Cast and venues announced for UK tour of Bugsy Malone

Bugsy Malone at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London. Picture: Tristram Kenton

The casting and tour schedule for the first professional UK touring production of Alan Parker’s exuberant musical Bugsy Malone have been announced.

Presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, Birmingham Rep and Kenny Wax, the revival of the Lyric Hammersmith’s Olivier Award-nominated production will open at the Theatre Royal Bath from 2-23 July 2022 followed by Birmingham Rep from 27 July to 14 August before embarking on a national tour.

The lead roles will be played by three young casts of seven in rotation. Aged between nine and 15, the actors playing the title role will be Shaun Sharma, Gabriel Payne and Amar Blackman, with Blousey Brown played by Mia Lakha, Delilah Bennett-Cardy and Avive Williams; Fat Sam by Albie Snelson, Isham Sankoh and Charlie Burns; Tallulah by Taziva-Faye Katsande, Jasmine Sakyiama and Fayth Ifil; Fizzy by Aidan Oti, Jamie Northey-Dennis and one performer yet to be announced; Lena/Babyface by Cherry Mitra, Kayla-Mai Alvares and Ava Hope Smith; and Dandy Dan by Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray, Kit Cranston and Desmond Cole.

The 39-strong cast will be completed by adult ensemble members: Georgia Pemberton, Alisha Capon, Lucy Young, D’Mia Lindsay Walker, Jessica Daugrida, Alicia Ally, Alicia Belgarde, Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Luchia Moss, Kalifa Burton, Rory Fraser, Andile Mabhena, Thomas Walton, Ru Fisher, Mohamed Bangura, Marcus Billany, Luke Mills and Will Lucas.

The critic and crowd-pleasing production which delighted audiences at the Lyric in 2015 and 2016 is directed by Sean Holmes and choreographed by Drew McOnie, with design by Jon Bausor.

They will be joined by associate director Franny-Anne Rafferty, musical supervisor, arranger and orchestrator Phil Bateman, lighting designer Phil Gladwell, sound designer Ben Harrison and associate choreographer Leanne Pinder, with Verity Noughton as casting director for the unders, Will Burton as casting director for the overs, and wig designer Susannah Peretz.

Following the Birmingham Rep run which ends on 14 August, the tour will visit Newcastle Theatre Royal, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, Leeds Grand Theatre, Glasgow Theatre Royal, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Oxford Playhouse, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre, Leicester Curve, Milton Keynes Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Hull New Theatre, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Manchester Opera House, Edinburgh Playhouse, Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre and Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury with more venues to be announced.

Based on filmmaking legend Parker’s imaginative 1976 feature film directorial debut, the mob musical comedy with a youthful twist and lashings of custard pies and whipped cream, the stage musical which was adapted by Parker and features Paul Williams’ original music, premiered in the West End in 1983.

The production at Her Majesty’s Theatre was directed by Michael Dolenz, the drummer in 1960s pop band The Monkees, and starred a young Catherine Zeta-Jones as Tallulah, the role famously played by Jodie Foster on screen.

Angela Thomas