West End Wednesday: Betty Blue Eyes

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton

Betty Blue Eyes is a 2011 West End musical based on the film, A Private Function. The show has music and lyrics by infamous British duo Stiles and Drewe and a book adapted from Alan Bennett’s original screenplay, penned by Ron Cowan and Daniel Lipman.

Betty Blue Eyes marked Cameron Mackintosh’s first musical production in over a decade. Having loved the original film and being great friends with Stiles and Drewe, Mackintosh was immediately intrigued by the notion of a stage adaptation. The musical is set in the late 40’s in northern England at the height of food rationing, when some local businessmen decided to illegally raise a pig in celebration for the royal wedding. The pig is then stolen and hijinks ensues.

After development, the musical opened in the Mackintosh owned Novello Theatre for previews from 19 March 2011. Stars Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith were secured for the roles of Joyce and Gilbert Chivers respectively and Australian actor and singer, Kylie Minogue, voiced the animatronic pig.

The musical opened to positive reviews however, this unfortunately did not translate into ticket sales and the show was forced to closed at a run of five months. Richard Eyre directed the West End production with choreography by Stephen Mear, set design by Tim Hatley and orchestrations by William David Brohn.

The show enjoyed its North American premiere at the Music Theatre of Wichita, running for 5 nights in July 2013. In 2014, the production embarked on a small UK tour in a new incarnation directed by Daniel Buckroyd, which was co-produced by The Mercury Theatre Colchester, Salisbury Playhouse, West Yorkshire Playhouse and The Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse; starring Haydn Oakley and Amy Booth-Steel. In 2018, the first German speaking production opened in Austria.

Betty Blue Eyes is a shining example of British musical theatre excellence and has become synonymous with amateur dramatic companies all over the UK. If you haven’t listened to it already Besties, you simply must.  

Cast recording available on Spotify and AppleMusic.

FACTS:

Music: George Stiles
Lyrics: Anthony Drewe
Book: Ron Cowan and Daniel Lipman

Theatre: The Novello Theatre
Run: 19 March 2011 – 24 September 2011 (around 170 performances)

OLIVIERS

(NOMINATED) Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical – Sarah Lancashire, Best Actor in a Musical – Reece Shearsmith.