John-Owen Jones leads the cast of Tiger Bay the musical at WMC. Picture: Huw John, Cardiff
The full cast has been announced for the premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical at Wales Millennium Centre (running from 13 to 25 November, with opening night on 15 November).
Bringing to life on stage this epic story of romance, revenge, heartbreak and hope will be a 39-strong cast, led by the previously announced West End and Broadway star John Owen Jones (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera), as John Crichton-Stuart, Third Marquess of Bute; former Hear’Say singer and local boy Noel Sullivan (BBC’s Ordinary Lives, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and We Will Rock You – UK tours) as harbour master, Séamus O’Rourke; Suzanne Packer (Casualty, Stella) as landlady Marisha; recent graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Vikki Bebb as valley girl, Rowena; with Ruby Llewellyn and Louise Harvey, two young girls from Cardiff sharing the role of Ianto.
They will be joined by Dom Hartley-Harris, who will complete the principal cast as Themba, an African immigrant working the Cardiff docks to avenge his family.
Dom Hartley-Harris most recently played Jagwire in the new musical Bat Out of Hell. His other theatre credits include Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and Accidental Brummie.
Zolani Shangase (Disney’s The Lion King, West End, and most recently Chico in the Fugard Theatre’s production of West Side Story) will travel from South Africa to reprise the role of Yusef, following previews of the musical in Cape Town earlier this year.
Also joining from Cape Town are Busisiwe Ngejane (Isango Ensemble’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Boheme, Carmen and A Man of Good hope) who will play lady of the night, Klondike Ellie; and Luvo Rasemeni (Isango Ensemble’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Boheme, Carmen and A Man of Good hope) as Felize; as well as Ernestine Stuurman as part of the ensemble.
Liz May Brice (Torchwood: Children of Earth, Bad Girls, Peep Show, Black Mirror) will play clairvoyant, Leonora Piper. Ian Virgo (The Bastard Executioner, Weapon, Before the Fall, Holby City, Spooks), Adam Vaughan (The Wind in the Willows – London Palladium, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd) and Rhidian Marc (Les Misérables – West End, UK tour and film, Pippin, Scrooge) will play donkeymen, Bosun and Arwyn and First Mate/Locke, respectively.
Wales Millennium Centre has turned to Welsh performers to create the production’s ensemble including Zoe George (Wicked UK, Ireland and international tour as understudy for Elphaba and Nessarose), Lucy Elson in her career debut and Elin Llwyd (S4C presenter, Welsh National Theatre’s Lady From the Sea and Spring Awakening) who will play shop girls of the famed David Morgan department store.
They will be joined by Jamal Andréas, Lee Dillon-Stuart, Kit Esuruoso, Soophia Foroughi, Daniel Graham, Carl Man, Kayed Mohamed-Mason, Cilla Silvia, Josh Tonks, Emma Warren and Stephanie Webber.
Ten young Welsh actors and actresses have been cast as the gang of water boys: Amaree Ali, aged 12, from Grangetown; Lefi Jô Hughes, aged 10, from Canton; Lowri Elin Hughes, aged 14, from Caerphilly; Shakira Lorenza, aged 12, from Butetown; Amelia Jenkins, aged 14, from Bridgend; Mimi Nanud, aged 13, from Barry; Lauren Price, aged 11, from Rhiwbina; Mallers Saltus-Hendrickson, aged 9, from Butetown; Cadi-Gwen Sandall, aged 10, from Whitchurch; and Efan Williams, aged 9, from Canton.
Graeme Farrow, artistic director at Wales Millennium Centre said: “This is the biggest production to come from the Centre to date and we are proud to give people a snapshot of the history of our home and celebrate all its richness, efforts and feats through music and performance. To capture the essence of the production, we were seeking a diverse cast, so we are delighted to be able to announce that our full cast includes talent from across the world as well as right on our doorstep.”
Presented by Wales Millennium Centre in association with Cape Town Opera, Tiger Bay the Musical has book and lyrics by Michael Williams, an original score from award-winning Welsh composer Daf James, and is directed by Melly Still whose credits include productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Glyndebourne, Bristol Old Vic and on Broadway.
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