Simon Friend Entertainment announces the latest additions to the cast of the box office sensation The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel in BBC 1’s Only Fools and Horses, ITV’s Grantchester), Ruth Madoc (Gladys Pugh in BBC 1’s Hi-de-Hi! and Little Britain; Calendar Girls UK Tour), Belinda Lang (ITV’s Second Thoughts; BBC 1’s 2point4 Children) and Graham Seed (Nigel Pargetter in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers) are to join the cast of Deborah Moggach’s celebrated show, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Tessa Peake-Jones will perform as Evelyn, Ruth Madoc will appear as Muriel, Belinda Lang joins the cast as Madge and Graham Seed as Norman from Tuesday 28 February 2023 when the play opens at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham.
Today’s newly announced cast members join Paul Nicholas (Jesus Christ Superstar, BBC 1’s Just Good Friends, Eastenders) who continues in the role of Douglas having joined the tour in September 2022 alongside Tiran Aakel (The Kite Runner, UK and Dubai Tour; Umm Kalthoum and The Golden Era, Dubai Opera House) who performs as Mr Gupta, Rekha John-Cheriyan as Mrs Kapoor (Kerbs, Tomb Raider, Dream Horse); Shila Iqbal (East Is East, Octagon Theatre; Eaten by Lions); as Sahani, Kerena Jagpal (Mismatch and Twitch, Birmingham Rep; Circle Game, Southwalk Playhouse) as Kamila, Nishad More (King Lear, Royal Shakespeare Company) as Sonny Kapoor, Anant Varman (who makes his professional UK stage debut with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Mohan and Adam Morris (Dial M for Murder and The Messiah, UK Tours); and Julie Wood (Brave New World, Harrogate Theatre) who join the company as male and female understudies.
Simon Friend, producer of the show, commented: “It has been an incredibly heart-warming experience touring this wonderful production, filling theatres with audiences who have otherwise been slower to come back to plays following the pandemic. While touring a play with a large cast in this climate was a considerable risk, this show has demonstrated that regional play-going audiences are certainly hungry for theatre, and never before has this life-affirming story been more relevant.
Further casting to be announced.
