Adaptation to premiere at Birmingham Rep next year

Withnail & I is being adapted as a stage show by its original writer and director Bruce Robinson.

The cult 1987 film starred  Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann as destitute actors who take a trip to the Lake District with the predatory Uncle Monty, played by Richard Griffiths.

Its stage adaptation will premiere at  the Birmingham Rep in May, directed by the theatre’s artistic director Sean Foley.  It has not yet been cast.

Foley is also directing the forthcoming stage adaptation of Dr Strangelove, having also overseen the recent Spitting Image stage revival and the historical royal comedy The Crown Jewels,  starring Al Murray, Mel Giedroyc, Joe Thomas and Neil Morrissey.

He said in a statement: ‘Hilarious, tragic, and wild, Withnail & I is a comedy like no other, and I'm thrilled to be working with the legendary Bruce Robinson to bring it to life on stage... 

‘In fact, where better for the extraordinarily funny tale of two unemployed actors who go on holiday, "by mistake"? 

‘Rightly regarded as one of the finest British films ever made, our world premiere stage version brings to life the classic dialogue, the insane situations, and above all the boozy, irresistibly hilarious relationship of one of the most famous slacker duo's ever created…’

He also told The Guardian he was ‘very keen to hear from actors who want to be in this play. They are amazing parts and I’m very excited to see who we cast’. 

The official blurb for the play, which runs from May 3 to 25, reads: ‘London, September 1969, the sixties are in full swing, rock ’n’ roll has electrified a generation, and bohemianism rules.

‘But, away from the bright lights two young unemployed actors, the flamboyant, boozy Withnail, and the shy, contemplative Marwood live in utter squalor in a flat in Camden Town, praying for a job.Their only visitor is their drug dealer, Danny; their only expeditions are to the local pubs; and their only friends each other.

‘Needing a break from the positively atrocious state of their acting careers, they hit upon the idea of a holiday in the country, and borrow the cottage owned by Withnail’s wealthy Uncle Monty. Will escaping London reinvigorate their addled brains and kick start their professional fortunes?’

A clip of a bedraggled Grant and McGann, drenched in rain and telling a farmer ‘We’ve gone on holiday by mistake’ has become an internet meme.

Tickets for the play are on sale now – while the movie can be bought from Prime Video at £3.69.

Published: 12 Oct 2023