Coronation Street Stage Show Extends at Lowry, 12 Aug

Britain’s longest-running soap opera will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new stage version later this year, which promises “highlights of five decades of Coronation Street, performed live in under two hours”.

Coronation Street Abridged Live! will kick off a national tour at the Salford Lowry on 12 August 2010, and is written by scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey.The Salford run has recently been extended and the show will now be at the Lowry until 21 August.

According to publicity material, the show will feature: “Your favourite memories from the programme – see the viaduct collapse, the coach crash and the tram run over Alan. See Frank capture Valerie, Tracy kill Charlie, Todd kiss Nick, and Gail marry Brian, Martin, Richard and Joe! All this reduced to two hours of mind-boggling stage craft!”

Characters featured will include: Ena Sharples, Hilda Ogden, Percy Sugden, Alf Roberts, Ken and Deirdre Barlow, Curly Watts, Richard Hillman, Karen McDonald, Jack Duckworth and Bet Lynch.

Phil McIntyre, who is co-producing the show with ITV Studios, told the Daily Mirror: “I saw the first ever episode of Corrie when I was eight and it’s been a part of my life since then, so what an honour it is to bring the whole 50 years back to life ‘live’ on stage in it’s hometown of Salford”.

And this might not be the only stage incarnation of the much-loved soap – a musical version has long been rumoured (See The Goss, 26 Mar 2008).