Fisherman’s Friends – The Musical runs in Bristol next week

Fisherman’s Friends – The Musical runs in Bristol next week

Posted on: 25 Apr 2023

Fans of sea shanties, this one is for you! The new musical tells the true story of a shanty-singing Cornish band that climbed all the way to the top of the charts in 2010.

 

Fisherman’s Friends – The Musical opens at Bristol Hippodrome on Wednesday 3 and runs until Saturday 6 May 2023.

 

This motivating and heart-warming true story was the inspiration behind a blockbuster film back in 2019 with the sequel, One and All, coming out last year. The on-stage production of this joyful tale debuted in Cornwall in 2021 and has wowed audiences all over the country ever since.

 

BUY TICKETS HERE

 

 

The real-life Fisherman’s Friends started out playing intimate shows around their hometown of Port Isaac, Cornwall in the mid-1990s, incorporating contemporary style and wry humour with traditional sea shanties.

 

Each of the band’s original members, bar one, grew up in and around the Port Isaac area. Three of the founders were fishermen and the others all worked on the harbour either as coastguards or lifeboatmen – the oldest original member, Peter Rowe, passed away in 2021 aged 88.

 

In 2009, the group were discovered by BBC radio presenter Johnnie Walker who was on holiday in Cornwall when he heard one of their DIY CDs. This eventually led to The Fisherman’s Friends being offered a £1 million recording contract with Universal Music Group.

Off the back of the deal, the band released their debut album, Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends, in 2010, peaking at number 9 in the UK Albums Chart. The group have since shot to fame, playing a slew of massive shows including a slot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.

 

This meteoric rise to fame was documented in a feature film starring James Purefoy, Daniel Mays, Tuppence Middleton, Dave Johns and Noel Clarke in 2019. It centres around Danny, a fictional music industry executive who discovers the band – a plot also used in the critically acclaimed stage musical.

 

Fisherman’s Friends – The Musical stars James Gaddas (Coronation Street, Billy Elliot the Musical), Parisa Shahmir (Mamma Mia!), Robert Duncan (Drop the Dead Donkey), Anton Stephans (The X Factor) and Susan Penhaligon (Bouquet of Barbed Wire). It is written by Amanda Whittington and directed by James Grieve.

The production runs at Bristol Hippodrome from Wednesday 3 until Saturday 6 May 2023 with tickets available to purchase HERE.

 

Head to the ATG website to find a comprehensive list of what’s coming up at the theatre.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.