BY JEEVES! Alan Ayckbourn To Direct Revival For Old Laundry Theatre's 25th Anniversary Year

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn's light-hearted, fun musical BY JEEVES will be the highlight of the Old Laundry Theatre's 25th Anniversary Season 2017, opening on Friday 6 October - Saturday 4 November 2017 (Press Night: Monday 9 October 2017 at 7.30pm.) A rare opportunity to see Alan Ayckbourn's first revival in over 20 years of this jocular musical - from Broadway to Bowness!

BY JEEVES will bring back together the original creative team from 1996 including: Olivier and Tony winning Alan Ayckbourn who will direct; set designer Roger Glossop (also owner of the Old Laundry Theatre), designs a new set for the intimate 200 seat theatre and choreographer Sheila Carter. Joining the production team is musical director Steven Edis, costumes Caroline Hughes and lighting Jason Taylor.

The Old Laundry Theatre's Directors, Roger and his theatre producer wife Charlotte Scott say: "We are really delighted to be putting on this revival of By Jeeves to be directed by Alan Ayckbourn. The original show, which re-opened the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1996, transferred to the West End and moved across the waters to Washington, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Broadway was such a fulfilling theatrical enterprise for all the creative team, cast and crew that the idea we can re-visit this piece, with its wit, pace and beautiful songs and present a large scale production at the Old Laundry Theatre (10 in the cast + a six-piece live band) is a fitting celebration for our 25th."

Set in the 1920s and keeping the dottiness of the original PJ Wodehouse stories, BY JEEVES brings to life a cast of colourful characters, who continually and hilariously swap identities as they battle to salvage love and cover up embarrassing errors, causing confusion and mayhem galore! The iconic Wodehouse characters include loveable chump Bertie Wooster with his unquenchable optimism and his wonderfully supercilious butler Jeeves, renowned for his deadpan digs.

Alan Ayckbourn, a man of, literally, many words with 81 plays and musicals to his name says: "By Jeeves is a party. It's a celebration of theatre, so is perfect for the Old Laundry's 25th. I was always attracted by the innocence in Wodehouse and love the simplicity and characters, which I still find so refreshing."

Another highlight of the Old Laundry Theatre's 2017 season is the return of their highly acclaimed classical family musical adventure Where Is Peter Rabbit? This magical and completely captivating production opens on Saturday 10 June - Sunday 3 September, with a record breaking 185 shows!

2017 will be the first year that the Old Laundry Theatre will be continually open with a full and varied season of theatre and concerts from Friday 10 March through to 31 December 2017 - making this a unique season for their 25th Anniversary celebrations.

Using the theatre's versatile and multi-purpose space, the Old Laundry Theatre will house new productions including: a season of Shakespeare including Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night; a Mozart Festival; recitals including pianist Young Choon Park and Martin Roscoe; a mini festival all about Jane... including: a Jane Austen one-woman musical Promise and Promiscuity, Jane Eyre - An Autobiography and Northanger Abbey by Box Tale Soup. Later in the season is North Country Theatre's Nightmares In Norfolk - not to mention a film festival in November.

For 25 years the Old Laundry Theatre has been bringing professional theatre to the Lake District - here's to the next 25!

For more information, visit www.oldlaundrytheatre.co.uk.

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