As Bafta awards Mel Brooks a fellowship

The musical version of Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein is to open in the West End on September 28, it has been announced.

Tickets for the show, which will be at the Garrick Theatre, go on sale tomorrow.

The London run will follow a two-week season at the Theatre Royal Newcastle from Saturday August 26 to Saturday September 9.

The news comes as Bafta has announced it will honour Brooks with their highest accolade, a Bafta fellowship, on Sunday. The award  has previously been given to the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery Elizabeth Taylor and Stanley Kubrick.

Brooks said: ‘I am not overwhelmed, but I am definitely whelmed by this singular honour. To be included among such iconic talents is absolutely humbling. In choosing me for the 2017 fellowship, I think that Bafta has made a strangely surprising yet ultimately wise decision.’

Bafta chief executive Amanda Berry said: ‘Mel Brooks is a truly unique and multi-talented filmmaker.  We are absolutely thrilled to award him the fellowship.’

Brooks adapted his 1974 film for the stage with the aid of co-writer Thomas Meehan and Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman.

It previously ran on Broadway, opening in November 2007 to mixed reviews and closing in 2009 after 30 previews and 484 performances.

Brooks and his team are said to have made changes to the show since that New York run.

Casting will be announced at a later date.

Published: 9 Feb 2017