00:00Country Music is taking centre stage in St Helens as a popular musical comedy returns to the Theatre Royal for
00:07another run.
00:09Achy Breaky Bride returns with the new production bringing together a cast of stars.
00:14We've kept quite a lot of the original direction and then just embellished it and made it funnier, ruder, you
00:21know, more current modern day.
00:23And yeah, it's a few new songs. It's definitely a show you can come along and sing along to because
00:28every song in it is a classic.
00:30The story is set inside Dolly's Dream Dresses, a bridal shop run by twins Jolene and Sue.
00:36The pair work from nine to five, helping brides-to-be prepare for their weddings with a comedy following the
00:42mishaps and complications that unfold along the way.
00:46The production features Leanne Campbell as Jolene.
00:48You don't realise you're a country fan until you sit down with this show.
00:52And I think a lot of us, even as the cast, we were like, yeah, country music, great.
00:55But when you hear your Jolene's and you hear your, like, we're doing Beyoncé's Texas Holder, you hear those tunes
01:03and you're like, you can't sit still.
01:04You just can't. You just, you join in.
01:07And we want you to. We want you out your seats.
01:10There's no rules with this show. It's not like, and we hear about it all the time, don't sing along.
01:14One million percent, sing along. If you don't, we're going to be fuming.
01:18Leanne previously played the role in productions at St Helens and Liverpool's Epstein Theatre seven years ago.
01:24Well, we've done this before, so we know exactly what the audience wants.
01:29So now we've done it twice. This is our third time, looky.
01:32We're hoping to go bigger and better.
01:34So we know you like to sing. We know you like to dance.
01:36We know you like to join in.
01:37So we've got as many songs in as we possibly can, but we've added new songs.
01:41So with country and western being so huge at the moment, you've got Beyonce doing it and so many new
01:46artists now making it into the top ten.
01:49Everybody's aware of the newer songs as well.
01:51So we're giving you the classics mostly, but we're just dropping in a few of these new bangers that you
01:56love.
01:57At the centre of the show is a soundtrack of country music classics, including Crazy, Rhinestone Cowboy, Rose Garden Jolene
02:05and Achy Breaky Heart among those featured.
02:09David Heath plays Sue, the X Factor and Eton Road star trained in musical theatre at Merseyside Dance and Drama
02:15Centre before his rise to fame.
02:17Yeah, it's nice to come to theatre, come with your mates and it's just, it's a proper laugh and to
02:22laugh a little bit as well.
02:23You'll forget about everything and you'll just be involved and the character's so relatable as well.
02:28Like, they're so funny.
02:29Producers say the production was a huge hit with audiences back in 2019 and describes the return as a chance
02:35for audiences to enjoy a funny script alongside classic country music.
02:40I want the audience to come to the show and leave just saying, didn't we have a ball? Wasn't that
02:47brilliant?
02:47Like, going home and with your mates saying that was brilliant and I want to come again. That's what I
02:51want from it all.
02:53Achy Breaky Bride runs at St Helens Theatre Royal until the 27th of September.
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