WHEN THE
BOAT COMES IN: CAST ANNOUNCEMENT
When
the Boat Comes In
South Shields
Customs House
Thursday
15th - Saturday 25th August 2018
The Customs House announces the
highly-skilled cast that will anchor its production of When the Boat Comes In
this summer.
 |
| Writer Peter Mitchell |
The iconic hit TV show has been adapted for the
stage for the first time by Peter Mitchell, the son of the original writer,
James Mitchell. The play was commissioned by The Customs House to mark the
centenary of the end of the First World War and will run from Thursday 15th
to Saturday 25th August 2018.
The gritty drama explores the
struggles of life during the inter-war years in the fictional Tyneside town of
Gallowshield – based on Mitchell’s birthplace, South Shields.
Jamie Brown has been cast in
the lead role of Sergeant Jack Ford, originally played by James Bolam in the
BBC drama, who returns home from active service to find the place he left is
still battling against poverty, ill-health, unemployment and discrimination. But Jack hasn’t endured the horrors of war to
live a life of misery - he has set his sights on the high life and is
determined to get what he wants, whatever the cost. Jamie is known throughout the north east for
his roles in The Machine Gunners, The Man and the Donkey, The Fifteen Streets,
The Cinder Path and Hadaway Harry, among others. He also directed Geordie the Musical at The
Customs House and Tyne Theatre last year and The Butcher’s Bill at several
north east venues last month.
Jessie Seaton will be played
by Alice Stokoe, who made her West
End debut in Mamma Mia in 2014 and has since starred in touring productions of
American Idiot and Sister Act.
Bill Seaton will be played by Steve Byron, an
actor/drama practitioner with 25 years’ experience of working within community
theatre in the north east.
Bella Seaton will be played by
Janine Birkett, whose film and TV
credits include Billy Elliot, Coronation Street, Inspector George Gently,
Emmerdale, Badger and Byker Grove.
The rest of the cast is made
up of well-known north east stage stars.
Tom Seaton will be played by Matthew
Howdon (Leaving), Billie Seaton by Luke
Maddison (Leaving, Geordie theMusical),
Matt Headley by Charlie
Richmond (The Last Ship, The Machine
Gunners) and Dolly Mather by Anna
Bolton (Emmerdale, Doctors).
Mary Routledge/Mrs Scrimgour
will be played by Sarah Balfour,
from South Shields, who graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts
(ALRA) last year and has since appeared in Hyem at Northern Stage.
Director Katy Weir said: “I am over the moon with the cast we
have in place for When the Boat Comes In. Such an iconic piece of work requires
an incredibly strong cast to take on the challenge and I believe that is what
we have. I can’t wait to get started.”
When
the Boat Comes In was the first mainstream TV drama to be set in the north east
and at its peak, attracted 15 million viewers and received national acclaim. It
ran for four series between 1976 and 1981. Series creator James Mitchell also
wrote three tie-in books, When the Boat Comes In, When the Boat Comes In: The
Hungry Years and When the Boat Comes In: Upwards and Onwards.
The play has been generously supported by
Colmans of South Shields. Ray Spencer,
Executive Director of The Customs House, said: “We’re so excited for this show.
Don’t miss the boat, book your tickets now!”
Tickets:
Tickets for When the Boat Comes In are priced
from £15 and performances start at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Saturday,
August 18, Thursday, August 23 and Saturday, August 25. To book, contact the
box office on (0191) 454 1234 or visit www.customshouse.co.uk.
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