FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR PETER PAN
Birmingham Repertory Theatre has today announced the full cast for their festive production of Peter Pan. Bringing director and choreographer Liam Steel’s thrilling new imagining of the classic story to life will be a company of 18 actors.
Flying high as Peter Pan is Lawrence Walker with Cora Tsang playing Wendy and Nia Gwynne as the formidable Hook. Kascion Franklin plays John Darling and Scarlett Ward plays Michael Darling. Swashbuckling their way as pirates are Charlotte Merriam as Smee and Stavros Demetraki as Starkey alongside Sia Alipour, Chris Charles, Luke Johnson and Jocelyn Prah.
Joining the gang of Lost Boys is John Carter as Slightly, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Faye Campbell as The Twins, Keiren Hamilton-Amos as Nibs, Hannah Millward as Tootles and Dominic Owen as Curly. The cast is completed by Mirabelle Gremaud as Tink. Within the cast of 18, three actors are making their professional stage debut – Cora Tsang, Sia Alipour and John Carter.
Following last year’s acclaimed retelling of The Wizard Of Oz, director Liam Steel brings the classic Peter Pan story into the twenty-first century. The REP’s new Birmingham-set version will make audiences fall in love with the family favourite all over again.
Director Liam Steel said:
“We are creating a brand new re-imagined version of Peter Pan specifically for Birmingham audiences. All the beloved characters will be there (albeit with some surprise twists in the casting), but we have transposed it from London 1904 to Birmingham 2019 and made the characters much more relatable and relevant for a modern day audience.
For children encountering the story for the first time, I want them to feel this was how the characters were originally written, and for those who know the story well, then I want them to experience it with the joy of re-discovery, as though they are hearing it for the very first time all over again.
With spectacular flying, incredible sets on a huge scale, ingenious puppetry, out of this world costumes and of course a giant man eating crocodile, audiences can expect to see one of the most visually spectacular Christmas shows ever to grace The REP’s stage. I can’t wait to get started in rehearsals with our wonderful company of actors and bring this thrilling new version of Peter Pan to life.”
Liam Steel is a multi-award winning director and choreographer whose work has included creating productions for the National Theatre, The Globe, RSC, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the Royal Court, Manchester Royal Exchange, Chichester Festival Theatre, Frantic Assembly and many more. He is a core collaborator at Regents Park Open Air Theatre and has worked on ten productions there over ten seasons, including co-directing and choreographing Sondheim’s Into The Woods, which was awarded an Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.
He has created many award winning contemporary dance commissions, choreographed for Musical Theatre on the West End and Broadway. In the commercial sector his work includes creating all the musical staging and choreography for the film version of the musical Les Misérables – winner of 3 Oscars, 4 BAFTAS and 3 Golden Globes – including Best Motion Picture.
Peter Pan at Birmingham Repertory Theatre will be adapted by Georgia Christou and Liam Steel from the original play and book by J.M.Barrie. It will be designed by Michael Pavelka with costume designs by Laura Stanfield and lighting design by Lee Curran. The composer is Asaf Zohar with sound design by Christopher Shutt. Kate Waters is Fight Director and Polly Jerold is casting director.
Peter Pan opens at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 30 November and runs until 19 January. Tickets are on sale now and available from 0121 236 4455 / birmingham-rep.co.uk
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