NEWS ROUNDUP: 11-16 February 2025

James Tradgett
Feb 17
4 min read

Another week of exciting theatre news, here are some of the headlines that have been making waves in the stagey world:

A KNIGHT'S TALE - Full cast announcement

Ahead of its world premiere this spring, new musical "A Knight's Tale" has announced its full cast, being led by Andrew Coshan (A Face in the Crowd) as Will Thatcher, Meesha Turner (Six) as Jocelyn, Oliver Tompsett (& Juliet) as Count Adhemar, Max Bennett (King Lear) as Chaucer, Eva Scott (Betty!) as WHAT, Emile Ruddock (Hamilton) as Roland, and Emily Benjamin (Bronco Billy) as Kate.

They are joined by Lauren Arney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow) as Lone Girl, Elliott Gooch (Sister Act) as Blackbird Knight, Mehran James McCullough (The Dream) as Fish Knight, Lisa Kerr (Top Girls) as Simon the Summoner, Ryan Pidgen (Guys & Dolls) as Sir Ector, Jay Saighal (Great British Bake Off: The Musical) as Prince Edward, and Giles Taylor (Witness for the Prosecution) as Father/Bishop.

Lead cast of "A Knight's Tale" (credit: Jay Brooks) — Lead cast of "*A Knight's Tale*" (credit: Jay Brooks)

The ensemble is completed by Arcangelo Ciulla, Georgia Clements, Gabriella Gregorian, Thomas Inge, Zera Malvina Aitken, Ryan North and Chioma Uma, with the adult company completed by swings Robbie Alexander, Zac Frieze, Benedict Hastings and Danielle Huntley; the young company members playing Young William are Cristian Buttaci, Cristiano Cuino, Nicholas Teixiera and Theo Wake.

A Knight’s Tale receives its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House on the 11th of April, with preview performances running until the 23rd of April, and a special gala performance on the 1st of May. Tickets are now on sale from the ATG website, so don’t miss out.

AARON TVEIT - Solo concert at the Palladium

It has been announced that Tony award winner Aaron Tveit will perform a one-off solo concert at the London Palladium this spring. Tveit is a broadway regular, having performed in the original companies of shows such as Next To Normal, Catch Me If You Can and Moulin Rouge, as well as replacing Josh Groban in the 2023 revival of Sweeney Todd as the titular barber.

This concert marks Tveit’s first return to London since he starred as John Wilkes Booth in the 2014 Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sondheim’s “Assassins”, and this concert will mark his debut in the west end. The concert event will play on the 19th of April at 7:30pm, with tickets on sale

ORDINARY DAYS - Cast announcement

L-R: James Edge, Melisa Camba, Dora Gee, Aidan Cutler

The Old Joint Stock/Upstairs at the Gatehouse production of Adam Gwon’s musical “Ordinary Days” has been revealed, featuring Aidan Cutler (Back to the Future) as Warren, Dora Gee (The Mad Ones) as Deb, Melisa Camba (This Is My Name) as Claire, and James Edge (I Screamed a Scream) as Jason.

This production will be directed by Karl Steele, with musical direction by Nick Allen. The show will play from the 9th - 20th April at the Old Joint Stock before a strictly limited run Upstairs at the Gatehouse from the 22nd - 27th of April.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME - UK Premiere

Over 25 years after it first premiered, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz musical "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", adapted from the Disney film of the same name, and based on the Victor Hugo novel, is finally to make its professional west end debut, performing two concerts in London this summer.

The show first played at the Berlin Theatre in 1999, with a German book and lyrics, however it didn’t make its English language debut until 2014 at La Jolla Playhouse, starring Michael Arden, Patrick Page and Ciara Renée, who later reprised their roles at the Paper Mill Playhouse the following year.

Playing two performances at the Prince Edward Theatre on Sunday the 17th of August, at 3pm and 7:30pm respectively, this marks the west end premiere of the show, however all tickets are currently sold out.

THE GREAT GATSBY - Full cast announcement

The full cast for the west end premiere of Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen musical “The Great Gatsby” has been revealed, with previously announced Jamie Muscato and Frances Mayli McCann being joined by Corbin Bleu (Little Shop of Horrors) as Nick Carraway, Amber Davies (Nine: The Musical) as Jordan Baker, Joel Montague (Hamilton) as George Wilson, John Owen-Jones (Les Misérables) as Meyer Wolfsheim, Jon Robyns (Phantom of the Opera) as Tom Buchanan and Rachel Tucker (Wicked) as Myrtle Wilson.

The cast is completed by George Crawford (Waitress), Jordan Crouch (Anything Goes), Kiara Dario (Miss Saigon), Frances Dee (Matilda), Aimée Fisher (Waitress), Tom Andrew Hargreaves (Pretty Woman), Alyn Hawke (Come From Away), Ediz Mahmut (Hadestown), Jamel Matthias (Why Am I So Single?), Nevé McGuiness-Dyce (Starlight Express), Rose Ouellette (The Wizard of Oz), Sophie Pourret (Guys and Dolls), William Richardson (Les Misérables) and Lily Wang (Burlesque) as ensemble, as well as swings Liv Alexander (Cabaret), Taylor Alman (Greatest Days), Lauren Hampton (Mamma Mia!), Jared Irving (Aladdin), Samuel John-Humpreys (Sister Act) and Millie Mayhew (Wicked).