Corrie ! Corrie ! was a stage play written by Jonathan Harvey and which premiered at the Lowry , Salford on 12th August 2010 . It aimed to tell the first fifty years of the programme on stage in as comic and nostalgic a way as possible . It was the first stage version of the programme ever to be presented ( see " Coronation Street on the Road " ) . The play was a collative idea between stage promoter Phil McIntyre and " Coronation Street " ' s executive producer Kieran Roberts . They approached the - then current writing team for someone to script the piece , suggesting that it be run along the lines of in that a mass of text be condensed into a couple of hours and with a small cast playing many different parts . Harvey said in an interview prior to the premiere : Initial run . The resulting production of just under two - and - a - half hours featured five cast members with the scenes linked by an on - stage narration provided by Charles Lawson ( Jim McDonald ) . Altogether fifty - five characters were represented on stage in the two hour production . The cast and some of the characters they represented were : The play was directed by Fiona Buffini and designed by Liz Ashcroft . After the opening night , a press night was held on 16th August which was attended by Barbara Knox , Sally Dynevor , Jennie McAlpine , David Neilson , Shobna Gulati , Jane Danson , Vicky Binns , Nikki Sanderson , Johnny Briggs , Katy Cavanagh and Brian Capron . The reviews for the production were uniformly positive . Ben East in " The Stage " said , " " Corrie ! " has the feel of a sketch show - cum - pantomime , with many of the best scenes and lines from down the years gleefully re - enacted " but did admit that the play , " completely relies on its audience knowing and loving " Coronation Street " . One for the fans , then - but with almost ten million tuning in to every episode , it ’ s hardly niche entertainment . " Charles Spencer in " The Daily Telegraph " said that it was , " often blissfully funny " observing , " the audience are in some ways the stars of the show , audibly commenting on what ’ s happening on stage as they might while watching it at home on TV and taking flash photographs of the action until told to desist by the amiable narrator , Charles Lawson . " They went on to state , " What ’ s fascinating – and admirable – about the show is that ITV has allowed Harvey mercilessly to take the mickey out of Corrie ’ s melodramatic absurdities and to rejoice in the programme ’ s very English brand of camp humour . " and concluded that , " this show is absolutely bursting with heart and humour . " Libby Purves in " The Times " said , " There is , for us old aficionados , the element of knowingness - as the chronology zips lightly to and fro , we see the coming pratfall and cheer when the killer tram or seductive canal barge slides on stage . There is also the bald fact that if you telescope any soap plots , however serious at the time , they become hilarious . Lines like ' We lived on an ordinary Northern Street – she was held hostage by a rapist while I was rehearsing " The Country Wife " at the Technical College . . . ' meld straight into electruction - by - hairdryer . " Chris Riches in the " Daily Express " summed up with , " The writing is endearing and funny but it is the performances and the brilliant way they capture the ' special street ' that has the audience rolling down the cobbles in laughter . " The original run was planned to end on 21st August but good box office receipts meant that it was extended to 28th August . National tour . The confirmed success of this initial set of performances led to a national run in the UK and Ireland in 2011 on the following dates and venues : Throughout the tour , the role of Narrator was played alternately by Roy Barraclough , Ken Morley and Gaynor Faye . Sherrie Hewson appeared during the play ' s run in Manchester .