The Odd Couple to be staged at Sunderland theatre

The play by Neil Simon, which spawned a hit 1968 film starring Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, follows the trials and tribulations of Felix and Oscar – two friends forced by circumstance to live together.

But the tension between the obsessively neat Felix and the slovenly Oscar soon mounts to comic effect.

Director Lee Stewart said: “It’s a tremendous privilege to be able to bring this classic comedy to the Royalty Theatre. It began life as a hit play in 1965, and has since become a film and numerous TV series, even as recently as 2015.”

The play will run from Monday to March 25 at the community theatre, off Chester Road, and stars Mik Richardson as Felix and Michael Luke as Oscar.

Following its premiere on Broadway in 1965, the characters from The Odd Couple were revived in a successful 1968 film and 1970s television series, as well as other derivative works and spin-offs.

Neil Simon adapted the play in 1985 to feature a pair of female roommates (Florence Ungar and Olive Madison) in The Female Odd Couple. An updated version of the 1965 show appeared in 2002 with the title Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.

Remaining shows in the current season at the Royalty are The Pitmen Painters, from May 15 to 20, and Oliver Twist, from May 19 to 24.

Tickets for all plays can be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366. Admission is £8 for all shows and £6.50 concessions, which are available to students in full-time education, under 18s, unemployed and senior citizens.