New Vic favourites Uncle Eric, Madge and the gang return to North Staffordshire this week with their latest musical escapade—Uncle Eric in Downtown Abbey.
Uncle Eric’s first visit to the Newcastle-under-Lyme theatre-in-the-round in 1999 was a one-night-only event. The productions which feature multi-talented actors and musicians combining comedy and nostalgia have now become a north Staffordshire tradition.
In Uncle Eric in Downtown Abbey Eric is out of a job and flat broke. But his wife Madge saves the day when she gets them a job at the valet and cook at Downtown Abbey, a rundown stately home in deepest Staffordshire.
The place is run by Lord Trentham as though it’s still 1910. The below-stairs staff comprises Sarson the butler, two strange footmen twins Reggie and Ronnie, and Branston the chauffeur who’s in a bit of a pickle.
When things start to go missing from the house, Eric and Madge soon find themselves in trouble.
Uncle Eric in Downtown Abbey runs at the New Vic from Monday (19 August) until Saturday 31 August.