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The Dukes presents
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
by Jim Cartwright
Thursday 24 March - Saturday 16 April 2011
Directed by Amy Leach
Designed by Hayley Grindle
Musical Director: Matt Baker
Lighting by Brent Lees
There will be a warm Lancashire homecoming for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice when it’s performed at The Dukes this spring.
After its successful West End run last year, the curtain rises on the Lancaster theatre’s own version of Farnworth-born Jim Cartwright’s modern classic on March 24.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will be a highlight of The Dukes spring season and upholds its reputation for producing plays featuring music and rooted in the North.
The Dukes production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will see the return to Lancaster of director Amy Leach who directed the recordbreaking run of Sabbat; My Mother Said I Never Should; and Peter Pan, last summer’s outdoor walkabout show.
Amy said: "We’ve got a really fantastic cast with lots of local connections. The calibre of people wanting to perform at The Dukes is very high and there’s such a buzz about this show."
Playing the lead role of Little Voice will be Rebecca Hutchinson, originally from Darwen, also Amy Leach’s home town.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 1992 with Jane Horrocks in the lead role and won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1993. She recreated the role for the big screen version in 1998.
The play focuses on the life of a painfully shy young woman who disappears into a world of music to escape the chaotic life of her fun-loving drunken mother.
Surrounded by vinyl and memories of her father, Little Voice imitates the great divas: Bassey and Monroe, Garland and Holliday.
But this Lancashire fairytale takes a dramatic twist when Little Voice is overheard by wannabe talent scout Ray Say.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will be performed in The Rake at The Dukes in Lancaster from March 24-April 16.