A new play by Philip Goulding which documents the remarkable life of the singer Gracie Fields, Our Gracie is to be presented at the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
A New Vic Theatre and Oldham Coliseum Theatre production, Our Gracie is “filled with music and infectious, down-to-earth humour using her own words”.
Gracie Fields’s vibrant personality and rich, warm singing style took her from a room above a Rochdale chip shop to international fame. Her recordings sold in millions and she became one of the highest-paid women film stars in the world. Her appeal was so great that Hitler declared her an enemy of the Third Reich.
Our Gracie is “the real-life, Cinderella story of a working-class lass who became Britain’s greatest female entertainer”. It is penned by Philip Goulding who in 2012 wrote A Fine Bright Day Today, one of the most popular New Vic productions of recent years.
Sue Devaney plays Gracie Fields. She played Jane in Victoria Wood’s television sitcom dinnerladies and in 2014 she was Rosie in Mamma Mia! for ten weeks at Blackpool Opera House.
The rest of the cast comprises Liz Carney, Fine Time Fontayne, Matthew Ganley, Jonathan Markwood, Ben Stock and David Westbrook. Kevin Shaw directs.
Our Gracie runs at the New Vic from Wednesday 6 until Saturday 23 April.