The world premiere of the stage adaptation of Our Friends in the North will run at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle from October 15 to October 24, marking the 30th anniversary of the original BBC series.
The new production revives the story of Nicky, Tosker, Geordie and Mary, the four friends at the heart of the 1990s epic drama. The original series starred Christopher Eccleston, Mark Strong, Daniel Craig and Gina McKee, and its storyline spanned three decades, covering turbulent love lives and politics.
A homecoming for fans and newcomers alike
The stage version has been re-visited by local author Peter Flannery, who wrote the original series. It features an all-local cast, made up of both established actors and newcomers, and focuses on key episodes from the series, taking in the Thatcher years and the political upheaval of the time that shapes the lives of the central characters.
The show is a co-production between the Theatre Royal, Live Theatre - which first came up with the idea - and Jamie Eastlake's Eastlake Productions, following on from their success with Gerry & Sewell.
Creative team on the production's relevance
Director Jack McNamara, Live's artistic director, said of the original series: “It is one of the great epic sagas of our time. Thirty years have passed since it was first broadcast and yet so much of it feels like a reflection of where we are today in terms of political ambitions, corrupted ideals and the personality cult in modern politics. Ultimately, it’s a piece about hope - and we all need a bit of that.”
He added: “We want the production to feel like a homecoming for all those people who loved the show. But just as important is that newcomers receive it entirely fresh.”
Cast and creative partnerships
The cast includes graduates from the Theatre Royal's Project A actor training programme, including Ryan Nolan, who plays Nicky. Meena Al-Nawrasy and Jude Nelson are part of the ensemble cast.
Jacqui Kell, co-chief executive officer of Live, hopes this will be the first of many such partnerships. Jamie Eastlake described building further relationships as "incredibly exciting", adding: “Our work now is about driving commercial theatre from this region in a way that hasn’t really been done before. The industry is very tough right now, so finding interesting and viable models to produce work, which also allow a trickle-down effect for organisations developing artists and new work, is incredibly important.”
Theatre Royal chief executive officer Marianne Locatori said the new work shows what can be created by organisations with different strengths working together, and that the questions it asks - about ambition, opportunity, community and change - are "still incredibly relevant today". She added: “We want to see more ambitious work being made here, and we want audiences to see the extraordinary talent that exists in this region.”
