Ben Richards joins Beverley Knight in the West End cast of The Bodyguard
TV and stage star Ben Richards will join previously announced Beverley Knight in the hit musical The Bodyguard when it returns to the West End for a limited run this summer.
The actor, who can currently be seen on screen in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, will play the title role alongside Knight when the show opens at the Dominion Theatre on 15 July.
Richards’ stage musical pedigree includes playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls on tour and in the West End, Danny Zuko in Grease at the Victoria Palace and on tour, Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever at the London Palladium and on tour, and Stacee Jaxx in a touring production of Rock of Ages.
Recording artist Knight (Memphis the Musical) will return to the leading role of Rachel Marron which she played for the first time in 2013, for The Bodyguard’s six month run at the Dominion until 7 January 2017.
Other confirmed cast members include Rachel John, Carole Stennett, Mark Holden, Alex Andreas, Dominic Taylor, Matthew Stathers and Glen Fox.
Ensemble members are: Omari Bernard, Faye Best, Pablo Ceresuela Torres, Carlos Ugarriza Crespo, Lisa Darnell, Charles Hagerty, Emma Joy Hopkins, Ibinabo Jack, Christopher Jeffers, Verity Jones, Annie Kitchen, Phoebe Liberty, Raul Naranjo Garcia, Mary Lynn Tiep, Michael Wade-Peters, Matthew Wesley, Emmy Willow and Mark Willshire.
The child actors who will alternate the role of Marron’s young son will be announced soon.
Based on the blockbuster Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner movie, Thea Sharrock’s production of The Bodyguard received its world premiere in November 2012 with Heather Headley in the extended role of Marron and Lloyd Owen as her bodyguard, Frank Farmer.
Knight took over the central role a year later, with former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke in turn taking over from Knight in 2014. Burke continues to play the role in the show’s UK and Ireland tour which is due to come to an end in June.
Sharrock’s production has a book by Alex Dinelaris, with designs by Tim Hatley, lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Richard Brooker and video designs by Duncan McLean. Choreography is by Karen Bruce, orchestrations are by Chris Egan with musical supervision by Richard Beadle. The Bodyguard is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian.
International productions of the show continue in the Netherlands and Germany, and productions are due to open in the US, Korea and Italy later this year.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for The Bodyguard at the Dominion Theatre are available HERE.
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