NATIONAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES CASTING
FOR FESTIVE SEASON SHOWS:
BALLET SHOES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
The National Theatre today announces casting for its two new productions coming to the South Bank for the 2024 festive season – a new adaptation of the beloved family favourite Ballet Shoes and a revival of the classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest:
Ballet Shoes
Initial casting for Kendall Feaver’s (The Almighty Sometimes)new adaptation of Noel Streatfeild’s best-selling book Ballet Shoes will include Melanie-Joyce Bermudez (Petrova Fossil), Eryck Brahmania (Ensemble), Cordelia Braithwaite (Ensemble), Michelle Cornelius (Ensemble), Sonya Cullingford (Winifred), Jenny Galloway (Nana), Courtney George (Ensemble), Georges Hann (Ensemble), Nadine Higgin (Theo Dane), Helena Lymbery (Doctor Jakes), Xolishweh Ana Richards (Ballerina ), Sid Sagar (Jayan Saravanan), Grace Saif (Pauline Fossil), Justin Salinger (GUM) and Daisy Sequerra (Posy Fossil).
In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and what they want to be. Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and some unlikely lodgers, they fight to pursue their individual passions. Can they forge a future, keep their family together, and even learn a dance or two along the way?
Directed by Katy Rudd with set design by Frankie Bradshaw, costume design by Samuel Wyer, choreography by Ellen Kane, composition by Asaf Zohar, lighting design by Paule Constable, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, casting by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor and associate choreography by Jonathan Goddard.
Ballet Shoes will run in the Olivier theatre from 23 November 2024. Recommended for ages 7+.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Joining the cast for Max Webster’s (Macbeth, Life of Pi) reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy about identity The Importance of Being Earnest will be Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Rain Dogs, Blues for an Alabama Sky)as Gwendolen Fairfax and Eliza Scanlen (Little Women, Sharp Objects) as Cecily Cardew. They join the previously announced cast Richard Cant (Stan & Ollie, Mary Queen of Scots) as Reverend Canon Chasuble, Sharon D Clarke (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Doctor Who)as Lady Bracknell, Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) as Algernon Moncrieff, Amanda Lawrence (Star Wars: Episode – IX The Rise of Skywalker, Angels in America) as Miss Prism and Hugh Skinner (W1A, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) as Jack Worthing.
Being sensible can be excessively boring. At least Jack thinks so. While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade. Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies from which they must carefully navigate.
Directed by Max Webster with set and costume design by Rae Smith,lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Nicola T. Chang, composition by DJ Walde, movement direction by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille and casting by Alastair Coomer CDG.
The Importance of Being Earnest runs in the Lyttelton theatre from 20 November 2024 to 25 January 2025.
Tickets for Ballet Shoes and The Importance of Being Earnest are on sale from nationaltheatre.org.uk