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New musical Fourteen Again, based on the songs of award-winning writer and comedian Victoria Wood, is premiering in the UK in 2026.

Fourteen Again features songs from Victoria Wood’s song book Lucky Bag!, and has a book by double BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, producer, Olivier-nominated playwright, author and songwriter Tom MacRae (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie).

Fourteen Again will run from 1 to 30 May 2026 at the The Old Laundry Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District, which is to be officially renamed the Victoria Wood Theatre in honour of Victoria Wood in January 2026.

A gala opening night for Fourteen Again will take place on 19 May 2026, the date of Victoria Wood’s birthday.

The much-loved and missed, and hugely talented comedian, writer and actor Victoria Wood, died in April 2016.

The new show will be directed by Jonathan O’Boyle (Barnum, The Last Five Years), with Nigel Lilley (Acorn Antiques The Musical), Victoria‘s Musical Director and close friend, acting as Musical Director and Musical Supervisor.

The wider creative team includes lighting design by Jason Taylor, set design by Roger Glossop, costume design by Caroline Hughes, and producer Charlotte Scott, with further creatives and casting to be announced.

Victoria Wood had originally opened The Old Laundry Theatre, was a Trustee of the theatre, and performed there many times. She produced and directed her own musical Talent there in 2008, and in 2013 her acclaimed TV movie Housewife 49 was adapted for the stage especially for The Old Laundry Theatre.

Victoria Wood’s friends, husband-and-wife Charlotte Scott and Roger Glossop MBE, run The Old Laundry Theatre.

New musical Fourteen Again begins when Peggy is reunited with Lou at the local Slimming Club, her best friend from school, who she hasn’t seen since they were teenagers. As kids, no two friends were ever funnier or more fun, but here, now, today they are shadows of their younger selves – and a story unfolds of looking back to the future, full of comedy, love and pain, with Victoria’s amazing songs moving the musical fast forward.

Victoria Wood’s original musical Acorn Antiques The Musical recently played in concert in Manchester, and last night at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre.

Fourteen Again is playing at the Victoria Wood Theatre from 1 to 30 May 2026.

What They Said

Charlotte Scott said in a statement: “With young families in tow (hers & ours) we followed Vic’s career as she toured up and down the country always returning to re-charge in the Lake District. By the time we opened the venue in 1991, followed by the theatre in 1992, Vic, together with Alan Rickman, Griff Rhys Jones, Andre Ptaszynski, Peter James, and Alan Ayckbourn all became Trustees and the journey began. Vic was always supportive – performing at The Old Laundry in her stand up, doing benefits in larger venues, and productions of her own shows Talent and Housewife 49 at the theatre. So now 10 years after her death it is a great delight to be putting on this show, and Vic’s name is on the theatre – we are set for the next 30+ years!”

Tom MacRae said: “I was honoured to write Victoria’s final TV show, we got to swap stories about working at The Crucible – a theatre where she had cut her teeth and where my first ever stage show, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, was about to open. Working with Vic again on a brand-new stage show feels like we’ve come full circle – and yes, creating Fourteen Again has felt very much like working with Vic, even though we sadly can’t collaborate in person anymore. Her joy and genius loom large over everything we’ve built. I wanted to create a show that is genuinely dramatic and surprising, with high stakes and real tension, as well as celebrating Vic’s innate sense of comedy and the warmth of her world, populated with loveable, relatable characters and celebrating friendship.

“My starting point was The Ballad Of Barry And Freda – what if my central character shared Vic’s love of telling hilarious stories about ordinary people. Also, Vic wrote several songs about being a child again, which got me thinking about adding a time travel element with a Scrooge-like opportunity to live your life again, but this time do it better. The one song that was tricky to place was Litter Bin about a teenage mum abandoning a child in a bin in a multistorey carpark. It was just so sad. How could I introduce that idea into a comedy? And then I had a brainwave – and that brainwave unlocked an idea that the entire show is now built around. Left to my own devices, I don’t know if I ever would have integrated such a tragic element into such an upbeat story. So, thanks Vic, my amazing and inspirational collaborator – I owe you one.”

Nigel Lilley said: “After having such a hit with Talent in 1978 it seems crazy that it took Vic over 25 years to venture back into the world of musicals with Acorn Antiques. By the time we worked on That Day We Sang in 2014 it felt like she was absolutely in her happy place, and I have no doubt that had she lived longer she would have had so many more glorious musicals to offer us. Vic’s ability to flip between side-splitting comedy and devastating pathos in an instant remains unmatched for me. Going back to her songs in preparation for Fourteen Again I was struck again by the exquisite and meticulous skill in her writing – and yet the music and lyrics still feel so effortless on the ear. Vic was always on the search for new and original projects. I think she’d be cheering us on loudly with Tom’s brilliant new script which honours her songs so beautifully.”

Jonathan O’Boyle said: “I am over the moon to be working on a new musical from Victoria Wood and Tom MacRae. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it’s a privilege to be able to work with Victoria’s fantastic songs and Tom’s extraordinary book. I grew up in Derby, watching Victoria Wood’s Dinner Ladies on TV. Her humour and joy spoke to me and inspired me to work in theatre. Tom has managed to somehow seamlessly write a new work whilst honouring Victoria and it feels so very human and relatable”.

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Main photo: Fourteen Again - A new with songs by Victoria Wood (Photo Catherine Ashmore)

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