The full cast for The Great British Bake Off Musical is announced for its transfer to London’s West End, opening at the Noël Coward Theatre for a limited twelve-week run from 25 February to 13 May 2023.
Joining the principal line-up is four-time Olivier Award-nominee and BAFTA-nominee Hadyn Gwynne [Anything Goes, Billy Elliot the Musical, TV: The Crown, The Windsors] as Pam Lee, the iconically stylish, sharp-tongued judge, along with former Pop Idol contestant turned West End singing sensation Zoe Birkett [Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Bodyguard] as one half of the comedy presenter duo Kim and, rising star Grace Mouat best known for her role in the original SIX [Cinderella, Legally Blonde] will play contestant Izzy.
Georgie Westall [A Christmas Carol, Rocky Horror Show], Stuart Hickey [Come From Away, Grandpa’s Great Escape] and Jamil Abbasi, making his West End debut, join as understudies and Aanya Shah, Amelie Rouse and Maisy Mein will play the child role of Lily.
This heart-warming and funny new British musical captivated audiences in a triumphant run at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham this summer and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh [Wind in the Willows, Half a Sixpence] with an original and clever score, written by multi-award-winning duo Jake Brunger (book and lyrics) and Pippa Cleary (music and lyrics), critically acclaimed as “one of musical theatre’s most dynamic writing partnerships.”
Inspired by the TV show, The Great British Bake Off Musical follows the amateur bakers as they seek to impress the judges and battle their way to be crowned Star Baker. The audience are taken on a rollercoaster of a journey with memorable songs and dance as the bakers face trials, tribulations and baking failures, bringing them together in a story of friendship and romance along the way.
The new cast members announced today join many of the original cast reprising their performances; award-winning West End and Broadway actor John Owen Jones [Les Misèrables, The Phantom of the Opera] as he returns for his starring role as Phil Hollinghurst, the esteemed blue-eyed, silver-fox judge, along with Scott Paige [The Addams Family, Nativity!], Claire Moore [Mary Poppins, The Girls, The King & I], Catriana Sandison [Evita, We Will Rock You], Charlotte Wakefield [The Boy In The Dress, Crazy For You, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang], Damian Humbley [Merrily We Roll Along, Hedda Gabler], Jay Saighal [Hedda Gabler, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III], Michael Cahill [Martin Guerre, Les Misérables, Starlight Express, Joseph], and making his West End debut Aharon Rayner.
Created by Mark Goucher Productions in association with Creative Director and Executive Producer Richard McKerrow and the producers of the TV phenomenon, Love Productions, this musical comedy has perfectly reimagined the nation’s favourite baking show into a warm-hearted comedy musical. The Great British Bake Off was co-created by Anna Beattie and Richard McKerrow.
The original creative team includes: choreographer Georgina Lamb, set, costume and cake designer Alice Power, lighting designer Ben Cracknell, sound designer Ben Harrison, orchestrations Tom Curran, musical supervisor Mark Collins, assistant musical director Chris Poon and casting director Jim Arnold CDG.
Prue Leith said “I am thrilled to bits that The Great British Bake Off Musical is going to the West End. It is an uplifting, funny, heartfelt story, which will have you singing and dancing out of the theatre with a huge smile. A theatrical sweet treat. Just what we need right now.”
