Originally a highly successful stage show, written by R.W. (Bill) Shakespeare from an idea by Bardon, it originated at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1980. The production also played at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, the Coliseum in Oldham and Theatre Clwyd before being presented by Victor Glynn at the Edinburgh Festival where it won a number of prestigious awards. Victor with David Porter transferred the production to the Fortune Theatre in the West End in 1982. It later ran for a season at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith.