Old Biddies Hit The Stage In New Northern Comedy

If you are a fan of good old northern comedy, you don't want to miss 'Love Shy Neighbour'; the latest comedy-drama coming to the Robert Powell Theatre in November.

Love Shy Neighbour focuses around two, nosey 'old biddies' residing in a Manchester backstreet. Annie Hardkiss, played by Norma Kelly, is the hard-faced lady who controls the local Knitting Club and everyone around her, assisted by her loyal side-kick, Elizabeth Campbell, played by Betty Webster. When a new family moves onto the street, Annie and Elizabeth are not impressed and a feud instantly erupts.

The show, written by young Manchester writer, Paul Kenney, had an initial two night run at the Salford Arts Theatre in May 2011 under the original title 'Luv Shy Neighbour'. "As well as the slight change to the title, I have made a few changes to the script," reveals Paul. "It was my first play and the feedback from the original run was very warm, but it made me want to develop some of the relationships between the characters more."

"The original concept was to show how opinions and attitudes have changed through three generations. Manchester has changed a lot over the years and so has society - I wanted to write a play that explored some of these changes. I think the original script did this, but I found a storyline emerged that I wanted to explore even more. The new show still highlights some of the changes, such as redevelopment and attitudes towards marriage and children, but there's more to it than a trip down memory lane."

Paul explains that the two leading characters, Annie and Elizabeth, came into being after he heard an interview complaining that there wasn't enough strong theatre roles for women 'over a certain age'. "The cast are brilliant and they've made the whole process really enjoyable. I was a little nervous about directing Actors old enough to be my grandparents," he laughs "especially as it's my first play and was my first time directing, but they've made it very enjoyable. Betty and Norma are hilarious as a double act, and Bob Young plays the long-suffering, nagged husband perfectly."

Love Shy Neighbour is showing at the Robert Powell Theatre, Salford, 25-26th November 2011, 7.30pm. For more information visit www.NewLiveTheatre.co.uk Tickets: £8/£6 Box Office: 0844 884 2920

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