Following a successful tour of the UK, the new stage adaptation of Great Expectations will open in the West End next year.
Starring a cast of familiar on screen faces including The Bill’s Chris Ellison as Pip’s mysterious benefactor Magwitch, star of Coronation Street and Bad Girls Jack Ellis as Mr Jaggers and Emmerdale’s Paula Wilcox as lonely spinster Miss Havisham, Great Expectations will play at the Vaudeville theatre from 6 February following previews from 1 February.
Adapted for the stage by leading Scottish playwright Jo Clifford and directed by Graham McLaren, the cast will also include Paul Nivison (Adult Pip), Grace Rowe (Estella) and Taylor Jay-Davies (Young Pip).
Despite the story’s various incarnations, including several television adaptations, a West End musical and the recent blockbuster film starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, the production marks the first time that Charles Dickens’ tale about a humble orphan who is given a new start in life due to a mysterious benefactor has ever been staged as a full-scale play either in the West End or on Broadway.
Great Expectations will open at the Vaudeville theatre following Lindsay Posner’s production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Ken Stott, Anna Friel, Laura Carmichael and Samuel West, which plays until 26 January. The production was previously booking until 16 February.