To watch comic Steve Royle in a play about music hall comic Dan Leno

Peter Kay made a rare public appearance this weekend.

He was spotted at a play starring comedian and juggler Steve Royle in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, on Saturday night.

Kay has kept a low profile since cancelling his much-anticipated 100-date arena tour in 2017 soon after announcing it, citing ‘unforeseen family circumstances’ 

Bu the turned out to Lytham Hall to support his friend in an outdoor performance of the play Dan Leno - A Royal Jester!, which tells the story of the music hall comedian and acclaimed pantomime dame who suffered a mental breakdown and died in 1904 at the age of just 43.

Playwright D Slattery Christy posted a picture of Kay with the cast on Twitter, saying it was ‘amazing’ to have ‘legends’ like the Car Share star and showbiz veteran Roy Hudd in the audience.

Fabulous night @LythamHall to end Dan Leno @steveroylecomic tour & Amazing to have legends like #RoyHudd and @peterkay_co_uk in audience to support us. Next stop is London WE Showcase in 2020 with new title! Cast, crew,creatives thank you! @GylesB1 @musichallsoc @Rhodes_Media pic.twitter.com/5zcdLOGVwN

— D Slattery Christy (@DSCAuthor) August 25, 2019

Royle has a long history with Kay, appearing in the third episode of Phoenix Nights as a terrible juggler. He also played Munster in one episode of the spin-off Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere and as a character called Jim in Car Share in 2017.

His Dan Leno show – which music hall buff Hudd called ‘very moving and very funny’ – is to get a ‘showcase performance’ in London’s West End next year under the title Naturally Insane.’

Published: 26 Aug 2019