Layton Williams and Shane Richie will return to the roles they played in the West End production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie when the critically-acclaimed and crowd-pleasing new British musical takes to the road for its first major tour in 2020.
Still winning hearts in the central role of Jamie New at London’s Apollo Theatre, Williams will take his performance home to Sheffield (the setting for the show and the city where the show debuted four years ago) when the tour launches at the Lyceum Theatre in February next year.
Commenting on his touring debut as Jamie, Williams said: “I’ve loved my time in the West End but am beyond excited to be playing Jamie on tour! This will be my 6th tour and I can’t wait to come back to some of my favourite venues with this beautiful show. I hope you’ll welcome me back with open arms as we share this beautiful story and spread love across the UK! See you’s soon…”
Comedian and EastEnders actor Richie who will reprise his performance as Hugo/Loco Chanelle for the tour added: “I had such a fantastic time playing Hugo/Loco Chanelle in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in the West End, so when I was offered the chance to be involved in the touring production I jumped at the opportunity to get back into those heels! I believe this show has such an important message for younger and older generations I’m excited to be taking it to a larger audience around the UK.”
The show will play the Lyceum Theatre from 8-29 February 2020 before heading for Edinburgh, Northampton, Birmingham, Canterbury, Newcastle, Brighton, Nottingham, Aberdeen, Llandudno, Southampton, Cardiff, Norwich, Glasgow, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Leeds, Salford and Amsterdam.
Written by Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae, the show is directed by Jonathan Butterell, who also came up with the original idea for the show. The show has collected eight major theatre awards to date.
Commenting on the first piece of casting news for the tour, producer Nica Burns said: “Since Everybody’s Talking About Jamie opened in early 2017 at the Sheffield Crucible, written by a virgin British musical theatre writing team and performed by a large cast of mostly new faces, all our dreams for the show have come true. We are a hit!
“In November we will be starting our third year in the West End. The movie is currently shooting in Sheffield. We have won awards. Now we are going to be playing 20 cities nationwide led by two of our brilliant West End stars, the superb Layton Williams as Jamie and the wonderful Shane Richie as Hugo/Loco Chanelle. Fittingly, we are looking forward to opening our national tour back at its home in Sheffield on the fourth anniversary of its first performance.”
The movie version of the musical will star recent Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant as Loco Chanelle, award-winning former Coronation Street star Sarah Lancashire as Margaret New, award-winning actress and writer Sharon Horgan as Miss Hedge and another former Corrie star, Shobna Gulati, who will reprise her West End performance as Ray. Following an open casting call, newcomer Max Harwood will make his professional debut as Jamie New.
The production’s creative team includes designer Anna Fleischle, choreographer Kate Prince, musical supervisor Theo Jamieson, lighting designer Lucy Carter, sound designer Paul Groothuis, video designer Luke Halls and casting director Will Burton.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie are available HERE.
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