Drop The Dead Donkey to return as touring stage show
- Touring stage show Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! will run from January to June 2024
- The show, written by creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, will star the original cast of the hit TV sitcom
- The plot will see the characters "being parachuted into the world of AI and the world of rolling news"
Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have written a Drop The Dead Donkey stage show.
Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! will star original cast members Susannah Doyle (Joy Merryweather), Robert Duncan (Gus Hedges), Ingrid Lacey (Helen Cooper), Neil Pearson (Dave Charnley), Jeff Rawle (George Dent), Stephen Tompkinson (Damien Day) and Victoria Wicks (Sally Smedley).
The sitcom, which ran for 65 episodes from 1990 to 1998, followed the trials and tribulations of Globelink, a fictional television news company. It was notable for being written and recorded much closer to transmission than most sitcoms, allowing Hamilton and Jenkin to satirise current events and the leading news stories of the week. The TV comedy also featured David Swift, who died in 2016, as Henry Davenport, and - in the first two series - Haydn Gwynne portraying Alex Pates.
Promoters of the play tease: "BREAKING NEWS: 30 years since the launch of the trailblazing, smash-hit TV series, the Globelink News team are back and now live on stage for the very first time."
They add: "The iconic BAFTA and Emmy award-winning comedy is reimagined in this brand new topical commentary on the cutthroat world of 24 hours news.
"Bursting with razor-sharp wit and classic British humour, this hot off the press production will leave you in stitches. Written by the same award-winning writing team Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin (Outnumbered), Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! exposes the underside of the broadcasting industry in all its riotous glory. Whether you're one of the legions of die-hard fans of the TV sitcom that was watched by millions at its peak, or a British comedy fanatic, come and experience this hilarious revival of an all-time comedy classic."
Hamilton and Jenkin comment: "We're overjoyed to be working again with the original cast of Drop The Dead Donkey, after a brief hiatus of about 30 years. It's going to be hugely enjoyable to watch those 7 funny, flawed characters from Globelink News being plunged into the cutthroat world of modern 24-hour news gathering and trying to navigate their way through the daily chaos of social media, fake news, and Interim Prime Ministers."
Speaking to James Gill on the Always Be Comedy podcast, Hamilton also revealed that one of the themes the play will touch on is artificial intelligence. He teased: "It's the same collection of characters, all played by the same actors, being parachuted into the world of AI and the world of rolling news, it's really exciting."
Directed by Lindsay Posner, the tour will open at Richmond Theatre in January, and conclude at Cheltenham's Everyman Theatre in June 2024.
Further details and tickets can be found via dropdeaddonkey.co.uk
2024 dates
Wednesday 31 January - Saturday 3 February
Richmond Theatre
Tuesday 6 February - Saturday 10 February
Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
Tuesday 13 February - Saturday 17 February
The Lowry, Greater Manchester
Tuesday 20 February - Saturday 24 February
New Theatre, Cardiff
Tuesday 27 February - Saturday 2 March
Cambridge Arts Theatre
Tuesday 5 March - Saturday 9 March
Theatre Royal Brighton
Tuesday 12 March - Saturday 16 March
Milton Keynes Theatre
Tuesday 19 March - Saturday 23 March
Leicester Curve
Tuesday 26 March - Saturday 30 March
Theatre Royal Bath
Tuesday 9 April - Saturday 13 April
Leeds Grand Theatre
Tuesday 16 April - Saturday 20 April
The Alexandra, Birmingham
Tuesday 23 April - Saturday 27 April
Nottingham Theatre Royal
Tuesday 30 April - Saturday 4 May
Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Tuesday 7 May - Saturday 11 May
Norwich Theatre Royal
Tuesday 14 May - Saturday 18 May
Liverpool Playhouse
Tuesday 21 May - Saturday 25 May
Newcastle Theatre Royal
Tuesday 28 May - Saturday 1 June
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
Tuesday 4 June - Saturday 8 June
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Drop The Dead Donkey - The Complete Box Set
For the first time ever, all six series of the brilliant, topical TV comedy series Drop The Dead Donkey are featured in this 11 disc DVD box set.
Familiarise yourself with Globelink News, primed to bring you the latest headlines...somehow. Under the ineffective management of Gus, the team bicker, tease, gamble and mock their way through the day's news. Henry and Sally hate each other. Damien would sell his grandmother for a story. Dave would sell his grandmother for a bet. George does his best to lead the team and Alex his deputy does her best to limit the damage.
Winner of 4 British Comedy Awards and a BAFTA, Drop The Dead Donkey established itself as one of the most popular satirical comedy series ever, with a great ensemble cast, colourful enduring characters and a script that hilariously lampooned 1990s media, management and politics.
Cameo performances come from from MPs Teddy Taylor and Ken Livingstone.
As entertaining and funny today as the news-filled week it was broadcast.
Includes the finale and Emmy Award-winning episode Xmas Party
First released: Monday 30th November 2015
- Distributor: Spirit Entertainment
- Region: 2
- Discs: 11
- Catalogue: SEL2054
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