It took many hours of dedicated lockdown research and now The Great British Bake Off Musical is the latest television show reimagined for the West End stage.
The theatre production, coming to the Noël Coward Theatre in February, features 177 prop cakes, of varying quality of course, a cast of eight ‘contestants’ and a pair of songful judges taking inspiration from Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
The GBBO musical joins the likes of Only Fools and Horses, Friends, Fawlty Towers and the Eurovision Song Contest in hoping it’s got the star ingredients to tempt fans off the sofa to watch a play of a show they’ve already seen on the TV.
The gentle scandals of baked Alaska “bingate” are among highlights of culinary TV drama woven into the stage production.
The Leader’s joined by writer and lyricist Jake Brunger, who created the show with Pippa Cleary, to discuss how famous contestants including Tamal Ray and Candice Brow, helped them with advice to nail the technical challenge of ensuring Bake Off authenticity.
We also speak with Evening Standard arts correspondent Rob Dex, who assesses Theatreland’s post-lockdown health, why audiences love their favourite television shows brought to life on-stage and the production that’s most impressed him this year.
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