Steptoe And Son Ride Again! A La Kneehigh

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 5:29am

A new stage adaptation of 'Steptoe And Son' by Kneehigh and West Yorkshire Playhouse will premiere this summer.

The popular BBC television show which ran from 1962 to 1974 was set in the home of the two rag-and-bone men in Oil Drum Lane in London's Shepherd's Bush and 'Steptoe And Son' quickly built up a huge following. In the 1970s it inspired two spin-off films and a US version, 'Sanford And Son'.
Brambell and Corbett last played the characters in an Australian stage show in 1977. Corbett died of a heart attack in 1982, and Brambell died three years later.

The story, which follows the relationship of a father and son, has been adapted by Emma Rice from the scripts of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Rice will also direct the production, which will run at the Asylum in Cornwall from July 21st before a stint at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from Sept 14th ahead of a major 9 week UK tour and a London season.

Mike Shepherd will play Albert and Dean Nolan will take the role of Harold.

Emma Rice said: “I’ve tried to enable and reveal the heart-breaking and perfectly observed characters that had generations glued to their TV’s for over a decade. I am so lucky. I feel I am walking through history – my parents’, my grandparents’ and my own. It has been the chance of a lifetime to dive into such an iconic and important body of work.”

Kneehigh have recently presented 'The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg' in the West End and a critically acclaimed production of 'Brief Encounter' which had an extended West End season prior to a Broadway run.

Updated On: 3/7/12 at 05:29 AM

[alterego]

Posted: 3/8/12 at 9:32pm

I had no idea that Brambell and Corbett ever did STEPTOE in Australia. Where did it play?