Comedian, writer and actress Victoria Wood is to direct a new version of her comedy Talent at the Menier Chocolate Factory this autumn.
Co-produced with the Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness, it will run at the London Bridge venue from 17 September to 14 November (press night 23 September).
Originally premiered in 1978, Talent, a comedy with songs, is set on talent night at Bunter’s niteclub, where Julie and Maureen are waiting backstage. As they are plunged into a world of ukulele-wielding pensioners, crotch-grabbing compères and some long-buried personal history, the two friends have to decide how lucky they really want to be.
After its debut in Sheffield, Talent received a London transfer in 1979 when it was also adapted for television, the screen version bringing long-time collaborators Wood and Julie Walters together on TV for the first time.
Wood, who was launched on her entertainment career by winning New Faces in 1974, has won more BAFTAs for her writing and performing than anyone else in BAFTA history. Among her television work are programmes including Pat And Margaret, Dinnerladies and Housewife, 49. Her comic creation, Acorn Antiques, was adapted for the stage as a musical in 2005, when it played at the Theatre Royal Haymarket directed by Trevor Nunn.
Wood’s new version of Talent opens at the Menier Chocolate Factory following current hit Forbidden Broadway, the revue show taking a comic glance at the West End which opened at the intimate venue last week. No casting news has been announced.
MA