BAFTA winning film comes to Cheltenham in an all new stage adaptation starring Louise Redknapp

Fatal Attraction is coming to the Everyman Theatre next week, to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. This award-winning thriller makes its way to the stage for the first time ever and is guaranteed to be a night out to remember.

When Fatal Attraction (starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close) opened in cinemas in 1987 it captivated and terrified filmgoers, garnered multiple Oscar nominations and became that year’s biggest global hit.

More than three decades later the chilling and provocative tale of an extra-marital affair gone horribly wrong is coming to the stage for the first-time ever, with director Loveday Ingram promising: “Audiences will go away having had an invigorating, stimulating evening that shocks and surprises as well as making them question choices they have made in the past or could make in the future. It’s gripping and thrilling and it’s a real emotional rollercoaster.”

With Susie Amy, Oliver Farnworth and Louise Redknapp heading the cast, the play remains true to the core story of New York lawyer Dan Gallagher whose fling with book editor Alex Forrest starts out casual but soon escalates into a reign of terror when she refuses to accept it’s over.

Ingram (Baskerville, The Rover, Macbeth) also believes Alex’s behaviour will be viewed differently now than it was in the 80s. “Our attitudes towards mental health have changed so much since 1987, as they have towards emotional support. It’s inevitable that people will look at the character of Alex in a different light.”

Fatal Attraction is the latest edge-of-the-seat thriller from Smith and Brant Theatricals and Ambassador Theatre Group Productions after their acclaimed tours of Gaslight and Strangers on a Train.

Set in the present day, the stage version features contemporary technology like mobile phones with projections of video calls. “It’s about responsibility and trust and crossing the line. To bring that to life in a way that works for contemporary audiences, we’ve shifted it more towards the technology that we all use to communicate every day. Stalking and social media intrusion are all part of that.”

“Do we still get the infamous bunny boiling scene?” She laughs. “Now that would be giving it away, wouldn’t it?”           

Susie Amy, who became a household name as Chardonnay on Footballers’ Wives and who has appeared in Echo Beach and Hollyoaks on TV and Wait Until Dark and After Juliet on stage says, “Alex is a rollercoaster of passion, anger, hurt and feeling letdown. At first we see her as this vivacious, appealing woman who is very attractive to men because she listens, laughs and appears to be very confident and independent. Then we see all that unravel throughout the play.”

Starring opposite Susie as Dan Gallagher is Oliver Farnworth, who was in Hollyoaks and Coronation Street on television as well as working extensively in theatre in such shows as Beautiful Thing, Under Milk Wood and The Girl on the Train.         

In the film Dan maybe comes across as the victim of Alex’s obsessions but, without giving spoilers, Farnworth feels the play redresses that because Alex is an independent single woman and it’s Dan who cheats on his wife and lies to cover up the affair. “And we’re looking at the potential impact of mental health, which is possibly an underlying feature of Alex’s character, and we’re looking at Dan’s flaws. It’s a more measured view.”

Dan’s wife Beth is played by Louise Redknapp, who came to fame in the girl group Eternal in the early 90s and has since had a hugely successful solo career as well as branching out into theatre and presenting.

“When they first asked me about playing Beth I wasn’t sure because I’d never done a straight play before, just musicals,” admits Louise, who played Sally Bowles in Cabaret on tour and was in 9 To 5 The Musical in the West End and around the country. “But then I went to see it and it was really well put-together, really gripping and I thought it would be a new challenge for me.”

Tickets for Fatal Attraction are on sale now and available via the Everyman Theatre box office on 01242 512515 or everymantheatre.org.uk

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