Theatre News

Cast for film adaptation of Take That musical The Band announced

The film is shooting later this year

© Left: Dan Wooller, right: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia

Casting has been announced for the movie version of the hit stage musical The Band.

The film is loosely based on the stage production, which follows a group of school friends who reunite later in life and reminisce about the five-piece boy band that brought them all together.

The Band opened in Manchester in 2017 before running in the West End at Theatre Royal Haymarket the following year. It was given a solid review during its West End run, being described as "a poignant watch – about ageing and loss".

Titled Greatest Days, the film is directed by Coky Giedroyc (How to Build a Girl) with a screenplay penned by Tim Firth and choreography by the award-winning Drew McOnie (Jesus Christ Superstar).

Leading the feature will be Aisling Bea (Doctor Who), Amaka Okafor (The Son), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror) and Jayde Adams (Serious Black Jumper), while the boy band will be played by newcomers Aaron Bryan, Dalvin Cory, Joshua Jung, Mark Samaras and Mervin Noronha.

Also in the cast are Marc Wootton (Nativity), Lara McDonnell (Belfast), Jessie Mae Alonzo (Little Joe), Nandi Hudson (Army of Thieves), Carragon Guest and Eliza Dobson.

The flick is set to feature a full raft of Take That tunes including "Greatest Day", "Patience", "Back For Good", "A Million Love Songs" and "Shine", with original material for the film also said to be a possibility.

It will be released theatrically next year, with filming beginning this summer in Athens, Lancashire and London.

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