Stage revival set for TV classic Porridge
Writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are to revive their seventies television sitcom Porridge as a stage show this autumn.
The production will feature ex-EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson in the lead role of Norman Stanley Fletcher, played by Ronnie Barker in the original series.
Williamson - whose theatrical credits include DJ Monty in the West End production of Saturday Night Fever, Road to Nirvana and The Rocky Horror Show - said: “I am both terrified and excited. This part sums up the reason why I got into acting.”
Porridge ran on BBC1 between 1974 to 1977 starring Barker and Richard Beckinsale, and was later made into a film. It tells the story of two criminals in a fictional prison, HMP Slade in Cumberland.
Clement and La Frenais also created shows including The Likely Lads, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and 2008 film The Bank Job featuring Jason Statham and David Suchet.
Their stage production of Porridge will be presented on tour by Calibre Productions. Tour dates and full casting details will be announced shortly.
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