in the Coronation Street anniversary play Corrie! is a challenge.

The stage production, which has been written by the soap's long-term scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey, condenses the last 50 years of the show into a two-hour play and sees five actors playing the most memorable characters of all time.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, she said: "We’re not doing impressions of these famous characters. But you do have to be willing to be adventurous to be 11 different characters. [Deirdre Barlow] is difficult because she has quite a distinct voice.

"It’s been quite a challenge for us because you’re talking about people’s careers. William Roache, for example, has been in it for 50 years. You have to do it with heart and respect because you don’t want to take the mickey out of someone’s performance. You want to make these characters come alive.

"They made us a DVD of all the scenes that are in the play, which has been quite useful. None of us are impressionists but you want to do a true likeness. Mavis is a dream, so is Audrey, because they have characteristics that stand out. With Mavis, I just hope I’m not doing Les Dennis doing Mavis."

Blyton has previously starred in Hollyoaks, playing Sally Hunter for four-and-a-half years.

Corrie! runs at the Lowry Theatre in Salford from August 12 to 25.

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## alan45

More details about the forthcoming Coronation Street anniversary play have been revealed.

The soap's long-term scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey, who is penning Corrie!, told BBC Breakfast that the show will open with Blanche Hunt about to discover if she can enter heaven. 

"The story starts, you have Blanche - Maggie Jones who played her died earlier this year - so I have the show opening at the pearly gates of heaven being interviewed by St. Peter to see if she is going to be allowed in and he says, 'Where are you from?' and she says, 'Well I'll show you where I'm from,' and then you get the sort of history of the street," Harvey revealed. 

The production will celebrate the soap's 50th anniversary and will condense the programme's history of births, deaths and marriages into two hours. 

The writer continued: "Recently we had a story about the Connor family and Tony Gordon and he died in a fire and it was a very long story with lots of murders and affairs, and I've told that story quite early on in the play through the medium of dance. So that's done in a ballet. So there's lots of tongue and cheek to try and get over the vast epicness of this I suppose.

"But then there is time in it to have the high drama."

Charles Lawson, who played Jim McDonald in the Weatherfield soap, will narrate the comedy play.

Harvey also confirmed that the scene where Ken Barlow finds out about Deirdre's affair with Mike Baldwin will be included. Ken's failed marriages will further be touched on with a "bit of tongue-in-cheek sense of humour".

"So you'll have a scene open with, 'Oh hello Ken, got over your failed suicide attempt yet?' as you try and catch up on ten years in three lines," he added. 

Corrie! will open at The Lowry theatre in Salford on Thursday, August 12 and run until August 25. Tickets are on sale now and are priced between Â£19 and Â£25.

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## alan45

im McDonald returned to the cobbles of Coronation Street to help give his co-stars in the Corrie! stage show a feel for the soap set.

Charles Lawson, 50 - who has played Jim on and off since 1989 - is narrating the new show that condenses five decades of Coronation Street into two hours, to help celebrate the soap's 50th anniversary.

The play opens at The Lowry in Salford on August 12 and the cast, who have all appeared in soaps, some even making small appearances in Corrie, were given a tour of the Street at Manchester's Granada Studios by Charles ahead of their big night.

The play stars Brookside and Family Affairs actor Simon Chadwick, Hollyoaks' Katherine Dow Blyton, Charles Lawson, Holby City's Josie Walker, Casualty's Matthew Wait and Leanne Best who has appeared in Doctors.

Corrie!, written by Weatherfield scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey, runs through the key happenings in Corrie, including its 39 births, 123 deaths and 85 marriages.

All the favourites, including Bet Lynch and Ken Barlow, will be represented by the cast.

Meanwhile, Jim is set to return to Corrie, briefly, once again, as he is part of the 50th anniversary special.

But Charlie has hinted he might be killed off in the big tram crash, planned for December.

He said: "I suspect I've been in the frame for it. If a character gets killed I would be sad, but really I would be waiting for my next job."

Well enjoy your time on the Street while it lasts then...

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## alan45

The Corrie! stage show has kicked off its run - and it looks like it's gone down a treat with critics.

The play - narrated by Charles Lawson, who played Jim McDonald, and showing in Salford, Greater Manchester - sees 48 legendary characters from the Street's 50 years depicted, largely with a comic effect.

Matthew Waite's portrayal of busty barmaid Bet Lynch and Katherine Dow Blyton's turn as Ena Sharples seem to have attracted the most praise.

The Times' Libby Purves was a particular fan of the show. She said: "The obvious drawback is that we know what the characters look like. For actors to play them - even fleetingly - is a challenge, and it was hard to see how it would work. But oh, how it does. Howlingly, shriekingly."

She added: "There was no shortage of jokes against bygone inconsistencies, clunking plots and vanishing actors. Witness Leanne Best as Tracy Barlow, observing 'Yes I was up in my room listening to tapes through most of the 80s and 90s'."

And The Sun's Jen Blackburn also gave it the thumbs up, gushing: "The tiny cast had no problems bringing legendary favourites such as Annie Walker and Hilda Ogden to life. They mastered and exaggerated every idiosyncracy of the characters to perfection."

And it looks like Corrie killer Richard Hillman - the character who is part of one scene with the immortal line from Gail, "you're Norman Bates with a briefcase" - is also a fan. Actor Brian Capron (who isn't playing Richard in the show) told The Sun: "I laughed and laughed."

Fellow Corrie actor Johnny Briggs was also impressed, telling the BBC he thought it was "absolutely fantastic", while current star Antony Cotton enthused: "It was full of affection and the right side of rib-tickling, and it took the mickey out of people but in an affectionate way."

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## Katy

ill let you know what i think of it. my mum has got tickets for next week i think. well she was meant to whether she has is another story altogether!

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## alan45

CORONATION Street's hit play Corrie! is moving to London's West End.
Bosses have been blown away by the show's success after it launched in Salford, Greater Manchester on Monday.
They are now hunting for a West End venue for the show, which squeezes all 7,400 episodes of the ITV soap into two hours.
A source said: "We knew it was a great play but we've been bowled over by how well it's gone down.
"We're in talks with London theatres and we hope to have something tied up soon. Hopefully it will rank as one of the West End's top theatrical nights out."


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz0x6DFQrac

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## Katy

it was brilliant! really well done, i laughed loads. It was so funny! 

You could tell that they were really great actors especially katherine dow blyton and leanne best but they werent impresssions actors but what they did was pick out a certain characteristic and over exagerated it! like deirdre saying Ken or Audrey and they way she pronounces gail. My favourite bit was when they did the peter shelley and lucy storyline.

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## Perdita

Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati has admitted that she was "overwhelmed" to be mobbed by fans of the soap.

The actress, who plays Sunita Alahan in the Weatherfield drama, told RTÃ TEN that she was "astonished" by the reception the cast received at the premiere of the new Corrie! play.

"What really astonished me the other day is, they're doing a new play called Corrie! and we went to the press night, and I've never been mobbed before," she said.

"I was quite scared. But then I was overwhelmed by the love of the show. It was so weird. It was in the theatre and usually we're quite heavily protected."

Gulati recently spoke of her shock at her current Corrie plot in which Sunita and husband Dev are suspected of causing their on-screen son's head injury.

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## Perdita

Former Weatherfield favourite Roy Barraclough is to revisit Coronation Street - as the narrator of a stage production tracing the 50-year history of the soap. 

The actor, whose character Alec Gilroy was landlord of the Rovers Return and got hitched to Bet Lynch, will appear in a touring production of Jonathan Harvey's play Corrie!, which condenses the past five decades of the programme into two hours.

Ex-Corrie stars Ken Morley and Gaynor Faye were also announced as narrators earlier this month. The three actors will appear at different venues.

Roy said: "I made my very first appearance in Coronation Street in 1964, and made my last in 1998 so I've had a long association with the show, something I'm very proud of.

"When I saw 'Corrie! The play' last year I was really impressed. It's very funny and very moving - and brings back so many memories for Corrie fans.

"I'm thrilled to be back on the cobbles and it coincides with my 50th year in showbusiness so it's a nice way to celebrate."

Corrie! opened in Salford last year, and begins its nationwide tour at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on February 10.

Meanwhile, Marilyn Bersey, from the Isle of Wight, has been chosen as the winner of ITV's Cook A Dish For Corrie competition.

Her dish, Mal's Corrie Cobbler, will be served up in the Rovers Return in a forthcoming episode of the soap.


PA

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## Perdita

Ken Morley has revealed that he is enjoying his new role as a narrator of the stage play Corrie!.

The actor, who used to play Reg Holdsworth in Coronation Street, admitted that he was initially "cynical" about the idea of six people representing the soap. 

He told the Liverpool Daily Post: "I was a bit cynical about it, to be honest. I didn't think six people could cover 50 years of broadcasting, but it's been a bit of a revelation, really."

The comedy is created by Liverpool-born Jonathan Harvey, a Coronation Street scriptwriter who also produced the comedy Gimme Gimme Gimme and the play Canary.

Corrie! takes the audience through the soap's history at a fast pace with just six actors playing all the parts.

Morley added: "It's an absolute knock-out."



DS

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## Katy

he is right! its amazing...you only appreciate how good it is until you see it, and how it all links

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## Perdita

Former Coronation Street star Sherrie Hewson has been announced as the latest narrator for the soap's 50th anniversary play Corrie!.

The actress, who played Maureen Holdsworth on the ITV1 drama, will tread the boards when the stage production returns to Manchester next month. 

Corrie! - penned by the show's long-standing scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey - is currently on a six-month tour of the UK following a short run at The Lowry theatre in Salford last year.

Hewson will appear on stage at the Palace Theatre in Manchester between April 4 and 9, fronting seven of the eight performances due to take place at the venue. The Loose Women panellist is unavailable for a matinee show on April 6.

The production condenses 50 years of Coronation Street's births, deaths, marriages and other dramatic events into a two-hour story. It was also recently updated to include the programme's tram crash disaster.

Hewson follows in the footsteps of Gaynor Faye, Ken Morley and Roy Barraclough, who have previously been announced as narrators for other shows within the tour.

DS

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