Coventry star turns 'Bank of Dave' into musical

A West End star has turned the story of a minibus driver who set up his own bank after the 2008 financial crash into a musical.

Rob Madge, from Coventry, has written the show about Burnley Savings and Loans, created in 2011 by minibus salesman Dave Fishwick.

The story has already been made into two films, but Madge's tale is told through the eyes of a pub landlady who took out a loan with Fishwick, before he had even started the bank.

"He's so larger than life, he's so charismatic, we call him the 'Barnum of Burnley'. He really is sort of a ringmaster and the way he has built up the town through his generosity, I actually think is the perfect topic for a musical."

Fishwick started Burnley Savings and Loans in 2011, following the 2008 global financial crisis, to lend money to those who had already been rejected by existing institutions and were at risk of turning to payday lenders or loan sharks.

He made his millions in minibuses, going from driving them to running one of the largest minibus suppliers in the UK.

Madge first began working on a musical version in 2024 and brought composer Pippa Cleary on board to write the music.

"There's a sort of chemistry we have when we're writing" Madge said. "Within a day of meeting her for the first time, we'd written five songs."

The Bank of Dave The Musical premiered at The Lowry in Salford on 2 May after just two days of technical rehearsals instead of the usual two weeks because "we felt there's an urgency to tell the story", said Madge.

"It's really interesting seeing what resonates, but what's really important for me is that people from Lancashire feel seen and heard.

"They leave the theatre going 'thank you for doing Burnley proud'."

• Bank of Dave runs at The Lowry until May 16 before transferring to The Curve in Leicester from 20 May.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.