Nicholas Parsons hosts The Great British Musicals in Concert

Nicholas Parsons narrates The Great British Musicals in Concert at the London Hippodrome on 1 June

Following the critically acclaimed concert, Ivor Novello – The Great British Musical, award-winning musical director Ross Leadbeater returns to the London Hippodrome on Sunday 1 June at 7pm with The Great British Musicals in Concert.

Narrated by presenter, actor and BBC Radio 4 Just a Minute host Nicholas Parsons, the show should be an intimate evening in the Hippodrome’s glamorous Matcham Room, with a host of West End performers and special guests.

The evening celebrates the music of Arthur Sullivan, Lionel Monckton, Vivian Ellis, Noel Coward, Lionel Bart, Leslie Bricusse and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and features a special centenary tribute to Ivor Novello’s 1914 composition ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’.

This landmark London venue, which housed the original production of Vivian Ellis’ Mr Cinders in 1929 and where, in 1945, Novello’s Perchance to Dream played for more than 1,000 performances.

West End performers include Katy Treharne (The Phantom of the Opera, Dear World), Rhidian Marc (Les Miserables), Richard Kent (Wicked, Salad Days), Annatt Bass (The Phantom of the Opera) and the debut performance of The Novello Singers – a new eight-voice musical theatre ensemble.

Nicholas Parsons has worked in every branch of showbusiness. A serious actor and comedian, he has performed solo cabaret work and stand-up comedy around the world, including the Edinburgh Festival – where he has appeared for nine years presenting three different shows. He became a household name in Britain as straight man to comedian Arthur Haynes in the early 1960s, topping the comedy ratings for Independent Television for ten years. He hosted the amazingly successful Sale of the Century for 14 years, and has hosted BBC Radio 4’s Just a Minute for 45 years. He has enjoyed roles in Boeing-Boeing, Say Who You Are, Uproar in the House, Charlie Girl, Into the Woods, and two London seasons and a national tour in The Rocky Horror Show.

Ross Leadbeater has a versatile career as a musical director, pianist, vocal coach, producer and presenter in theatre, television and radio. He is a former member of the Classical Brit Award-winning choir Only Men Aloud, having appeared on the Royal Variety Show, BBC Proms in the Park and Songs of Praise. West End credits as musical director include Talent (Garrick Theatre), West End Eurovision 2012 (Dominion Theatre) and Betwixt! (Trafalgar Studios).

Katy Treharne trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Theatre: Love Beyond (Brighton Centre), Valley of Song, Perchance to Dream (Finborough Theatre), Dear World (Charing Cross Theatre), Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre). Treharne recently recorded her debut solo album Think of Me.

Richard Kent trained at Guildford School of Acting. Theatre: Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre), Wicked (Apollo Victoria), The Woman in White (Palace Theatre), The Producers (UK tour), Carousel (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Go-Between (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Salad Days (Riverside Studios), Anything Goes (Kilworth House).

Annatt Bass trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Royal Academy of Music. Theatre: The Phantom of the Opera, The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore (UK tour) and Park Avenue (Sadler’s Wells).

Rhidian Marc trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and is currently in the cast of Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre) and was in the film version and 25th Anniversary concert (O2). Other theatre credits include Scrooge (UK tour).

Readers may also be interested in:

Ivor Novello – The Great British Musical – Review

www.hippodromecasino.com/whatson/the-great-british-musicals