Never Forget - West End transfer confirmed
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
IT HAS now been confirmed that Never Forget, the new musical featuring the hits of reformed Nineties boyband Take That, will transfer to London’s West End – to the Savoy Theatre where it begins performances on May 7, 2008.
The musical, which has an original book by Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless, Clocking Off), has been described as a “feel-good comedy about love, friendship, ambition and betrayal” and tells the fictional story of a Take That tribute band.
It includes the hits Relight My Fire, Pray, Back for Good, Babe and, of course, the title song.
The band members, played by Stephane Anelli (Jose), Dean Chisnall (Ash), Tim Driesen (Adrian), Craig Els (Jake), and Eaton James (Harry) in the touring production, are expected to reprise their roles in the West End.
Never Forget received its world premiere at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, where it ran from July 20 to August 4, 2007. It subsequently toured to Glasgow, Manchester, Stoke and Edinburgh where it concluded on September 22, 2007.
Take That, who split in 1996, recently reunited and are proving as popular today as they were in the early 90s.
However, according to a statement on the band’s website, Take That have distanced themselves from the project. It said:
“The band would like to state categorically that this production is being undertaken with neither their involvement nor their endorsement. They would wish their fans and the general public to know that this production is absolutely and 100% nothing to do with Take That.”
Never Forget is initially booking until October 25, 2008.
Fiddler on the Roof starring Henry Goodman, which is currently playing at the Savoy, has announced a final three- month extension, taking booking to April 26, 2008.