Blackburn's Steve Pemberton to star in stage version of Inside No. 9

Hit television series Inside No. 9, created by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, will be going to London’s West End for its theatrical debut.

The thrilling comedy-drama series won best scripted comedy at the Bafta TV awards in 2021 and its ninth and final series will air on the BBC later this month.

The comedy writing duo, also known for starring in sitcom The League Of Gentlemen, will perform in the play, called Stage/Fright, which they are in the process of writing.

The show will be staged at the Wyndham’s Theatre from January 18 for a 12-week limited season and will feature comedic and dramatic moments with familiar characters and new material.

Blackburn-born Pemberton and Shearsmith said: “We’ve been asked about doing a live show ever since the series first started on the BBC, probably because each episode is like a mini-play.

“There are small casts and single locations, and we were definitely inspired by our work in theatre when writing the stories for TV.

“We are currently writing the script even as it goes on sale, but we are certain there will be plenty of new material and surprises for fans and newcomers alike.

“There’ll be something old, something new, something butchered and something… boo!

“We want to use the different things a theatre show can offer in terms of comedy – a collective audience behaves very differently to a solitary one, the laughter builds and the shared enjoyment is infectious.

“So there’ll definitely be some big comic moments, but also something a bit spooky and more dramatic. We have created IN9 Theatre Company with the intention that there could be more stage adaptations in the future.

“Inside No.9 viewers go into each episode not knowing what to expect and we want this to be the same for the theatre show, with the ability for each audience to experience the performance for the first time and go on that theatrical journey with us.

“On TV we have done everything from knockabout farce to psychological drama to full-on horror.

“We’ve chosen the subtitle Stage/Fright, which does suggest something theatrical and something unsettling.

“But to say any more would spoil the surprises and we would never do that. We want to deliver the perfect West End night at the theatre, we might even crack out a song if you’re lucky.”

Since its launch in 2014, the series has received widespread critical acclaim, with Pemberton, who grew up in Darwen, winning the best male performance in a comedy TV Bafta in 2019.

Each episode of the dark anthology series features different settings and different characters, linked by the fact that each story features the number nine, whether that is a door number, dressing room or shoe size.

Tickets for the play will go on sale from 7pm on Wednesday May 8.

Further casting is to be announced.