Posted in: BBC, Events, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: John Finnemore, traitors

John Finnemore Writes The Traitors Stage Show For London's West End

John Finnemore writes The Traitors stage show for London's West End and I am already planning to buy tickets

Britain's greatest modern-day comedy writer, John Finnemore, tells us in his Substack newsletter that he is writing a stage show for London's West End based on the BBC reality TV show, The Traitors. "I am extremely not allowed to say anything more about it than you can read here, such as that I am writing it, and the brilliant Rob Hastie, who directed Operation Mincemeat (have you seen Operation Mincemeat? It's glorious, do see it) is directing. Well, and perhaps also this: I would not blame you if you felt a little dubious about the idea of a stage show of a reality TV show; and/or a little surprised that it will take two years of my time to write it. Well… all I can say is that I'm enormously excited by it, and it's easily the most ambitious thing I've ever attempted to write. If you liked series 9 of JFSP, or The Researcher's First Murder, I think you'll like this."

Series 9 of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme. Yes, we at Bleeding Cool very much do like that. We ran a whole series of posts about it. And got out the red string, pins and a corkboard to work it all out. And yes, he is right about Operation Mincemeat, too.

The Traitors On Stage will tell a new story inspired by the programme's format, in which a group of faithfuls try to root out the traitors in their ranks, and will be staged at an unnamed London venue next year. It is being created by Studio Lambert, which makes the BBC TV series, and Neal Street Production,s behind shows and films like Call the Midwife and Hamnet. Studio Lambert chief executive Stephen Lambert said they would "reimagine the show as a bold and surprising theatrical performance" and that taking it from the screen to stage "is a hugely exciting next step for this much-loved brand… Faithful fans should expect an intense, joyful night out as we reveal a thrilling new hunting ground for our Traitors." Caro Newling, co-founder of Neal Street Productions, said "In developing The Traitors for the stage, Neal Street and Studio Lambert have curated a team of brilliant faithful theatre-makers led by director Rob Hastie and writer John Finnemore to bring a bold, structural twist to the format that only the live medium can provide."

I'll be buying tickets. The BBC TV series, which has just finished its fourth series, places secret saboteurs among a group of faithful contestants in a grand castle in Scotland, all fighting it out to win a cash prize. It also ran a Celebrity version of the show last year, won by Alan Carr, which was the most-watched TV series of the year. Might he – or any of the real-life Traitors – have a role in the stage version?

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