Gerry and Sewell adapts swiftly for West End triumph

THE Strand was awash with black and white on Thursday night as Gerry and Sewell officially marked its West End arrival with a gala opening at London's Aldwych Theatre.

- SAM WONFOR

> Gerry and Sewell is running at the Aldwych Theatre

Inside, the sense of occasion was unmistakable. A sizeable expat Geordie contingent those who had made the journey south, and adopted Geordie, Vera legend, Brenda Blethyn gathered to support a production that, in just over three years, has travelled from an attic theatre in Whitley Bay to one of London's most prominent stages.

That journey, forged through sellout runs at Live Theatre and Newcastle Theatre Royal, has been as improbable and hard-won as the story unfolding on stage.

The 16-performance West End residency represents the most ambitious chapter yet in the show's relatively short but dramatic life.

Announced with little more than eight weeks' notice - Christmas firmly wedged in the middle the transfer demanded rapid adaptation, expansion and belief from a village of creatives determined not to let the opportunity pass.