REVIEW
✭✭☆☆☆ 2/5
'WISH YOU WERE DEAD'
by Richard Barber
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
✭✭☆☆☆ 2/5
'WISH YOU WERE DEAD'
by Richard Barber
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
We’ve all been on THAT holiday. The one where the moment you arrive you have clearly picked a dud, and will be straight out of there after a (probably bad) night’s sleep. Based on his own ‘holiday from hell’ experience, Peter James sends our housewives' favourite detective, Roy Grace, along with his wife Cleo, and their new born baby, to a French chateau for a break.
The problem is, Roy is on the verge of closing a big case. It is not a good time for him to go. Arriving in the dead of night and during a storm, there is no one to greet them, and no mobile signal either. They are, to all intents and purposes, cut off. Not a good situation for a busy policeman to be in.
When some lights are finally found, it is clear, this oak panelled, very old chateau, replete with dead mousse-head on the wall, suit of armour, and huge painting of Christ on the wall, is not the one that Cleo saw in the brochure. If I were a detective, I would be pretty suspicious already.
The arrival of the most hostile french housekeeper ever, does not reassure anyone, but well, this is France, and the French are not known for their warm welcomes, right?
So far so good. Madame L’Eveque seems to know quite a lot about her guests, and what they do. How can this be? Rebecca McKinnis has a ball in this role, bringing out great comedy with her ‘Allo Allo’ acting. Her frosty responses are pure comedy, and she dominates the stage with each appearance.
Roy and Cleo have also brought along their American friend, Kaitlin, who is partnered to Roy’s colleague Jack. He was supposed to have been first to arrive, but is nowhere to be seen.
There is an almost whodunnit spoof-like feel to the first half. The huge oak set feels very Agatha Christie, and some good jokes pop up as things get darker.
By the end of the first act, the truth is revealed. The old Vicompte is not who we think he is and the detective has been lured into a trap. The problem is, we all knew this already. How could it have taken a trained policeman so long to work it out?
Credibitity is further stretched when we find out that the play rests on a twenty year old case. Former gangland family leader Curtis is after revenge. Casting the very young looking George Rainsford as Roy Grace, would mean that he must have been about 12 years old at the time. He is sadly, therefore, totally miscast, and throws a giant curveball into the plot. He simply is not old enough. I wasn’t convinced by his slightly blokey ‘South London’ accent either.
Clive Mantle, as Curtis, runs rings around the police, enjoying himself thoroughly as an ex-con. As revelations abound, it becomes clear that he has not exactly been straight with his own family, including the housekeeper-in-disguise, daughter in law. He clutches his chest and arm in pre-heart attack mode. Yet in the end, the much hinted at heart attack does not happen. Instead he is arrested with the great ‘you’re going away for a long time’ tag line. Long time? I thought he was dying of a heart attack!
Like many other ideas in this rather thin plot, it does not follow through; there are loopholes big enough to jump through and the storyline quite simply lacks any believability factor. Despite a very game attempt by the cast to keep our interest and entertain, this is yet another thriller that frankly fails to convince.
Review: Andrew Walters
The problem is, Roy is on the verge of closing a big case. It is not a good time for him to go. Arriving in the dead of night and during a storm, there is no one to greet them, and no mobile signal either. They are, to all intents and purposes, cut off. Not a good situation for a busy policeman to be in.
When some lights are finally found, it is clear, this oak panelled, very old chateau, replete with dead mousse-head on the wall, suit of armour, and huge painting of Christ on the wall, is not the one that Cleo saw in the brochure. If I were a detective, I would be pretty suspicious already.
The arrival of the most hostile french housekeeper ever, does not reassure anyone, but well, this is France, and the French are not known for their warm welcomes, right?
So far so good. Madame L’Eveque seems to know quite a lot about her guests, and what they do. How can this be? Rebecca McKinnis has a ball in this role, bringing out great comedy with her ‘Allo Allo’ acting. Her frosty responses are pure comedy, and she dominates the stage with each appearance.
Roy and Cleo have also brought along their American friend, Kaitlin, who is partnered to Roy’s colleague Jack. He was supposed to have been first to arrive, but is nowhere to be seen.
There is an almost whodunnit spoof-like feel to the first half. The huge oak set feels very Agatha Christie, and some good jokes pop up as things get darker.
By the end of the first act, the truth is revealed. The old Vicompte is not who we think he is and the detective has been lured into a trap. The problem is, we all knew this already. How could it have taken a trained policeman so long to work it out?
Credibitity is further stretched when we find out that the play rests on a twenty year old case. Former gangland family leader Curtis is after revenge. Casting the very young looking George Rainsford as Roy Grace, would mean that he must have been about 12 years old at the time. He is sadly, therefore, totally miscast, and throws a giant curveball into the plot. He simply is not old enough. I wasn’t convinced by his slightly blokey ‘South London’ accent either.
Clive Mantle, as Curtis, runs rings around the police, enjoying himself thoroughly as an ex-con. As revelations abound, it becomes clear that he has not exactly been straight with his own family, including the housekeeper-in-disguise, daughter in law. He clutches his chest and arm in pre-heart attack mode. Yet in the end, the much hinted at heart attack does not happen. Instead he is arrested with the great ‘you’re going away for a long time’ tag line. Long time? I thought he was dying of a heart attack!
Like many other ideas in this rather thin plot, it does not follow through; there are loopholes big enough to jump through and the storyline quite simply lacks any believability factor. Despite a very game attempt by the cast to keep our interest and entertain, this is yet another thriller that frankly fails to convince.
Review: Andrew Walters
INTERVIEW WITH
GEORGE RAINSFORD
George Rainsford is really excited, he says. He’s touring the UK in a new production of Peter James’s thriller, Wish You Were Dead, adapted from his best-selling book, and he couldn’t be happier.
In it, he plays Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. “I haven’t been on-stage for about 10 years,” says George, “so it’s good to be part of an ensemble again.”
This absence from the boards is explained by the nine years – some 300 episodes in all – he spent playing Ethan Hardy in BBC1’s Casualty. Before that, in the first two series of Call the Midwife, he was Jessica Raine’s unfaithful boyfriend, Jimmy Wilson.
After the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, George gravitated to theatre work. “I’ve always enjoyed the live element of doing a play, the audience reaction, the adrenalin it generates and so on. And the reaction we are getting from audiences so far on the tour has been amazing. They seem to be loving it!”
He auditioned for the key role of Roy Grace last August. “It’s a fantastic role, something I can really get my teeth into.” As a result, he’s been reading author Peter James’s back catalogue of murder mysteries – “always so beautifully plotted” – and watching the first two television series of GRACE with actor John Simm playing the eponymous policeman.
The TV series was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama. Series two returned to TV screens in spring 2022, with five more episodes being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A third successful series has just finished on ITV.
The twist in Wish You Were Dead is that Roy is on holiday in France with his wife, Cleo, and their baby. “He’s not working. But when a crime boss, Curtis, is released from prison, he’s a man desperate to take revenge on the policeman who got him incarcerated. So, crime comes looking for Grace.”
Is it scary? “I hope so. Roy has to use all his wits to ensure his loved ones come to no harm. It’s full of surprises. I think audiences like being scared. Hearing the audience jump and gasp each night is great! But it’s also great fun – there’s quite a bit of dark comedy that audiences are really enjoying”
Will it involve fisticuffs? “Oh yes, a bit of that and possibly some bodies although I’m not about to give the game away.”
George knows about pretend-fighting. In a play at the RSC in 2009, he was required to look as though he’d landed a punch in a bar room brawl on fellow actor Luke Norris. Except that, on one occasion, he misjudged the swing and made heavy contact with his assailant.
“The result was that I hit him in the mouth with enough force for his teeth to puncture his lip and take a chunk out of the joint on my fist. He looked worse than me but I ended up in hospital for a week.”
Wish You Were Dead kicked off a major tour of the UK at the Churchill in Bromley mid-February 16 and won’t finish until July 25 in Woking, twenty-three locations later.
This is the sixth stage adaptation of Peter James’s novels, making it the most successful crime thriller theatrical franchise since Agatha Christie.
Previous James novels brought to the stage include: 'Looking Good Dead’ starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye; 'The House on Cold Hill' with Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; 'Not Dead Enough' starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017; 'Dead Simple' with Tina Hobley in 2015 and 'The Perfect Murder' starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose in 2014.
“I’m really enjoying visiting places I’ve never been before,” says an enthusiastic George. “I’m only able to get home once a week or Sunday wash day, as I call it.”
He's worked with Clive Mantle before; both were in a Doctor Who audio drama. “And then there was an edition of Pointless Celebrities featuring actors who’d been in Casualty.
“As I’m sure he’ll be only too happy to point out, I was kicked off at the end of the first round and he and his partner went on to win.”
Nor does Clive disappoint. “I thrashed him roundly on Pointless,” he says, eyes glinting. “I left him snivelling in the dirt. I’ve won Pointless twice, as it happens. I’ve half a mind to pin my Pointless trophies to my dressing room door as we tour the UK to wind George up.”
Clive fell in love with his character, Curtis, he says, as soon as he read the script of Wish You Were Dead. “And I speak as someone who used to hide behind the sofa as a youngster when the theme music of Doctor Who struck up.”
Fun to play a baddie, though? “Oh yes. He’s been the head of a mob based in Brighton, an old-fashioned family villain with his own set of values. He has a personal moral code which covers slitting your throat without a second’s thought. And don’t you dare say anything bad to his mum.”
Curtis also has a lovely turn of phrase, says Clive. “He’s very sharp, very sarcastic, often very funny. I’ve enjoyed making the audience laugh - they seem to quite like Curtis, despite his criminal intent, but I do also like to frighten the audience at some points in the evening!”
Nor is the story left open-ended. “People like to try and solve the clues ahead of the action but, either way, they want a satisfying resolution at the end of play.”
He’s very happy to be involved in a project with Peter James’s name attached to it. “Go into any bookshop and half the crime section seems to be taken up with his books.”
In a career covering some 45 years, Clive has played everything from poor lumbering Lenny in Of Mice and Men (“seven times now, I think”) to longstanding cast member, surgeon Mike Barratt, in both Casualty and Holby.
He was a recurring character, Simon Horton, in the Vicar of Dibley and, more recently, he was seen in another light comedy, White Van Man, opposite Will Mellor, a big success on Strictly last year.
“I played his dad and he taught me a lot about comedy. But then, I taught him everything he knows about dancing,” he says, tongue firmly in cheek.
While on tour, Clive is also using any downtime to write the latest in his series of historical adventures for children aged from about eight upwards, each book based around a major event: the Great Fire of London, for instance, or the conquering of Everest. His leading characters are time travellers able to pop up wherever whenever.
From May 2 in Leeds, the part of Cleo will be taken by TV star and award-winning actor, Katie McGlynn, best known from The Syndicate, Waterloo Road and most particularly via her seven-year stint as Sinead Tinker in Coronation Street.
This is the first time she’ll have worked in the theatre. “I am quite nervous but also super eager to get started because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. And what better place to start than with a Peter James play? As soon as I read the script, I completely fell in love with it and the character Cleo.
“I’m excited. My career was born and bred on TV but on stage, you get to tell the story in the right order, something that rarely happens on television.”
On the other hand, if you make a mistake when filming a TV show, you can do it again. Not in the theatre. “That’s right it’s a completely different beast. There’re no second takes so you’ve got to get it right the first time! That’s what rehearsals are for. So yes, it’s nerve-wracking but that’s what adds to the excitement of a live performance”.
“When I left Corrie, I deliberately pursued things I’d never done before. That’s why I accepted the invitation to appear on Strictly. “It was a once in a lifetime experience I’ll never forget and I’ve made some friends for life.”
The tour is also an opportunity to work with seasoned actors like George and Clive. “I know I’m going to learn so much from both of them.” She’s also been talking to Giovanna Fletcher who played the role of Cleo on the first leg of the tour. “It’s been great getting to know Giovanna, she’s lovely! It’s just a shame we can’t both be in the show at the same time.”
Given the last two or three roller coaster years, says Katie, the role of theatre has never been more important. “The feeling you get being part of a live audience, the goosebumps that run up and down your arms, doesn’t happen at home in front of the telly.
“You get completely engrossed in a story, taken into a different world. In Wish You Were Dead, Grace and Cleo have tried to get a short break from their world and gone away on holiday, only to find that crime and trouble still follow them. I’m so looking forward to performing in front of people around the country and hopefully helping them forget about their own troubles for a couple of hours.
“This may sound a bit cheesy but I can’t wait to be part of that magical experience.”
* For more information and to book tickets, visit peterjames.com
GEORGE RAINSFORD
George Rainsford is really excited, he says. He’s touring the UK in a new production of Peter James’s thriller, Wish You Were Dead, adapted from his best-selling book, and he couldn’t be happier.
In it, he plays Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. “I haven’t been on-stage for about 10 years,” says George, “so it’s good to be part of an ensemble again.”
This absence from the boards is explained by the nine years – some 300 episodes in all – he spent playing Ethan Hardy in BBC1’s Casualty. Before that, in the first two series of Call the Midwife, he was Jessica Raine’s unfaithful boyfriend, Jimmy Wilson.
After the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, George gravitated to theatre work. “I’ve always enjoyed the live element of doing a play, the audience reaction, the adrenalin it generates and so on. And the reaction we are getting from audiences so far on the tour has been amazing. They seem to be loving it!”
He auditioned for the key role of Roy Grace last August. “It’s a fantastic role, something I can really get my teeth into.” As a result, he’s been reading author Peter James’s back catalogue of murder mysteries – “always so beautifully plotted” – and watching the first two television series of GRACE with actor John Simm playing the eponymous policeman.
The TV series was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama. Series two returned to TV screens in spring 2022, with five more episodes being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A third successful series has just finished on ITV.
The twist in Wish You Were Dead is that Roy is on holiday in France with his wife, Cleo, and their baby. “He’s not working. But when a crime boss, Curtis, is released from prison, he’s a man desperate to take revenge on the policeman who got him incarcerated. So, crime comes looking for Grace.”
Is it scary? “I hope so. Roy has to use all his wits to ensure his loved ones come to no harm. It’s full of surprises. I think audiences like being scared. Hearing the audience jump and gasp each night is great! But it’s also great fun – there’s quite a bit of dark comedy that audiences are really enjoying”
Will it involve fisticuffs? “Oh yes, a bit of that and possibly some bodies although I’m not about to give the game away.”
George knows about pretend-fighting. In a play at the RSC in 2009, he was required to look as though he’d landed a punch in a bar room brawl on fellow actor Luke Norris. Except that, on one occasion, he misjudged the swing and made heavy contact with his assailant.
“The result was that I hit him in the mouth with enough force for his teeth to puncture his lip and take a chunk out of the joint on my fist. He looked worse than me but I ended up in hospital for a week.”
Wish You Were Dead kicked off a major tour of the UK at the Churchill in Bromley mid-February 16 and won’t finish until July 25 in Woking, twenty-three locations later.
This is the sixth stage adaptation of Peter James’s novels, making it the most successful crime thriller theatrical franchise since Agatha Christie.
Previous James novels brought to the stage include: 'Looking Good Dead’ starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye; 'The House on Cold Hill' with Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; 'Not Dead Enough' starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017; 'Dead Simple' with Tina Hobley in 2015 and 'The Perfect Murder' starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose in 2014.
“I’m really enjoying visiting places I’ve never been before,” says an enthusiastic George. “I’m only able to get home once a week or Sunday wash day, as I call it.”
He's worked with Clive Mantle before; both were in a Doctor Who audio drama. “And then there was an edition of Pointless Celebrities featuring actors who’d been in Casualty.
“As I’m sure he’ll be only too happy to point out, I was kicked off at the end of the first round and he and his partner went on to win.”
Nor does Clive disappoint. “I thrashed him roundly on Pointless,” he says, eyes glinting. “I left him snivelling in the dirt. I’ve won Pointless twice, as it happens. I’ve half a mind to pin my Pointless trophies to my dressing room door as we tour the UK to wind George up.”
Clive fell in love with his character, Curtis, he says, as soon as he read the script of Wish You Were Dead. “And I speak as someone who used to hide behind the sofa as a youngster when the theme music of Doctor Who struck up.”
Fun to play a baddie, though? “Oh yes. He’s been the head of a mob based in Brighton, an old-fashioned family villain with his own set of values. He has a personal moral code which covers slitting your throat without a second’s thought. And don’t you dare say anything bad to his mum.”
Curtis also has a lovely turn of phrase, says Clive. “He’s very sharp, very sarcastic, often very funny. I’ve enjoyed making the audience laugh - they seem to quite like Curtis, despite his criminal intent, but I do also like to frighten the audience at some points in the evening!”
Nor is the story left open-ended. “People like to try and solve the clues ahead of the action but, either way, they want a satisfying resolution at the end of play.”
He’s very happy to be involved in a project with Peter James’s name attached to it. “Go into any bookshop and half the crime section seems to be taken up with his books.”
In a career covering some 45 years, Clive has played everything from poor lumbering Lenny in Of Mice and Men (“seven times now, I think”) to longstanding cast member, surgeon Mike Barratt, in both Casualty and Holby.
He was a recurring character, Simon Horton, in the Vicar of Dibley and, more recently, he was seen in another light comedy, White Van Man, opposite Will Mellor, a big success on Strictly last year.
“I played his dad and he taught me a lot about comedy. But then, I taught him everything he knows about dancing,” he says, tongue firmly in cheek.
While on tour, Clive is also using any downtime to write the latest in his series of historical adventures for children aged from about eight upwards, each book based around a major event: the Great Fire of London, for instance, or the conquering of Everest. His leading characters are time travellers able to pop up wherever whenever.
From May 2 in Leeds, the part of Cleo will be taken by TV star and award-winning actor, Katie McGlynn, best known from The Syndicate, Waterloo Road and most particularly via her seven-year stint as Sinead Tinker in Coronation Street.
This is the first time she’ll have worked in the theatre. “I am quite nervous but also super eager to get started because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. And what better place to start than with a Peter James play? As soon as I read the script, I completely fell in love with it and the character Cleo.
“I’m excited. My career was born and bred on TV but on stage, you get to tell the story in the right order, something that rarely happens on television.”
On the other hand, if you make a mistake when filming a TV show, you can do it again. Not in the theatre. “That’s right it’s a completely different beast. There’re no second takes so you’ve got to get it right the first time! That’s what rehearsals are for. So yes, it’s nerve-wracking but that’s what adds to the excitement of a live performance”.
“When I left Corrie, I deliberately pursued things I’d never done before. That’s why I accepted the invitation to appear on Strictly. “It was a once in a lifetime experience I’ll never forget and I’ve made some friends for life.”
The tour is also an opportunity to work with seasoned actors like George and Clive. “I know I’m going to learn so much from both of them.” She’s also been talking to Giovanna Fletcher who played the role of Cleo on the first leg of the tour. “It’s been great getting to know Giovanna, she’s lovely! It’s just a shame we can’t both be in the show at the same time.”
Given the last two or three roller coaster years, says Katie, the role of theatre has never been more important. “The feeling you get being part of a live audience, the goosebumps that run up and down your arms, doesn’t happen at home in front of the telly.
“You get completely engrossed in a story, taken into a different world. In Wish You Were Dead, Grace and Cleo have tried to get a short break from their world and gone away on holiday, only to find that crime and trouble still follow them. I’m so looking forward to performing in front of people around the country and hopefully helping them forget about their own troubles for a couple of hours.
“This may sound a bit cheesy but I can’t wait to be part of that magical experience.”
* For more information and to book tickets, visit peterjames.com
CORONATION STREET STAR
KATIE MCGLYNN
JOINS THE CAST OF PETER JAMES’
'WISH YOU WERE DEAD'
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM PETERJAMES.COM
KATIE MCGLYNN
JOINS THE CAST OF PETER JAMES’
'WISH YOU WERE DEAD'
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM PETERJAMES.COM
Producer Josh Andrews has today announced that Katie McGlynn, best known for her seven-year starring role as Sinead Tinker in Coronation Street (for which she won a National Television Award), as well as Waterloo Road, Hollyoaks and the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing - will be joining the lead cast for the UK tour of Peter James’ Wish You Were Dead. Tickets are on sale now from PeterJames.com.
Katie will be making her professional stage play debut in this World Premiere production, playing the role of Cleo Morey from 2 May at the Leeds Grand Theatre, and then performing at top theatres across the UK until the tour concludes on 29 July at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre. Katie will be taking over the role from Giovanna Fletcher who will play the role on tour from February 16th through to April 29th.
Katie will join other lead cast members including George Rainsford (Casualty, Holby City, Call The Midwife) as DSI Roy Grace, Clive Mantle (Game of Thrones, The Vicar of Dibley, Sherlock, Casualty) as Curtis and Leon Stewart who will reprise his role as DS Glenn Branson, (having previously starred in another Peter James stage adaptation, Looking Good Dead).
Katie will be making her professional stage play debut in this World Premiere production, playing the role of Cleo Morey from 2 May at the Leeds Grand Theatre, and then performing at top theatres across the UK until the tour concludes on 29 July at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre. Katie will be taking over the role from Giovanna Fletcher who will play the role on tour from February 16th through to April 29th.
Katie will join other lead cast members including George Rainsford (Casualty, Holby City, Call The Midwife) as DSI Roy Grace, Clive Mantle (Game of Thrones, The Vicar of Dibley, Sherlock, Casualty) as Curtis and Leon Stewart who will reprise his role as DS Glenn Branson, (having previously starred in another Peter James stage adaptation, Looking Good Dead).
Katie McGlynn said: “I can’t think of a better way to make my stage play debut than with this brilliant and thrilling Peter James masterpiece and am so excited to be performing alongside such an incredibly talented cast. I’m really looking forward to visiting theatres all over the country, witnessing the audience reaction to the many twists, turns and edge-of-your-seat moments in the show.”
Wish You Were Dead follows five successful stage plays and the critically acclaimed smash-hit primetime ITV series 'Grace', which are all based on the best-selling novels by the UK's number one crime author Peter James. This will be the sixth stage adaptation of James’ novels - making it the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie.
The stage play of Wish You Were Dead follows DSI Roy Grace and Cleo Morey as they take a much-needed holiday together. They are hoping for a few days away from their dark worlds of murder and the mortuary. But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.
Produced by Josh Andrews and Peter James and adapted by award winning writer Shaun McKenna, who
has adapted the five previous Peter James plays, the production will also reunite the creative team from Looking Good Dead, with Jonathan O’Boyle directing, Design by Michael Holt, Lighting by Jason Taylor and Sound by Max Pappenheim.
Previous Peter James novels brought to the stage include: 'Looking Good Dead' which premiered last year starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye; 'The House on Cold Hill' starring Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; 'Not Dead Enough' starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017; 'Dead Simple' starring Tina Hobley in 2015 and 'The Perfect Murder' starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose in 2014.
The gripping television series 'Grace' was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama starring John Simm as DSI Roy Grace. Series two returned to TV screens in spring this year, with five more thrilling episodes
being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A
third series is now in the works.
Peter James is a number one bestselling author of crime and thriller novels and the creator of the much loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. He has topped the Sunday Times bestseller list 19 times and has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies which have been translated into 37 languages. Synonymous with plot twisting page turners, he has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career which also included writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, which he also executive produced.
'Wish You Were Dead' - UK Tour 2023
19 – 24 June
Birmingham: Alexandra Theatre
27 June – 1 July
Sheffield: Lyceum Theatre
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
18 – 22 July
Leicester: Curve Theatre
25 – 29 July
Woking: New Victoria Theatre
* Giovanna Fletcher will perform up to and including Milton Keynes, and Katie McGlynn will perform from Leeds onwards
For more information and to book tickets, visit peterjames.com and myticket.co.uk
Wish You Were Dead follows five successful stage plays and the critically acclaimed smash-hit primetime ITV series 'Grace', which are all based on the best-selling novels by the UK's number one crime author Peter James. This will be the sixth stage adaptation of James’ novels - making it the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie.
The stage play of Wish You Were Dead follows DSI Roy Grace and Cleo Morey as they take a much-needed holiday together. They are hoping for a few days away from their dark worlds of murder and the mortuary. But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.
Produced by Josh Andrews and Peter James and adapted by award winning writer Shaun McKenna, who
has adapted the five previous Peter James plays, the production will also reunite the creative team from Looking Good Dead, with Jonathan O’Boyle directing, Design by Michael Holt, Lighting by Jason Taylor and Sound by Max Pappenheim.
Previous Peter James novels brought to the stage include: 'Looking Good Dead' which premiered last year starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye; 'The House on Cold Hill' starring Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; 'Not Dead Enough' starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017; 'Dead Simple' starring Tina Hobley in 2015 and 'The Perfect Murder' starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose in 2014.
The gripping television series 'Grace' was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama starring John Simm as DSI Roy Grace. Series two returned to TV screens in spring this year, with five more thrilling episodes
being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A
third series is now in the works.
Peter James is a number one bestselling author of crime and thriller novels and the creator of the much loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. He has topped the Sunday Times bestseller list 19 times and has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies which have been translated into 37 languages. Synonymous with plot twisting page turners, he has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career which also included writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, which he also executive produced.
'Wish You Were Dead' - UK Tour 2023
19 – 24 June
Birmingham: Alexandra Theatre
27 June – 1 July
Sheffield: Lyceum Theatre
3 – 8 July
Southend: Palace Theatre
18 – 22 July
Leicester: Curve Theatre
25 – 29 July
Woking: New Victoria Theatre
* Giovanna Fletcher will perform up to and including Milton Keynes, and Katie McGlynn will perform from Leeds onwards
For more information and to book tickets, visit peterjames.com and myticket.co.uk