Aria Entertainment and Metta Theatre announce that Noel Sullivan will star as ‘Grey’ in the premiere of brand-new life affirming musical The Rhythmics this winter, playing at the Southwark Playhouse from 2 December to 8 January, with a press night on Tuesday 7 December.
Recent graduate Zweyla Mitchell Dos Santos will make her professional debut alongside Noel, playing ‘Silva’. A brand-new music video for one of the numbers in the show – ‘Daddy, You’re My Hero’ – has also been released, with the leads coming together for the first time performing together.
With book and lyrics by Metta’s Artistic Director P Burton-Morgan, and music and lyrics from Stiles + Drewe award winner Ben Glasstone (Reanimator), The Rhythmics explores the crisis of masculinity via a collection of oddballs belting their way through a thrillingly catchy guitar-led score. Full casting will be announced shortly.
Hapless single-dad Grey is in a rut. Teenage daughter Silva packs him off to revive his rockstar dreams, successfully auditioning for ‘Nick & the Rhythmics’ only to realise… he’s actually signed up for an All-male Rhythmic Gymnastics troupe. Against the odds these burly blokes make it as far as the World Championships – twirling their ‘ribbons of fire’ – and along the way Grey finally learns to commit to life. Calendar Girls meets The Full Monty in this joyous new British musical.
P Burton-Morgan says, “I’m thrilled to collaborate with the gorgeous talent that is Noel Sullivan and delighted to be giving Zweyla her professional debut – she’s a star in the making. It feels crazier than ever right now to be premiering a completely original new British musical – but with the astonishing responses to The Rhythmics cast album and now this stellar cast joining our brilliant creative team I know the show is in safe hands!”
Noel Sullivan said, “I’m thrilled to be leading the cast of “The Rhythmics” this coming Christmas, at the Southwark playhouse. It’s so exciting to be part of such an ambitious, brand new, British musical theatre project and after the year we’ve just had, this show will be the perfect, uplifting, tonic.”
The Rhythmics is directed by P Burton-Morgan, with choreography by Mark Smith, with Ellie Verkerk as Musical Supervisor, Erika Gundesen as Musical Director, James Nicholson as sound designer, Francine Huin-Wah as costume designer, Jane Deitch as casting director, and Will Reynolds as set and lighting designer.
A cast album for the show was created last year during lockdown under socially distanced rules in studios across London, Brighton and Glasgow, and released in July 2020. The album is available via Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Music and other digital platforms.
Like the music video Got Your Back, created to accompany the release of the album, the full production will also feature BSL integrated choreography from Deaf men Dancing’s Mark Smith, as well as captions throughout all performances, to make the show accessible for D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
