New play Going the Distance to premiere this autumn

Lawrence Batley Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, The Dukes and The Watermill Theatre will co-produce new play Going the Distance, set to premiere online in October.

Directed by Felicity Montagu (I'm Alan Partridge) making her directorial debut, the piece follows a community centre fighting to save its future by staging a fundraising production inspired by (but, for rights purposes, not based on) The Wizard of Oz.

The piece will be penned by Yasmeen Khan (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Henry Filloux Bennett (What A Carve Up!).

Filloux-Bennett said, "I'm so excited to be working with Yasmeen and Felicity on something
which feels like a perfect way to celebrate the resilience of our incredible industry over the last year. Theatres and arts centres are absolutely at the heart of communities up and down the country, and ‘Going the Distance' will I hope be a warm-hearted reflection of just how vital they are to us all. Think Noises Off meets Nighty-Night – at least then you know what we were aiming for!"

The piece will be available on demand from 4 to 17 October with cast and creative team to be revealed. Tickets go on sale today via goingthedistanceplay.com.

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