Posted in: Pop Culture | Tagged: Allie Dart, Ashley Tucker, Ben Smith, Claire-Marie Hall, Curtis Patrick, David Howe, Ed Zanders, Goes Wrong, Henry Lewis, James Spence, Jasmine Swan, Joe Allen, Jonathan Sayer, Josh Patel-Foster, Lucy Jenkins, Luke Latchman, Marc Pickering, Matt Cavendish, Melody Sinclair-Marsh, Mia Jerome, mischief theatre, Nick Lodge, Play That Goes Wrong, Rhys Taylor, Robyn Grant, Sooki McShane, theatre, Thespians

The Musical Comedy That Goes Right? Mischief's Thespians Gets Its Cast

The Musical Comedy That Goes Right? Mischief Theatre's Thespians announces its full cast ahead of its UK tour

Regular Bleeding Cool readers will know just what a fan of the Mischief Theatre I am. They are the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong and its many, many spinoffs, Groan-Ups, A Comedy About A Bank Robbery, A Comedy About Spies, and once a personal performance (kind of) of Peter Pan Goes Wrong for me and me alone. But they've only really gone for musical comedy in their improvised shows, such as Mischief Movie Night. And those, they just make up on the spot. This year, they are doing it properly with Thespians, a new musical comedy about the very first actors in Ancient Greece. And rather than debuting in the West End as they have done in recent decades, they are going back to their Play That Goes Wrong roots with small theatres. And around the UK. I am sure it will come to the West End in due course… but I have my tickets booked for Guildford in the summer.

Written by Jonathan Sayer, co-writer of The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, and Ed Zanders, musical director of Mischief Movie Night, Thespians "transports the audience back to 534 BC, where, on Greece's smallest island, a brave band of bards is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant. The odds couldn't be higher – the loser faces the death sentence, and things are not looking good for the islanders… until… Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world's first play and the birth of theatre as we know it!"

I mean, that is basically what happened. Though maybe with fewer rhymes. And now we have the cast… and right off the bat, I am a big fan of Allie Dart… Okay, this is going to be good. I am glad I bought my (front row) ticket when I did.

• Allie Dart (Unfortunate; The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – The Other Palace/The Lowry and UK Tour, The Comedy About Spies – Noël Coward Theatre, West End) as Rhapsodes/Dance Captain
• Ashley Tucker (Christmas Carol Goes Wrong – UK tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of ) and Baskerville – Vienna's English Theatre) as part of the ensemble
• Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat – Broadway/West End, Les Misérables – West End) as Poly
• Curtis Patrick (Young Frankenstein – Hope Mill Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire – Noël Coward Theatre) as part of the ensemble
• James Spence (Unfortunate; The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – The Other Palace/The Lowry) as Thespis
• Josh Patel-Foster (Oliver! – Gielgud Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre, Roman Holiday – Theatre Royal Bath) as part of the ensemble
• Luke Latchman (Now That's What I Call A Musical – UK Tour; Sunset Boulevard – Savoy Theatre) as Atlas
• Marc Pickering (The Play What I Wrote – Devonshire Park Theatre, Bleak Expectations – Criterion Theatre) as Adonis;
• Matt Cavendish (The Comedy About Spies – West End, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong – West End) as Bard
• Mia Jerome (The Manningtree Witches – Mercury Theatre Colchester, Romeo & Juliet – Jamie Lloyd Company) as Melampus
• Rhys Taylor (Millennials – The Other Palace; Everybody's Talking About Jamie UK Tour) as The Tyrant.

And the crew:

• Director – Robyn Grant (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – The Other Palace, The Battle – Birmingham Rep)
• Designer – Jasmine Swan (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch – The Other Palace, The Mesmerist – Watford Palace Theatre)
• Choreographer – Melody Sinclair-Marsh (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch -The Other Palace, #50Days: A State Of The Nation Grime Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome/BYMT)
• Lighting designer – David Howe (Christmas Carol Goes Wrong – West End, Private Lives – Broadway)
• Sound designer – Nick Lodge (The Sound of Music – Leicester Curve, Dick Whittington – Plymouth Theatre Royal)
• Musical director – Ben Smith (Operation Mincemeat – West End, Giant – Royal Opera House)
• Associate director – Joe Allen (as an actor The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – The Other Palace, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – West End)
• Casting directors Lucy Jenkins CDG and Sooki McShane CDG
• Executive producer Henry Lewis.

Director Robyn Grant says "I'm absolutely thrilled to be heading into rehearsals with such a brilliant cast and creative team. It's a real joy to be directing Mischief's first musical, and I can't wait to start building something playful, ambitious, and full of surprises together. With a company this strong, it feels like we're in very safe hands – and ready to take on the small matter of reinventing the origins of theatre." Writer Jonathan Sayer says, "I can't wait for rehearsals to start! I'm so excited about our cast, they're absolutely brilliant, and it's going to be a joy to see the characters and the songs brought to life." And here's where you'll find it…

• COLCHESTER MERCURY SAT 9 – SAT 23 MAY
• BATH THEATRE ROYAL TUE 26 – SAT 30 MAY
• SWINDON WYVERN THEATRE TUE 2 – SAT 6 JUNE
• GUILDFORD – WEEK 1. YVONNE ARNAUD TUE 9 – SAT 13 JUNE
• CHELTENHAM EVERYMAN THEATRE TUE 16 – SAT 20 JUNE
• CARDIFF TUE 23 – SAT 27 JUNE
• GUILDFORD – WEEK 2 YVONNE ARNAUD TUE 30 JUNE – SAT 4 JULY
• MANCHESTER HOME TUE 7 – SAT 18 JULY

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