The Menier Chocolate Factory has announced the London premiere of the critically acclaimed production of Fourteen Again
Following a run this spring at The Victoria Wood Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere, the Menier Chocolate Factory has announced the London staging of Fourteen Again.
Reuniting Ria Jones and Sally Ann Triplett, reprising their roles of Lou and Peggy, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production plays 21 November 2026 to 27 February 2027.
Both actors have worked alongside Victoria Wood – Triplett created the role of Miss Berta in the original West End production of the musical Acorn Antiques: The Musical!; and Jones played Mrs Overall in the first national tour of Acorn Antiques which Wood directed.
Full casting is still to be announced.
The Victoria Wood Theatre, previously The Old Laundry Theatre, was renamed this year – the 10th anniversary of Wood’s death, by her close friends and collaborators, the husband-and-wife team, producer Charlotte Scott and designer Roger Glossop. To celebrate Wood’s life and work they commissioned Tom MacRae (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) to work with her songbook to create a brand-new musical, the inaugural production in the newly renamed venue.
Wood originally opened the venue, was a Trustee, and performed there many times. She also directed her own show Talent – which was co-produced with the Menier; and in 2013, her television film Housewife 49 was adapted for the stage especially for the venue.
Fourteen Again begins at the local Slimming Club, where Peggy is reunited with Lou, 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 Wood’s amazing songs moving the musical fast forward.
www.menierchocolatefactory.com
Ria Jones
Ria Jones returns to the Menier to play Lou – she previously appeared at the Menier in Habeas Corpus. Her other theatre credits include Sunset Boulevard (London Coliseum/Leicester Curve/ European tour), Gypsy (Royal Exchange Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Marigny Theatre, Paris), 42nd Street (Curve/Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris), Les Misérables (Palace Theatre/UK tour), Chess (Prince Edward Theatre), Cats (New London Theatre), Evita (Opera House, Manchester), Nine (Donmar), High Society (Shaftesbury Theatre/UK tour), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour/Hammersmith Apollo), Anything Goes, The Witches of Eastwick, Acorn Antiques (UK tours), Into The Woods (Esplanade Theatre, Singapore), Romance Romance; Victor Victoria (Bridewell Theatre), Personals (New End Theatre), A Twist of Fate (Jubilee Theatre, Singapore), Honk! (Victoria Theatre, Singapore), Jerry’s Girls (St James’s Theatre/ Jermyn Street Theatre), Closer Than Ever (Landor Theatre) and A Little Night Music (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester). Her television credits include Eric and Ernie, Torchwood, The Angina Monologues and Life and Debt.
Sally Ann Triplett
Sally Ann Triplett returns to the Menier to play Peggy – she previously appeared at the Menier in Take Flight. Her other theatre credits include Top Hat (Chichester Festival Theatre/Royal Festival Hall), Cabaret (KitKat Club), The Witches (National Theatre), Oklahoma! (Wyndham’s Theatre), Cabaret (Lido 2, Paris), Billy Elliot (Leicester Curve), Taboo (London Palladium), Gypsy (Alexandra Palace), Piaf (Nottingham Playhouse/Leeds Playhouse), Anything Goes (National Theatre/Theatre Royal Drury Lane; WhatsOnStage Award), Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre), Chicago (Adelphi Theatre), Acorn Antiques (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales Theatre), Cats (New London Theatre), Grease (Dominion Theatre), Jolson (Victoria Palace Theatre/Toronto), Follies (Shaftesbury Theatre), Chess (Prince Edward Theatre), A Damsel in Distress (Chichester Festival Theatre), My Judy Garland Life (Nottingham Playhouse; UK Theatre Award nomination), Next to Normal (Drama Centre, Singapore), Carrie (RSC/Broadway), Much Ado About Nothing (Liverpool Playhouse), Absent Friends (Watford Palace), Becoming Nancy (Alliance, Atlanta), The Last Ship (Broadway/ Chicago), Finding Neverland (Broadway), Sweeney Todd (Barrow Street, Off-Broadway), Cradle Will Rock (Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway), and Must (Theatre at St. Clement’s, Off-Broadway). Her television credits include Whitstable Pearl, and Down to Earth.
