NEWS ROUNDUP: 18 - 24 May

Another week, and another series of stagey news stories to recap, and whilst I have not been able to post them all onto my instagram page this week due to a flurry of activity, fear not, as they will all be rounded off below for you...

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TITANIQUE

New cast members to join west end production, extention announced

The London company of parody musical "Titanique" is set to add several new cast members, with the role of Ruth to be taken on by etiquette coach, author and podcast host William Hanson, for a strictly limited six-week engagement. He is also joined by Lewis Francis (Mamma Mia!), who assumed the role of The Iceberg, and Nikki Wheeldon (Hairspray) taking over as Molly Brown, with AJ Lewis and Joi Lurrie joining as on-stage background vocalists, and Finton Flynn, Josh Lovell and Charlotte Soo added as offstage understudies.

Continuing in the cast are Rose Galbraith as Rose, Astrid Harris as Céline Dion, Freddie King as Jack, Cameron Vear as Cal, Michael Vinsen as Victor Garber / Luigi, and on-stage background vocalist Corrine Priest. Additionally, the show has been extended into the new year, now running until January 2027, and you can now book for all performances into next year via the Criterion Theatre website.

ARCADIA

Cast announced for west end transfer of Stoppard revival

The full cast for the west end transfer of Tom Stoppard’s play “Arcadia” has been revealed by Sonia Friedman Productions, with the Old Vic staging to open from next month. Reprising their respective roles will be Angus Cooper as Valentine Coverly, Seamus Dillane as Septimus Hodge, Tim Frances as Jellaby, Holly Godliman as Chloë Coverly, Isis Hainsworth as Thomasina Coverly and Matthew Steer as Ezra Chater, as well as understudies Alex Britt, Peta Cornish and Keziah Hayes.

Joining them will be Nikki Amuka-Bird as Hannah Jarvis, Oliver Chris as Bernard Nightingale, Aaron Anthony as Richard Noakes, David Buttle as Captain Brice, Matthew Doswell as Gus Coverly / Augustus Coverly and Yolanda Kettle as Lady Croom. “Arcadia” opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on the 20th of June, with a press night on the 1st of July, and it will run until the 12th of September, with tickets on sale from the ATG website.

RENT

Further details and initial casting announced for west end revival

Initial casting has been revealed for the upcoming west end revival of Jonathan Larson’s “RENT”, among other major details of the production, including venue and dates. Set to make his west end debut in the show is “Stranger Things” star Gaten Materazzo (Sweeney Todd), taking on the role of Mark; further casting will be revealed at a later date. Originally premiering on Broadway 30 years ago, this is the first time in almost two decades that the musical has been staged in the west end, previously being staged in 2007.

Co-produced by Sonia Friedman and Chris Harper, and to be directed by Luke Sheppard, in association with Hope Mill Theatre, this new revival will open at the Duke of York’s Theatre on the 26th of September, the first fully staged west end production from the fringe Manchester venue. All tickets are now on general sale, including 10,000 priced at £35 and under, and a handful of on-stage tickets for each performance. you can find out more, as well as book tickets, via the ATG website.

LIBERATION

Pulitzer winning play to transfer to London next year

It was announced earlier this week by the play’s Broadway producers Daryl Roth, Eva Price and Rachel Sussman, that the latest Pulitzer Prize-winning work by Bess Wohl “Liberation” is set to have its London premiere next year, following a hugely successful run at the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2025 and early 2026, currently nominated for five Tony Awards at the upcoming ceremony, including for best play and best direction of a play by Whitney White, among others.

The London production will be produced by Eleanor Lloyd and Eilene Davidson, with further details about creatives and casting, as well as exact information about where and when it will be performed, to be revealed at a later date, so keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks...

RIDE THE CYCLONE

Amazing Karnak revealed, as London cast is completed

On the heels of the announcement of the majority of the cast, producers for the second London run of Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond's cult musical "Ride The cyclone" have now revealed the final cast member to join the show. Taking on the role of mechanical fortune teller The Amazing Karnak will be Divina De Campo (SpongeBob Squarepants), replacing the departing Edward Wu as the master of ceremonies for the six ill-fated teens on the titular rollercoaster. He joins returning cast members Grace Galloway (Jane Doe), Robyn Gilbertson (Constance), Bartek Kraszewski (Mischa) and Jack Maverick (Rick), and newcomers Jack Butler (Noel) and Kayna Montecillo (Ocean), as well as swings Rebecca D’Lacey and Nathaniel Purnell.

"Ride The Cyclone" first premiered in 2009, at Atomic Vaudeville in British Columbia, Canada, eventually running off-broadway in 2016 after several different North American productions, picking up a healthy handful of awards in the process. It made its European premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in November 2025, directed and choreographed by Lizzi Gee (The Lightning Thief), where it sold out completely and was almost universally critically acclaimed. It returns to Southwark this summer, running at Elephant once again from the 19th of June until the 22nd of August, with tickets now on sale from the Southwark Playhouse website.

AVENUE Q

West end revival to extend into 2027, due to popular demand

The current revival of Robert Lopez and Jeff Whitty’s Tony winning and Olivier nominated musical “Avenue Q” is set to extend into 2027, after a hugely successful launch of the production. The show is currently experiencing its first ever major revival, in celebration of 20 years since it first opened in the west end in 2006, running at the Noël Coward, Gielgud and Wyndham’s Theatres respectively, and although it underperformed at that year's awards season, it still remains hugely popular, as well as a critical smash hit.

With an original closing date set for August, the show will now run until the 3rd of January 2027, and tickets are on sale for performances up to and including this date from the Shaftesbury Theatre website.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

King Herod casting shuffled, Simon Russell Beale to appear at Drury Lane

Ahead of its summer run at the London Palladium, and subsequent transfer to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the upcoming west end revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" is set to see its performers portraying King Herod reshuffled, with Simon Russell Beale no longer slated to appear at the Palladium, instead becoming the first name announced for the show's second run at Drury Lane, where he will perform between the 7th - 12th of December.

Taking on his dates at the Palladium will be Richard Armitage, who is now set to appear on the role between the 18th of July and the 1st of August, as well as for both performances on the 8th of August in the absence of Boy George. Also portraying Herod are Jesse Tyler Ferguson (20th June - 11th July), Layton Williams (17th - 29th August) and Julian Clary (31st August - 5th September). You can find out more via the official Jesus Christ Superstar website, where you can also book tickets for all performances for both venues.