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1st Night Photos: Tate Stars in West End Blue Sky

The West End revival of David Eldridge’s Under the Blue Sky premiered on Friday (25 July 2008, previews from 15 July) at the Duke of York’s theatre, featuring a stellar cast including Catherine Tate, Francesca Annis and Chris O'Dowd (See News, 9 May 2008).

In the darkly comic play, a group of teachers get together for a long evening of drinking tequila and revealing secrets about friendship and love, both shared and unrequited.

The production suffered an early set-back when Tate damaged her ankle during the dress rehearsal, leading to the cancellation of the first preview performance (See News, 16 Jul 2008). However, at Friday's press night there was no sign of the crutch which helped her through some early previews.

Under the Blue Sky was first seen at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in September 2000 in a production directed by Rufus Norris with a cast including Sheila Hancock. This new West End premiere production is directed by Anna Mackmin, who directed Orlando Bloom in a revival of another Royal Court play, David Storey’s In Celebration, at the Duke of York’s last summer.

The West End cast is completed by Lisa Dillon, Nigel Lindsay and Dominic Rowan, who recently finished a stint at the NT in Happy Now?. It’s designed by Lez Brotherston and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.

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For 1st Night Photos, our Whatsonstage.com photographer Dan Wooller was on hand at the Duke of York’s for the curtain call and at the post-show party which took place at Soho’s Studio Valbonne, attended by the cast, producer Sonia Friedman, writer David Eldridge and celebrities including Lulu, Coronation Street’s Helen Worth and David Bradley, who will soon be appearing at the Duke of York's himself alongside David Walliams in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (See News, 2 Jul 2008).

Author David Eldridge’s other plays include Market Boy, Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness, M.A.D., Serving It Up, Summer Begins, A Week with Tony, the multi award-winning stage adaptation of Festen, and new versions of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck and John Gabriel Borkman. Under the Blue Sky continues at the Duke of York’s until 20 September 2008.

- by Theo Bosanquet

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