House! From bingo hall to Assembly Hall

Daniella’s one of those women. Except she isn’t just hopeful. She’s desperate. She needs Lady Luck to smile down on her tonight.

She’s done a bad thing. No, a really bad thing and if her card doesn’t have those winning numbers, she’s going to have to resort to desperate measures.

That’s the premise of Bingo!, a new musical comedy premiering at the Assembly Hall, on The Mound, tomorrow.

As six characters come together for one fateful night at the bingo, so too does a top notch cast of Scottish talent including Scot Squad favourite Louise McCarthy, Wendy Seager and Rab C Nesbitt star Barbara Rafferty.

Joining them are Jo Freer, Darren Brownlie, and Jane McCarry, better known as Still Game’s Isa.

Co-written by Anita Vettesse and Johnny McKnight, Bingo! is directed by Jemima Levick, who says, “Every time I read Bingo! or hear it read aloud, I am reminded of just how brilliant women are.

“It’s a play about camraderie, friendship, parenthood, and strength in numbers, but also about hope, and ‘that’ fantasy that we all have - of how our lives might change with that big win.

“It’s a play that never fails to take me by surprise.”

A co-production between Stellar Quines and Grid Iron, the collaboration has been talked about for some time, reveals Judith Doherty of Grid Iron.

She says, “When Jemima took over at Stellar Quines, it seemed the perfect opportunity to bring together two companies who share a mission to provide strong roles for women on and off stage.”

Bingo!, Assembly Hall, The Mound, tomorrow-17 March, 7.30pm (2.30pm), £16-£19, www.assemblyfestival.com