Stage adaptation of Peter James’ Wish You Were Dead to head out on UK tour

A stage adaptation of Peter James’ novel Wish You Were Dead is to head out on a UK tour.

The latest story featuring DSI Roy Grace will be the sixth of James’ novels to be brought to the stage making the series the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

Wish You Were Dead will launch a UK tour in February 2023 at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley before touring across the country through to July.

The stage play of ‘Wish You Were Dead’ follows DSI Roy Grace and Cleo Morey as they take a much needed holiday together. Cleo hopes that she will finally get Grace to herself for a few days and away from his crime solving exploits.

But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.

The novel has been adapted for the stage by award winning writer Shaun McKenna, who has adapted the five previous Peter James plays.

Wish You Were Dead tour tickets, dates and venues »

The tour will also reunite the creative team from Looking Good Dead, with Jonathan O’Boyle directing, design by Michael Holt, lighting by Jason Taylor and sound by Max Pappenheim.

Casting for the tour is to be announced.

Peter James said: “I have always loved live theatre, so it’s been thrilling to watch how much audiences around the UK have loved the plays. Theatre and the escapism it provides us all is so important – particularly now.

“Inside the safe cocoon of a theatre, audiences love to be on the edge of their seats and sometimes shocked, always hoping when that final curtain falls, order will have been restored and the world will seem just a little bit of a better place.

“I am incredibly grateful for the support regional theatres and their audiences have shown our plays and it will be fantastic to see another one of my books being adapted for the stage – the sixth one! – and audiences enjoying it, in 2023.”