A play, starring a former X Factor star from Accrington, is coming to the West End after receiving rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Diana Vickers plays the starring role in I Wish You Well: The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski-Trial Musical, a musical parody about the real-life court case involving Gwyneth Paltrow that had the internet gripped in 2023.
The show played at the festival’s Underbelly venue throughout August and now it’s set to come to London’s West End from September 11.
Having wowed critics at the Fringe, the full cast will continue in their roles for I Wish You Well at the Criterion Theatre.
This includes Marc Antolin (Quiz) as Terry, Tori Allen-Martin (Wild About You) as Kristin and Idriss Kargbo (Wicked) as Judge Jude.
Diana, who appeared on The X Factor in 2008, will play the 51-year-old actor and said the show is “iconic”.
She said: “Thank you Gwyneth Paltrow for bringing us the moment we never knew we needed.
“So excited to be working with the most powerhouse team!”
One reviewer described the show as a “raucous and irreverent musical satire from Roger Dipper and Rick Pearson that delivers on many levels”.
Another reviewer said: “Filled to the brim with sky-high belting, mile-a-minute references for theatre fans and the terminally online alike, and a ballroom-inspired catwalk, the show masterfully weaves in true pathos and emotional connection.
"It leaves audiences with the dizzying question: ‘Did I just start to tear up over a vagina-scented candle?!’”
A New York Times reviewer described it as a "triumph" and said: "[The play] is lyrically witty and the humour is perfectly pitched: emotionally generous, and irreverent but not cruel. It is, in short, a triumph."
A spokesperson for Underbelly said: “The musical is a four-hander that tells the (mostly) true story of the campest celebrity trial in history: Gwyneth vs Terry.
"Packed full of iconic moments, the questions about Taylor Swift, and the now famous whisper of 'I Wish You Well' – this is a fast-paced parody that 'sounds as good as Gwyneth's candles smell'.
“The world premiere of I Wish You Well was one of four productions produced by Paul Taylor-Mills.”
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