We love a local success story, and none more so than the story of Dave Fishwick, and his subsequent rise to stardom with Bank of Dave. Now, the world premiere of Bank of Dave: The Musical is set to open in May 2026 at The Lowry in Salford, bringing the now-iconic northern tale of entrepreneurship and community back near to where it all began.
Bank of Dave: The Musical is based on the Sunday Times best-selling book, BAFTA Award-winning documentary and global-hit Netflix film of the same name with a screenplay by Piers Ashworth. Bank of Dave: The Musical is a home-grown, brand new British musical – bursting with northern grit, laugh-out-loud humour and what Dave himself calls “the best songs in any musical ever” – with casting and further creatives to be announced.
Instagram post via @bankofdavemusical
What’s the plot of Bank of Dave: The Musical?
This feel-good show tells the true-ish story of Dave Fishwick: Burnley born and bred, and no ordinary man. A self-made millionaire, Dave spent years helping local people and small businesses when hard-nosed banks turned them away. Frustrated by the system, he has an idea… set up his own bank and put the profits straight back into his community.
With posh but principled lawyer Hugh at his side, Dave swaps Burnley for London to take on the banking bigwigs and fight for a fairer deal. But will the fat cats of the City make way for Dave’s dreams? From Sunday Times bestseller to Netflix’s #1 UK film, Dave’s inspiring underdog story now bursts onto the stage as a laugh-out-loud British musical packed with heart, humour and cracking new music.
Dave Fishwick said about the musical: “This all feels very surreal! I left school at 16, absolutely useless with no qualifications whatsoever. I started work on a building site as a builders’ labourer, and went from builders’ labourer to building the first new high street bank for 150 years in Britain. Then Hollywood turned up, not just once but twice!
“And now the magical world of theatre has arrived; from Burnley to Broadway – via the magnificent Lowry in Salford and Curve in Leicester first of course! Watching myself on telly was unbelievable; however, watching someone play me live on stage will be totally surreal. I am just an ordinary lad from Burnley, who does extraordinary things, and if I can make it happen, you can too! Always have the courage to follow your dreams!”
The musical will have a book and lyrics by Rob Madge (My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?), Cabaret), music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary (The Great British Bake Off Musical, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ ) and will be directed by Curve Artistic Director Nikolai Foster (Kinky Boots, A Chorus Line).
Bank of Dave: The Musical UK dates:
- 2 – 16 May 2026 – The Lowry, Salford
- 20 – 30 May 2026 – Leicester Curve
How to get tickets:
Tickets for the world premiere of Bank of Dave: The Musical at The Lowry are on sale from Wednesday 24 September here.
As Dave himself says: “If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s this: everybody hates bankers.”