Final casting is revealed today for Iris Theatre’s 10th anniversary immersive production of Macbeth, joining the previously announced David Hywel Baynes, who has returned from the US to star as Macbeth following his Best Actor Offie Award-nominated tour-de-force as King Richard in Richard III, also for Iris Theatre.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Daniel Winder, will run Wednesday 21 June – Saturday 29 July.
Macbeth cast
David Hywel Baynes (Macbeth/Rebel Soldier). Previous theatre includes: Caliban in The Tempest (Ophelia Theatre Group); The Dauphin, Henry V (Globe); Bolt, Pericles (Savannah Music Festival); Richard, Richard III (Offie nomination for Best Actor), Queen of Hearts and March Hare, Alice in Wonderland, Brutus, Julius Caesar, Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Chief Weasel, The Wind in the Willows (Iris Theatre at St Paul’s Church). David is also founder and artistic director for the recently formed New York Shakespeare Company.
Stephan Boyce (Duncan & Seyton/Porter & Padock & Apparitions). Theatre includes: Romeo & Juliet (Reading Between The Lines Theatre Company, Salisbury Playhouse); Titus Andronicus (The Malachite Theatre Company); Thirst (Brightlights
Production Company).
Jenny Horsthuis (Malcolm & Lady Macduff & Second Witch) Theatre includes: Mr Kolpert, Olga, Othello, The Cherry Orchard, The Taming of The Shrew, Pressure Drop, Summer Brave,The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent, The Permanent Way (East 15).
Nick Howard-Brown (Banquo & Captain & Apparitions). Theatre includes: Much Ado About Nothing, Treasure Island, Twelfth Night, Pinocchio, Julius Caesar, Richard III, Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass (Iris); The Merchant of Venice (The Globe); Hamlet (Tivoli Theatre).
Linford Johnson (Ross/1st Witch). Theatre includes: Show Boat (New London); War Horse (UK, Ireland, South Africa tour); Hair (Hope Mill Theatre); Alice’s Adventures Underground (Waterloo Vaults).
Mogali Masuku (Lady Macbeth & Macduff’s Son & Captain’s Son & Fleance & Third Witch). This is Mogali’s professional debut.
Matt Stubbs (Macduff & Murderer & Harpier & Apparitions). Theatre includes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stafford Castle); Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth (Page2Stage Productions); Love In The Wood (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
Macbeth Creative Team: Director Daniel Winder. Set Designer Alice Channon. Costume Designer Anna Sances. Fight Director Roger Bartlett. Lighting Designer Benjamin Polya. Sound Designer and Composer Filipe Gomes. Movement Elissa Aravidou. Witches Choreographer Lina Johansson.
Artistic director Daniel Winder opens the 2017 season by directing Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a terrifying journey into the mind of a murderer. This production will weave its way around the grounds of St Paul’s Church; reflecting the play’s journey into the twisted mental landscape of Macbeth as he rises to be king.
Returning to Iris Theatre after three years, David Hywel Baynes takes on the title role, following his critically-acclaimed and Offie-nominated performance in the Iris production of Richard III. David said:
“Getting the chance to come back and work on my favourite play with the Iris family was a no-brainer. The environment surrounding Iris during the summer season is like no other. And it’s truly an honour to be back in London with them as they celebrate their 10th anniversary. May there be many more to come!”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Iris is a dynamic theatre company based at the world-famous St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden. The company, established in 2007 by Artistic Director Daniel Winder, has a reputation for producing vibrant and accessible site-specic and outdoor theatre, alongside a growing new musical theatre strand. Iris gained full charity status in 2009 with a mission to support the development of the next generation of professional theatre practitioners. This year Iris will also produce The Odyssey, directed by Phil Wilmott, for Gods and Monsters Theatre at The Scoop on the South Bank.
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare
21 June – 29 July
St Paul’s Church
Bedford St,
Covent Garden
London WC2E 9ED
Elaine Paige (Queen Rat), Ashley Banjo and Diversity (The Sultan and his Entourage), Gary Wilmott (Sarah the Cook) and Charlie Stemp (Dick Whittington) will join the previously announced Julian Clary (Spirit of the Bells), Paul Zerdin (Idle Jack) and Nigel Havers (Captain Nigel) in the line-up for Qdos Entertainment’s London Palladium production of Dick Whittington. Final casting will be announced at a later date. Dick Whittington will run at the London Palladium for five weeks only over the festive season from Saturday 9 December 2017 to Sunday 14 January 2018, with press night on Wednesday 13 December 2017 at 7pm.
Multiple award-winning actor, recording artist, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige will play Queen Rat. She has previously starred in more West End and Broadway musicals than anyone else of her generation – Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Billy, Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. In addition, she was part of the Sir Peter Hall Company for The Misanthrope and Where There’s A Will. Her BBC Radio 2 programme, Elaine Paige on Sunday, is broadcast weekly to over 2.5 million listeners. She continues her extensive live work with a series of UK concerts in October and November of this year. As a recording artist, she has released 22 solo albums as well as featuring on multiple cast albums. Paige was made an OBE in 1995.
Ashley Banjo is a dancer, choreographer and creative director. He is the founder and leader of dance group Diversity who won the third series of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Aside from the group’s achievements Banjo has since been a judge on all 5 series of Sky 1’s Got To Dance, has had 4 of his own series on Sky 1 and has co-hosted BBC 1’s Can’t Touch This. He now judges on ITV’s new primetime show Dance Dance Dance.
Innovative dance group Diversity took the nation by storm when they won the third series of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. The group have since gone on to achieve worldwide success and have just completed their 7th sell out UK tour Genesis. The group also have countless television performances to their name including 2 primetime ITV shows, Diversity Live and Diversity Presents Steal The Show.
Gary Wilmot’s multiple theatre credits include Big The Musical for the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre and on UK tour, The Pajama Game at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, Copacabana at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Carmen Jones at the Old Vic, Pirates of Penzance for Regent’s Park Theatre and Me and My Girl at the Aldephi Theatre. His many UK tour credits include End of the Rainbow, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, Chicago and From Hackney to Hollywood. Later this month Wilmot will open at the London Palladium playing Badger in The Wind in the Willows.
Award-winning Charlie Stemp is currently playing the lead role in Half a Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre, a role he first performed at Chichester Festival Theatre, which has garnered him both great critical and audience acclaim. His previous theatre credits include Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and the international tour of Mamma Mia!
Dick Whittington is produced by Nick Thomas and Michael Harrison for Qdos Entertainment, the team behind last year’s twice Olivier-nominated London Palladium production of Cinderella, which broke box office records for the highest grossing week in West End theatre history. Dick Whittington is written by Alan McHugh, directed by Michael Harrison, choreographed by Karen Bruce with musical supervision and orchestrations by Gary Hind, lighting by Ben Cracknell, set designs by Ian Westbrook, 3D Creations, costumes by Hugh Durrant, visual special effects by The Twins FX, projection design by Duncan McLean and sound design by Gareth Owen.
Nick Thomas is the founder and Chairman of Qdos Entertainment Group. The business that he started in 1982 is now one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Aside from the company’s credentials in pantomime, it is the UK’s second largest regional theatre and concert hall operator, and employs 1,800 full time staff.
Michael Harrison has previously produced over 100 pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment where he is also Managing Director. He has directed 12 consecutive pantomimes at Newcastle Theatre Royal and 7 productions at Birmingham Hippodrome and as a producer in the West End his credits include Gypsy, The Bodyguard and Annie as well as the forthcoming production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.
As the world’s biggest pantomime producer, over the past 35 years Qdos Entertainment has established itself as one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Over the past three decades the pantomime giant has staged 684 pantomimes and this season expects over two million people will see one of its shows.
The London Palladium, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatres Group, is a venue to which all performers aspire and has hosted more annual Royal Variety Performances than any other theatre. It recently returned to its variety roots and is taking its rightful place as one of the most popular venues for leading musicians, performers, comedians and now Pantomime which returned last December after an absence of nearly 30 years.
