Jonathan Harvey’s classic play, Beautiful Thing, will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year with a brand new production at the Arts Theatre in the West End from 13 April – 25 May, with a press night on Wednesday 17 April, followed by a short UK tour visiting Liverpool, Leeds and Brighton. Directed by Nikolai Foster, and designed by Colin Richmond, the production will star Suranne Jones, with further casting to be announced.
Beautiful Thing is a glorious urban love story between two young men set on an inner city housing estate. It tells the story of teenager Jamie’s relationship with classmate and neighbour Ste. Together the two boys find comedy, warmth and the music of Mama Cass through their loud-mouthed next door neighbour Leah. The play exquisitely depicts what it is to be sixteen, in the first flush of love, and full of optimism.
Jonathan Harvey wrote beautiful thing when he was just 24. It premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1993 and sold out its five-week run before transferring to the Donmar Warehouse, and then the Duke of York’s, eventually winning its author an Olivier Award nomination and the John Whiting Award. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 films, which went on to be a cult hit. Jonathan is a regular writer for Coronation Street and wrote the TV hit series Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, as well as the best-selling 2012 novel All She Wants. His plays include Canary and Corrie!
Suranne Jones will star as Sandra, Jamie’s mother. Suranne is best known for her role as ‘Karen McDonald’ in Coronation Street (where she worked closely with Jonathan Harvey), and ‘DC Rachel Bailey’ in Scott & Bailey. Her recent television credits include the human tardis in Dr Who, A Touch of Cloth and The Secret of Crickley Hall (BBC One). Her stage work includes Top Girls (Trafalgar Studios & CFT), A Few Good Men with Jon Barrowman and Rob Lowe (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and Noel Coward’s Blythe Spirit.
Over its 20 year history play has featured in the careers of many famous actors including Jonny Lee Miller, Hugh Bonneville, Philip Glennister, Andrew Garfield, and Rhys Ifans, and has been produced over 25 times worldwide, with international dates in China, France, Canada, Australia and Holland.
