Richard Meek taking over as Brad in The Rocky Horror Show

Richard Meek is taking over from Ben Freeman as Brad Majors in the UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show from 6th June 2016.

Meek reprises his performance as Brad, having played the role on previous UK tours as well as in Singapore and New Zealand. He recently played Eddie/DR Scott in the musical's West End run at the Playhouse Theatre and has been alternating Eddie/DR Scott on the current tour. 

His theatre credits include: Sir Galahad in Spamalot (UK tour), Dustin/understudy Greaseball in Starlight Express (Germany), News Revue (Canal Cafe), understudy Jesus in Godspell (UK tour), Joseph & Judah in Joseph (UK tour) and Mikado in Hot Mikado (Upstairs at the Gatehouse). 

First casting revealed for new UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show

First casting has been announced for the new UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show.

The cast includes: Paul Cattermole (S Club 7) as Eddie and Dr. Scott. Ben Freeman (Emmerdale/Wicked) as Brad and Diana Vickers (X Factor/The Duck House, pictures right) as Janet.

Also in the cast is Kristian Lavercombe who is reprising his performance as Riff Raff. Further casting will be announced soon.

The production will open in Brighton on 17th December for a Christmas engagement before visiting Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sunderland, Wimbledon, Torquay, Edinburgh, York, Aylesbury, Richmond, Stoke-on-Trent, Woking, Bristol and Glasgow.

New Wicked Cast Announced

At long last the new cast of Wicked has been announced! So, without further ado,  from Monday 29 October 2012, Wicked will star: Louise Dearman (Elphaba), Gina Beck (Glinda), Ben Freeman (Fiyero), Louise Plowright (Madame Morrible), Keith Bartlett (The Wizard), Christopher Howell (Doctor Dillamond), Sam Lupton (Boq), Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose), Hayley Gallivan (Standby Elphaba), Lucy van Gasse (Standby Glinda), Florence Andrews, Gemma Atkins, William Bozier, Oliver Brenin, Lauren Brooke, Philip Catchpole, Aisling Duffy, Chlöe Hart, Jacqueline Hughes, Robert Jones, Sophie Linder Lee, Tania Mathurin, Marc McBride, Stacey McGuire, Tom Muggeridge, Sean Parkins, Michelle Pentecost, Stuart Ramsay, Lindsay Taylor, Paulo Teixeira, Justin Thomas, Hannah Toy, Matt Turner, Oliver Watton and Jason Winter. 

Review: Legally Blonde The Musical - A Must See Before 7 April 2012

Legally Blonde The Musical
The Savoy Theatre

In August 2010 I was practically bullied into going by a friend. Arriving at the incredible Savoy Theatre I was planning to sit there and make it clear I was not enjoying it, however from beginning to end I sat there with the biggest smile on my face and left walking down the stand singing 'oh my god, oh my god you guys' (I would have said I was holding it in but that would be a lie). It has to be said though that for me, the reason it was so amazing was because of the incredibly talented Sheridan Smith. Not because of her strong voice or comic timing but because of that relationship she created with the audience and the way she completely understood the character she was playing. The best thing about her portrayal of Elle was that because she is nothing like her in real life, she played her in a way, where it was like she was almost taking the mickey out of her. This is why I think British people loved her because they related with her and were almost laughing at the Americans. Also other actors in the show did this and it was as if they were taking the mickey out of there own characters.

Susan McFadden as Elle

Once Susan McFadden took over the role, that extra omph Sheridan brought left the show. Susan was the best vocalist to ever play Elle in my opinion and her acting was also good, I loved her sarcasm, however she didn't lead the show and didn't create that relationship with the audience. However I do think Carley has started to bring this back to the show. Also I think Tamara Wall and  Denise Van Outen were also good at creating that relationship with the audience.

I also love the three friends who follow Elle round in the show. I once saw, Pilar, Lucy & Emma together and they were soooo funny together, adding lots of bits in. Legally Blonde also has tones of great songs across all different genres! I thought it would just be poppy music and when 'oh-my-god' started I feared the whole show would be like that however I love how funny 'Serious' is. 'What You Want' is also great and I love how so much time passes during that song. It also includes a bit of rap. The 'Gay Or European' is so so funny and is just like Old British Theatre.

Something else that shows that Legally Blonde is so great is that all three Elle's have gone on to do great things. Since leaving Legally Blonde Sheridan smith has filmed 6 films and is Currently filming a new ITV drama in which she plays the title role 'Mrs Biggs'. Susan McFadden is currently touring America having joined 'Celtic Woman'. And as I previously wrote about on the blog Carley Stenson is joining the cast of Shrek and is to perform in her first cabaret. Also I'm pleased for Swing Ruthie Stephenson who is to be the Dance Captain on the new Starlight Express UK Tour!

If you haven't seen Legally Blonde you must see it before it closes in a few weeks! The whole cast always put all their effort into every performance and I grantee you will leave feeling uplifted!

Ben Freeman & Carley Stenson will star as 
Warner & Elle until the end of the current west end run