Betty Blue Eyes

Synopsis

Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith head the cast in the brand new acclaimed British musical Betty Blue Eyes.

Belts are being tightened and the country’s long-suffering citizens are being told by the government that there will be fair shares for all in return for surviving Austerity Britain. Meanwhile local officials feather their own nests by taking far more than their own fair share. It is of course 1947, and having won the war Britain seems to have lost the peace, and the country is staggering under the burden of acute rationing, unemployment and the coldest winter for decades. The only bright spark on the horizon is the impending marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Twenty six years ago Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray wove this story into the hilariously funny film A Private Function, which centered around Betty, an adorable pig, who is being illegally reared to ensure the local dignitaries can celebrate the Royal Wedding with a lavish banquet while the local population make do with Spam.

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman have adapted and expanded this story for the stage and George Stiles and Anthony Drewe have written a deliciously infectious, toe-tapping, retro contemporary score.

The resulting Betty Blue Eyes musical is an utterly British musical and full of eccentric characters.

Betty Blue Eyes tickets are worth saving up for so click the buty tickets links for some great availability.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 14 April 2011

“It’s not just pork, Gilbert. It’s power.” That’s the enabling quality of the sow with long lashes in Betty Blue Eyes, the most thoroughly English and charming new musical in the West End for a very long time, based on Alan Bennett’s hilarious 1984 film, A Private Function.

The star herself is a pretty porcine too good to eat, controlled animatronically by stage management and mostly confined to a tin bath in the second act of the show, once Gilbert Chilvers (an outstandingly sweet and light-on-his-pins Reece Shearsmith), the village chiropodist, has snaffled her down on the farm.

Betty’s being reared for a banquet to celebrate the royal wedding of 1947. In case we didn’t know it was coming, Richard Eyre’s production starts with newsreels and public announcements (“Eat More Greens, Less Bread”) at a time of post-War rationing. The pig’s a forbidden luxury, but the tow...

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Latest User Review

Heather Scandrett - 25 September 2011:

Saw this marvellous production on Friday 23 September and just can't understand why it is closing. The acting, singing, staging, special effects, humour and most especially "Betty" were all first class, as was Sarah Lancashire and Reece Sheersmith. A very well earned standing ovation and I do hope that "Betty" will return in the very near future. Perhaps a tour of the country would be a good idea. ...

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