Stiles & Drewe Get Private with Alan Bennett???

Alan Bennett’s 1984 film A Private Function is receiving the musical treatment care of Stiles & Drewe (aka the British musical writing partnership, composer George Stiles and lyricist Anthony Drewe) and book writers Ron Cowen and Dan Lipman.

Maggie Smith, Michael Palin and Denholm Elliott starred in the screen original which is set in a Yorkshire village after the Second World War, where rationing presents a challenge for the locals who want to celebrate a Royal wedding in style.

A workshop held in London in July boasted a company including Josie Walker and Michael Jibson as Joyce and Gilbert Chilvers (the Smith and Palin roles in the film) as well as Ian Talbot, Paul Baker, Nigel Richards, Caroline Sheen, Anna Jane Casey and Susie Blake. According to the Daily Mail, the musical may premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds next year ahead of a West End transfer, all going to plan.