Duty Free stars reunite for stage adaptation

Last of the Duty Free tours to King’s in June

By Thom Dibdin

Three of the original cast of eighties sitcom Duty Free are to be reunited for a stage adaptation, Last of the Duty Free which will tour to the Edinburgh King’s in June.

The ITV sitcom followed working class couple David and Amy Pearse and middle class Robert and Linda Cochran, who meet on holiday in Spain. Despite their obvious differences, opposites attract – leading to an unlikely romance between David and Linda.

Gwen Taylor who played Amy and was recently seen on the King’s stage in the title role of Driving Miss Daisy, will be joined by original co-stars Keith Barron as David and Neil Stacy as Robert. The role of Linda, played by Joanna Van Gyseghem in the original, will be played by Carol Royle (Jenny Russell in the BBC’s Life Without George).

Last of the Duty Free, written by Eric Chappell who wrote the original series with Jean Warr, will see the quartet return. According to the publicity material, David will be more lustful, Amy more cynical, Robert more dangerous, and Linda more romantic than ever before.

“With love in the Mediterranean air, holidaymakers watch on in disbelief as deceptions, misunderstandings and preposterous situations unfold, with the love struck protagonists trying every trick in the book in order to keep their amorous intentions a secret.”

The tour opens in Windsor mid-April, arriving at the King’s for the first week in June and is booked until September, when it will play Brighton. Completing the tour cast will be Richard Calkin, James Barron and Maxine Gregory.

Duty Free ran for two, seven-episode series in 1984 with a third series and a one-hour Christmas special in 1986. It attracted record-breaking viewing figures for a sitcom of some 12 million.

Last of the Duty Free
Monday 2 – Saturday 7 June
Daily 7.30pm; Matinee Weds, Sat 2.30pm.
King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ
Tickets from www.edtheatres.com/dutyfree
Tour website: www.kenwright.com

Click above to purchase the original TV series on DVD.

ENDS

Tags: Duty Free, Eric Chappell, Gwen Taylor, Keith Barron, King's Theatre, Last of the Duty Free, Neil Stacy, News, Preview