The world première of musical The ToyBoy Diaries is to be the first production staged in 2018 at the critically-acclaimed Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester.
The production, adapted from the best-selling memoirs by Wendy Salisbury, runs from next Thursday to February 10 and is the first of five in-house musicals this year from the successful collaboration between Joseph Houston and William Whelton, co-founders of Hope Mill and producer Katy Lipson, of Aria Entertainment.
This new musical comedy charts the hilarious and heart-breaking sagas of mid-life dating.
When twice-divorced Lily inadvertently finds herself with a much younger man, it opens the door to a wild new world of inappropriate relationships. From Tom the Tender to Sam the Submissive, via Paul the Policeman, Hat Trick Patrick and Matt the Monstrous, Lily finally finds Ben the Bountiful.
Lead role will be played by Johanne Murdock whose recent stage roles include Brutus in Julius Caesar and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Anne Hathaway in The Other Shakespeare (Pitchfork Productions). Film and television credits include Chameleon and Holby City.
The production also features Olivier Award-nominee Nicola Blackman as Lily’s best friend Penny.
Following The ToyBoy Diaries is a new revival of acclaimed modern Broadway hit Spring Awakening (March 29 to May 3) and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love (July 5 to August 9). Two more yet-to-be announced productions will follow.