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Dateline: 15th January, 2006

Steptoe publicity image

The Steptoes Head for London
Steptoe And Son in Murder At Oil Drum Lane, which premiered last October at the Theatre Royal, York, is to open at the West End's Comedy Theatre on 22nd February. It fills the gap left by the cancellation of the revival of The School of Night, which was to have starred Christopher Eccleston, which has been cancelled. It will run for nine weeks only.

The Theatre Royal York production is written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus and directed by Roger Smith.

Ian Richardson

Richardson Returns to the West End
Ian Richardson is to return to the West End next month when he appears in Pauline Macaulay's play The Creeper, which opens at the Playhouse on 9th February (previews from 7th), running initially until 22nd April.

Richardson, who is joined in the cast by Oliver Dimsdale, Alan Cox, Robert Styles and Harry Tow, lastv appeared in the West End in The Magistrate (Savoy, 1997).

The revival is directed by Bill Bryden.

Billie Piper

Piper to Star in Pullman Quartet
Dr Who actress Billie Piper, originally a pop singer, is to star as Sally Lockhart in a BBC version of Philip Pullman's The Ruby In The Smoke, the first of the four Sally Lockhart novels. Filming starts in May. A production of the second novel, The Shadow In The North, will follow.

Sally Lockhart is a young Victorian girl who tries to solve the mystery behind her father's death. Pullman describes the novels thus: "Historical thrillers, that's what these books are. Old-fashioned Victorian blood-and-thunder. Actually, I wrote each one with a genuine cliché of melodrama right at the heart of it, on purpose: the priceless jewel with a curse on it – the madman with a weapon that could destroy the world – the situation of being trapped in a cellar with the water rising – the little illiterate servant girl from the slums of London who becomes a princess … And I set the stories up so that each of those stock situations, when they arose, would do so naturally and with the most convincing realism I could manage."

Apart from Dr Who, Piper has also appeared in the BBC's Canterbury Tales (2003) and she played Hero in the modernised Much Ado About Nothing last year, also on the BBC.

James Fox (MOvin' Out publicity still)

Fox to Lead in Movin' Out
The West End production of Movin' Out, the Broadway show based on the songs of Billy Joel, will star James Fox who came to prominence as in BBC TV’s Fame Academy 2004, after which he was the UK representative in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest and then played Judas in the 2004/5 UK tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. He will play the Piano Man in the show which has its European premiere at the Apollo Victoria from 18th April, (previews from 28th March), where it runs for a limited season until 17th July.

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©Peter Lathan 2006