Hope Mill Theatre announces casting for Victoria Wood’s Acorn Antiques the Musical

Hope Mill Theatre have  announced the full cast for the special fundraising concert of Victoria Wood’s Acorn Antiques the Musical which will have two performances at the Manchester Opera House on 2 & 16 November and one night at Shaftesbury Theatre in London on 9 November.

Starring in the iconic roles will be Katherine Kingsley as Miss Babs), Gina Beck as Miss Berta , Anna-Jane Casey as Miss Bonnie ), Tony Jayawardena as Mr Clifford , Rob Madge as Derek and Harry Hepple as Tony

The show will also feature  May Tether as Mimi , Elliot Broadfoot as Hugh, Grace Mouat as Miss Wellbelove  Sally Bankes as Christine, George Crawford as Minchin’s lad, Laura Medforth as Miss Cuff , Steve Elias as Mr Watkins, Samuel Holmes as Mr Furlong , Daniele Coombe as Miss Willoughby, Bradley Judge as Postie and Althea Burey  as Lucy Lollipop.

Reprising her role is Ria Jones as Mrs Overall

This laugh out loud musical parody will be sure to have you rolling in the aisles and toe tapping along…so grab yourself a macaroon and don’t miss this special one-off performance.

Victoria Wood originally wrote Acorn Antiques as a weekly slot in her sketch show, Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. She based it on the long-running serial Crossroads, and radio soap Waggoners Walk. Taking swipes at soaps with their wobbly sets, overacting, cheesy dialogue and wildly improbable plots. Its premise – the lives and loves of the staff of an antiques shop – lampooned the staples of soap operas: love triangles, amnesiacs, sudden deaths and siblings reunited.

In 2005, Victoria Wood created the musical version, with the intention of giving people a “lovely, happy night in the theatre”. It was directed by Trevor Nunn with choreography by Stephen Mear and opened at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket and had a sellout season. Several key members of the original cast joined the stage production including Julie Walters, Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston – with Victoria Wood alternating with Julie Walters in the role of Mrs Overall.  The show earned several Olivier Award nominations, including Best New Musical and winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Celia Imrie.

The concert will be directed by Hope Mill’s own Joseph Houston and William Whelton with musical direction and supervision by Nigel Lilley, choreography by Sammy Murray, sound by Matt Peploe, set design by Sophia Pardon, costume design by Lorraine Parry, wigs by Chrissie Baker, lighting by Aaron Dootson, orchestrations by Chris Walker, assistant musical direction by Archie McMorran and artwork by Steph Pyne.

The concert will celebrate 10 years of Hope Mill Theatre, with all box office money going towards their Outreach programme, which includes Hope Mill Theatre School, as well as funding a brand-new community space within Hope Mill.