Corrie! Stars praise stage comedy play celebrating fifty years of Coronation Street
Last updated 8/19/2010 4:10:30 PM
Corrie Stars praise stage comedy play celebrating fifty years of Coronation Street
It's celebrating fifty years as a national institution and is by any measure the grand old lady of British television, but Coronation Street isn't too grand to laugh itself.
The creator and cast of the legendary ITV soap have heaped praise upon a brand new stage comedy, Corrie! , which is described as a funny and affectionate tribute to five decades of ‘The Street'.
To celebrate half a century of Britain's longest-running drama serial award-winning
playwright and Coronation Street scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey
has condensed all its dramatic highlights into just two hours. Just five actors play 55 characters between them. Charles Lawson – who starred as Jim McDonald – is the narrator. The show is wooing fans at the Lowry in Salford.
Tony Warren – the man who devised the show, no less – has described the fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek show as "an affectionate romp through 50 dramatic years".
Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin, declared it was "absolutely fantastic". He added: "I have absolute admiration for the actors who have played the parts here because they were superb. They got it off to a tee and I'm very much in awe of them. It was full of fun. You couldn't take offence at the way they played any of the characters."
Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully, said: "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. The actors' characterisations were so spot on it was very spooky. It's great that they got actors to do it rather than impressionists because it was acted beautifully, very touching in parts, but ultimately very, very funny."
Other Street stars in the audience at the premiere included Barbara Knox, who plays Rita, David Neilson, who plays Roy Cropper, Sally Dynevor, who plats Sally Webster, and Brian Capron, who played serial killer Richard Hillman.
Jonathan Harvey, who's also written the acclaimed Beautiful Thing and Gimme Gimme Gimme), has captured Weatherfield's finest, past and present. Characters featured include Ena, Blanche, Deidre and Ken. And Coronation Street residents like Jack, Vera, Hilda, Stan, Elsie, Rita, Bet and Raquel also help the audience relive their favourite moments.