'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' to return as live stage show

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is to return as a live stage show.

Some of the stars of the hit 1990s Channel 4 improv format are reuniting with the show's creators to work on a new version due to debut on stage in London next month.

The producers confirm: "Legendary televised improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? will make its official worldwide premiere as a live show at the Adelphi Theatre on London's West End from Saturday 20th June."

Whose Line Is It Anyway? first launched on BBC Radio in 1988. However, Channel 4 went on to obtain the rights to the TV version and developed the programme into a show which was a hit throughout the 1990s.

The format ran for more than 100 episodes across 10 series and was exported to America in 1998, where it proved to be a smash hit for the ABC network.

The US series was retired in 2007, but was resurrected by cable channel The CW in 2013. A third series of the revived US show (the 11th series overall) is airing in the States now.

The new UK stage show will follow the same format as the original TV show: four comedians competing in a series of improv games, with Clive Anderson overseeing suggestions from the audience.

Producers confirm: "The live show premiering on London's West End this June will combine the best of both the UK and US versions of the show, with a variety of new and exciting games - some of which will involve participation from some brave members of the audience."

Original co-creators Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson will be working with host Clive Anderson and show regulars Josie Lawrence, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood on a two-week run.

The producers say: "The performers on the show are some of the best in the world, demonstrating incredibly fast and expert improv skills. This popular classic is as fresh and exciting as it has always been."

This news follows an unofficial version of the show becoming one of the hits of the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Appearing under the name What Does The Title Matter Anyway?, Clive Anderson and regulars such as Lawrence, Mochrie, Proops, Stephen Frost and Mike McShane played to packed out houses across August, attracting good reviews in the process.

Unlike the Edinburgh run, the new London show is officially endorsed by the creators, working through their production company Angst Productions (via which they later created Mock The Week).

Dan Patterson says: "I'm extremely excited to be bringing the official worldwide premiere to London's West End. Since it was last aired on Channel 4 in 1999 the show has really evolved and with the US TV show running for so long we've seen some incredible performances.

"The level of talent involved in the show on both sides of the Atlantic has been phenomenal and we've been very lucky to work with all of them. Expect the best of both versions."

Clive Anderson, talking about hosting the new official shows, says: "It's great to be back in charge of the iconic Whose Line Is It Anyway? - joining up with some of the show's most impressive improvisers to play many of its best loved games, together with some exciting new features, devised by its original creators. Expect all the fun of the television programme - only this time live on stage!"

Tickets for Whose Line Is It Anyway?... Live go on sale from Friday 15th May 2015 via Ticketmaster and the Aldephi Theatre Box Office.