Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake is to be adapted for a stage production written by the film’s star. Dave Johns, who played the title role on screen in 2016, said that in researching his new version of the story he found its portrait of poverty more relevant than ever as the UK’s cost-of-living crisis is “making it even harder for those who are already struggling”.
The play will have its premiere in May at Northern Stage in Newcastle, the city where I, Daniel Blake was set. It will then go on a UK tour.