Boisterous Stage Comedy, 'Night Collar', Pulls Up At St Helens Theatre Royal This Week

BOROUGH OF ST HELENS, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.

Tony Furlong and Jimmy Power’s Boisterous Comedy, 'Night Collar', Brings A Cast Of Larger-Than-Life Characters To The Stage This September

(Credit: Supplied/Image was provided to The Liverpudlian with permission to share, courtesy of the Publicist on behalf of their client. We make no claim to this content).

Night Collar pulls into St Helens next week with a cast of colourful characters promising Theatre Royal audiences a fantastic evening of big laughs.

The classic stage comedy, written by former cabbies Tony Furlong and Jimmy Power, runs from Friday the 26th of September to Sunday the 5th of October 2025.

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It’s Christmas Eve in Merseyside and a reliable cabbie, reluctantly working the ‘night collar’, is about to encounter a series of hilarious fares and become embroiled in their lives. They include a naked member of a stag party left in a wheelie bin, an Elvis impersonator with domestic woes, a drunk couple in the middle of an argument and a Santa Claus with tummy troubles.

John May plays the taxi driver at the heart of the new and updated Regal Entertainments production of the much-loved story which was first staged in 1994. And he will be joined on the raucous, rollercoaster ride by Emma Grace Arends, Jenna Sian O’Hara, John O’Gorman and Sam Jones-Arthur.

“Although very sadly Tony Furlong passed away 11 years ago, his work lives on, and I’m absolutely thrilled we’re able to present this new and updated version of what is a brilliant and popular comedy to our audiences at St Helens this autumn.” - Chantelle Joseph, St Helens Theatre Royal Manager & Director.

Liverpool actor and comedian, John May, is well-known for his comedy character creations, including 'Turkey Teeth', 'Kenny and Karen Corona', and 'Derek' which were developed during the Covid-19 lockdown, and have since made him an internet sensation. His screen credits include Coronation Street, This City is Ours, Unforgiven, Our Eddy, Moving On, Fresh Meat, Time, Tin Star, Little Boy Blue and Doctor Who. Earlier this summer he played Wayne in The Legend of Rooney’s Ring at Liverpool’s Royal Court.

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Emma Grace Arends’ theatre credits include The Duchess of Malfi (Greenwich Theatre), The Scouse Jack and the Beanstalk and Scouse Dick Whittington (Liverpool’s Royal Court), Railway Sleepers (JB Shorts), Home I’m Darling (Frinton Summer Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing/Romeo and Juliet (Folksy Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (We Are Butterfly), Troll (Pleasance), Peppa Pig’s Surprise (Sydney Opera House and Australian tour), Peppa Pig’s Big Surprise (UK and Ireland No. 1 tour), Twopence to Cross the Mersey and Her Benny (Liverpool Empire) and Sleeping Beauty (M&S Bank Arena).

Emma also appeared recently alongside John May, playing C’leen Rooney in The Legend of Rooney’s Ring. Emma has also recorded her debut audiobook, Young Love by Suzanne Ewart, now available on Audible, while her TV and film credits include Cilla, Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience – Daisy Sky, A Night with Kylie Minogue and short film Tricycle.

Jenna Sian O’Hara is well-known to Theatre Royal audiences. Most recently she played Sue in Rita, Sue and Bob Too! at St Helens and on a national tour, while her other theatre credits include Emily in The Salon, the Sequel! (Theatre Royal St Helens), Pearl in RuneSical (Edinburgh Fringe Theatre), Isa in Between the Acts (rehearsed reading, Liverpool Everyman), Winnie in Beyond the Pier and Melanie in Lost Boys (both Unity Theatre) and Sarah in The Salon (Epstein Theatre).

Jenna recently reprised her role as Titania in Electric Dreams at Shakespeare North Playhouse and will appear as Tommi the cat in Dick Whittington at St Helens this Christmas. Her screen credits include Midas Man, Billy Smith and the short film, Little Pains.

John O’Gorman’s career started at the Everyman Youth Theatre, followed by the Liverpool Theatre School. He is best known for playing series regular Michael ‘Tommo’ Tomlinson in Brookside, while his other television credits include Coronation Street and Peaky Blinders. His most notable recent stage work was playing Liverpool-born trade unionist Jim Larkin in Stone on Stone at the Epstein Theatre.

(Credit: Supplied/Image was provided to The Liverpudlian with permission to share, courtesy of the Publicist on behalf of their client. We make no claim to this content).

Sam Jones-Arthur is a Liverpool-based actor working across theatre, film and commercial media. His most recent theatre credits include California Dreaming, Someone You Love and That Girl on TV, as well as northern tours of Lost in the Beat and Warnock. He also writes for stage and screen and founded the production company SevenBlu3, which focuses on developing original work. Some of Sam’s collaborations include Castore, Everton FC, Greene King and DPD.

Night Collar will be directed by Chantelle Joseph. Regal Entertainments previously staged this comedy favourite at St Helens Theatre Royal in 2010 and 2011.

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St Helens Theatre Royal Manager & Director Chantelle Joseph, said: “We’ve been having a lot of fun bringing Tony Furlong and Jimmy Power’s story to life in the rehearsal room and now I can’t wait to see it on the Theatre Royal stage. It’s a rollercoaster ride, but there are also some heart-warming and unexpectedly poignant moments too.”

Chantelle added: “Although very sadly Tony Furlong passed away 11 years ago, his work lives on, and I’m absolutely thrilled we’re able to present this new and updated version of what is a brilliant and popular comedy to our audiences at St Helens this autumn.”