It has been confirmed that a new stage adaptation of the Ealing comedy will embark on a UK tour from the 13th October 2022.
It has been announced that Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards are set to star in this new stage adaptation of The Lavender Hill Mob, based on the screenplay by T.E.B. Clarke and adapted for the stage by Phil Porter.
This side-splittingly funny, fast-paced comedy tells the story of Henry Holland, an unassuming bank clerk who dreams of stealing the van full of gold bullion he drives across London each day. When Henry learns that his new lodger makes Eiffel Tower paperweights out of lead, he devises a plan to make his dream a reality. It’s a golden opportunity to pull off the crime of the century, they’d have to be fools to mess it up…
Directed by Jeremy Sams, the production has its world premiere at Cheltenham Everyman from 13th October 2022, before touring to Clwyd, Cardiff, Malvern, Richmond, Brighton, Cambridge, Guildford, Glasgow, Bath and Truro, Hall for Cornwall, with further dates to be announced. Full cast and creative team has also yet to be confirmed.
Miles Jupp said:“I loved the Lavender Hill Mob when I first saw it, I love Phil Porter’s ingenious adaptation of it, I’ve loved every Jeremy Sams production I’ve seen, I love working with Justin Edwards, I absolutely love being part of an ensemble onstage, and I’ve loved doing nearly every play I’ve been in. Additionally, the producers appear to be honest. I can really see no reason not to turn up on time, and put the bloody hours in.”
The Lavender Hill Mob film was released in 1951, directed by Charles Crichton, and starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James, as well as Audrey Hepburn in one of her earliest screen appearances. It was ranked by the BFI as one of the greatest British Films of all time and was restored and re-released in UK cinemas in 2011 for its sixtieth anniversary.