Following the critically acclaimed smash-hit primetime ITV series Grace, based on the best-selling novels by the UK's number one crime author Peter James, the world stage premiere of James' novel Wish You Were Dead will thrill audiences at The Alexandra Birmingham from 20 to 24 June 2023.

This will be the sixth stage adaptation of James’ best-selling novels - making it the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

Adapted exclusively for the stage, tickets are on sale here.

Peter James said: “I have always loved live theatre, so it’s been thrilling to watch how much audiences around the UK have loved the plays. Theatre and the escapism it provides us all is so important – particularly now. Inside the safe cocoon of a theatre, audiences love to be on the edge of their seats and sometimes shocked, always hoping when that final curtain falls, order will have been restored and the world will seem just a little bit of a better place. I am incredibly grateful for the support regional theatres and their audiences have shown our plays and it will be fantastic to see another one of my books being adapted for the stage – the sixth one! – and audiences enjoying it, in 2023."

Previous Peter James novels brought to the stage include: Looking Good Dead which premiered earlier this year starring Adam Woodyatt; The House on Cold Hill starring Joe McFadden and Rita Simons in 2019; Not Dead Enough starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017, and more.

The gripping television series Grace was an immediate success with audiences when it launched on ITV in 2021, with almost nine million viewers tuning in to watch the primetime drama starring John Simm as DSI Roy Grace.

Series two returned to TV screens in spring this year, with five more thrilling episodes being the most watched programme across all channels on each of the Sundays they were broadcast. A third series has already been commissioned for 2023.

The stage play of 'Wish You Were Dead' follows DSI Roy Grace and Cleo Morey as they take a much needed holiday together. Cleo hopes that she will finally get Grace to herself for a few days and away from his crime solving exploits. But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.