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There’s no question that the most acclaimed London theatre show of the year has been Pride, Matthew Warchus and Stephen Beresford’s adaptation of their own hit Britflick that recounted a real life tale of solidarity between the gay community and the striking miners during the ’84/’85 strike.
Like pretty much everyone else, Time Out gave the production five stars. In his review Tom Wicker declared: ‘It’s an impassioned and timely plea for seeking out common ground. You’ll laugh-cry your way through it’. Critics were united on its being a brilliant mix of comedy, tragedy, rallying cry and tear-jerker.
Rather than play one of the National Theatre’s big venues, Pride debuted in the small Dorfman Theatre, part of a new NT policy of incubating new musicals in the more intimate venue to let them bed in.
The show has been sold out for ages and a transfer seemed inevitable, and now it’s here: it will be heading to the Bridge Theatre, which has had a suspiciously empty schedule for a while now, with Pride free to slot in hot on the heels of current show The Oresteia.
Pedants might note that the Bridge is generally not classified as a West End theatre – for starters it’s not in the West End – but this is effectively a West End transfer, with Pride moving to a much larger, non-subsidised venue. On a side note Bridge’s future plans have been in limbo since it was bought by Trafalgar Entertainment recently – is this an indication that it will in fact become more like a conventional West End theatre? Whatever the case, the transfer will presumably be limited by the fact that a Chris Pine-starring production of Chekhov’s Ivanov is due to run next summer.
Current cast members Samuel Barnett, Matthew Durkan, Gillian Elisa, Chris Jenkins, Darren Lawrence, Kirsty Malpass, Madeleine Morgan, Sarah Pugh, Caroline Sheen, Courtney Stapleton and Matthew Woodyatt will return. The likely means other roles will be recast, including the lead part of Mark Ashton, the fiery young activist who forged the alliance between the London gay community.
Pride will transfer to the Bridge Theatre from November 12, with an initial booking period of approximately six months. Ticket go on sale on September 2.
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