Manchester Opera House is seducing people back to the theatre

Something fatal this way comes…

James Dearden’s intoxicating new stage play is of course based on the iconic film of the same name.

“When happily married New York attorney Dan Gallagher, meets charming editor Alex on a night out in the city, they both commit to a night of passion they can’t take back. Dan returns home to his family and tries to forget the mistake he has made, but Alex has different ideas. Dan’s about to discover that love is a dangerous game, and Alex has only one rule; you play fair with her, and she’ll play fair with you.”

In the lead role of Alex Forest is popstar turned soap star Kym Marsh. It’s bold to take on a role made famous by the legendary Glenn Close, whose breathtaking performance earned her Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and cemented her status as a leading lady – but Marsh has proved herself time and time again. She found fame in the ill-fated band Hear’Say, who won the first series of Popstars. Whilst the group achieved some success, they are best remembered for being hated and harassed, though nobody remembers why. In fact, I’m not sure anybody even knew then. Whilst the band’s boys have achieved little success since disbanding, the girls of the group – Marsh, Mylene Klass and Suzanne Shaw – have thrived both in and out of music. Marsh is best-known for playing Michelle Connor in Coronation Street. Last year, she starred in The Syndicate, and she’s a co-presenter of Morning Live.

The male lead, Dan Gallagher, is being played by Marsh’s Corrie co-star, Oliver Farnworth, who is also known for his roles in Hollyoaks and Mr. Selfridge. Farnworth was also the male lead in The Girl on the Train, which starred fellow soap sensation Samantha Womack. He seems to have a thing for challenged women, doesn’t he?

Gallagher was originally played by none other than Michael Douglas, so Farnworth also has his work cut out for him.

Susie Amy – another former Hollyoaks star – is playing Beth Gallagher, aka the wife. Amy is best-known for playing the lead role in Footballers’ Wives, and has starred in a great number of other television shows. Anne Archer was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for her performance of Gallagher, so Amy too has a lot to prove – but if you’ve seen her in Footballers’ Wives, you just know she’ll pull it off.

Soap hunk Farnworth did the unthinkable by leaving one soap and joining another, so seeing him be torn between a Corrie co-star and a fellow Hollyoaks alumni is nothing short of poetic.