BROOKSIDE stars Sue Johnston and John McArdle, who play lovers Sheila
Grant and Billy Corkhill, have left the popular Channel 4 TV soap opera
for two months for the chance to appear in in a new stage play set in a
pub, in which they play eight different characters each.
They took a break yesterday from rehearsals of To, by award-winning
playwright Jim Cartwright at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, Greater
Manchester, to talk about their first stage appearance together for
seven years.
They said none of the characters is anything like religious Sheila or
loudmouth Billy. Said McArdle: ''Mine include an ageing Tom Jones-type
and a little pipsqueak who can't get served at the bar. But only one is
a Scouse.''
Said Sue Johnston: ''I stick my chest out and play the big pub
landlady. The other characters include two old ladies.''
The couple, who are good friends in real life, recorded their last
Brookside episode before their break two weeks ago. It has yet to be
screened. They will return to the serial in early October after
appearing in the play for a week at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,
followed by three weeks at Bolton.
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