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Revel Horwood Revives Spend Spend Spend! at WYP

After his touring production of Chess opened to critical acclaim in Newcastle back in August, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood will kickstart another musical tour in a top Northern theatre this October. His jazz shoes will be exchanged for a director’s chair for the revival of the hit musical Spend Spend Spend!, which will run at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from 19 to 23 October before touring.

Spend Spend Spend! is a vivacious, energetic musical set in the 1960s. Based on the true story of Yorkshirewoman Viv Nicholson, the play follows a struggling, downtrodden housewife whose life is transformed when she wins over £150,000 on the Castleford football pools – around £5 million today.

The publicity deluge that fell on Viv saw her proudly declaring her intention to “spend, spend, spend” her fortune in the tabloids, and, true to form, her world became a flurry of fur coats, fast cars and flawless diamonds. However, the rags-to-riches story soon went full circle as Viv found herself terribly lonely, terribly bankrupt and in trouble with the law by the mid-Seventies.

Revel Horwood is no stranger to Spend Spend Spend! or to the West Yorkshire Playhouse: he choreographed the West End version of the show that premiered in Leeds before moving to London in 1998. Spend Spend Spend! was adapted by Steve Brown and Justin Greene from Viv Nicholson’s autobiography of the same name. The new production features musical arrangement by Sarah Travis and design by Diego Pitarch.

The tour follows a very successful run at The Watermill Theatre last year. The original production won two TMA Awards; one for Best Musical and a Best Supporting Actress plaudit for returning cast member Kirsty Hoiles in her role as Young Viv. The twelve-strong ensemble will act, sing, dance and play their own instruments to bring this modern Cinderella story back to Leeds once again.

– Lydia Onyett

Tickets for Spend Spend Spend! can be reserved by calling the West Yorkshire Playhouse Box Office on 0113 213 7700 or by visiting www.wyp.org.uk.

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