Bend It Like Beckham announces West End closure

It has been announced that Bend It Like Beckham will close on 5th March 2016.

The Producers are currently finalising both national and international touring offers including a tour of India visiting multiple stadia. The musical opened at the Phoenix Theatre in June 2015.

Writer Gurinder Chadha said: "I am incredibly proud of the Bend It Like Beckham cast, musicians, production and creative teams. We opened at the Phoenix Theatre to the most amazing five star reviews and we've inspired and entertained people of all ages and all backgrounds, something I have not seen in the West End for many years. I set out to tell our stories from my perspective of our multicultural London. Our show celebrates all of us on stage and behind the scenes, something myself and the team worked so well together to realise. 

Sneak peek at... Jamie Muscato in Bend It Like Beckham

Ahead of his first performance tonight (14th December), first images have been released of Jamie Muscato in the West End production of Bend It Like Beckham The Musical. Check out the images below (click picture to enlarge).

Muscato takes over from Jamie Campbell Bower, joining Natalie Dew as Jess and Lauren Samuels as Jules in the musical which is booking at the Phoenix Theatre to 5th March 2016. The current cast also includes Sophie-Louise Dann as Paula, Jamal Andréas as Tony, Preeya Kalidas as Pinky and Tony Jayawardena & Natasha Jayetileke as Mr & Mrs Bhamra. 

Jamie Muscato to star in Bend It Like Beckham

It has been announced that Jamie Muscato is joining the West End production of Bend It Like Beckham The Musical later this month.

Muscato will take over from Jamie Campbell Bower as Joe from 14th December 2015. He joins Natalie Dew as Jess and Lauren Samuels as Jules in the musical which is booking at the Phoenix Theatre to 5th March 2016.

The current cast also includes Sophie-Louise Dann as Paula, Jamal Andréas as Tony, Preeya Kalidas as Pinky and Tony Jayawardena & Natasha Jayetileke as Mr and Mrs Bhamra. 

Muscato previously played Joe in one of Bend It Like Beckham's early workshops. Recently he played Anthony in Sweeney Todd (Welsh National Opera), Nathan in The House of Mirrors and Hearts (Arcola) and Eddie Birdlace in the UK premiere of Dogfight (Southwark Playhouse).

Beautiful, Kinky Boots & Bend It Like Beckham to perform on Children In Need

It has been announced that the West End casts of Beautiful, Kinky Boots and Bend It Like Beckham will perform on this year's Children In Need.

This year's charity telethon will be broadcast on the BBC on Friday 13th November 2015 from 7.30pm. The show will be hosted by Tess Daly, Fearne Cotton, Rochelle Humes and Nick Grimshaw.

Bend It Like Beckham extends booking & digitally releases cast album

Today (14th August), Bend It Like Beckham has extended its West End booking period at the Phoenix Theatre to 20th February 2016, with over 140,000 new tickets going on sale.

This coincides with the digital release of Bend It Like Beckham's cast album which is now available to buy on digital platforms including iTunes and Amazon. The album will be physically released on CD on 11th September 2015 by Sony Classical, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 

Recorded live over several performances at the Phoenix Theatre, the score has music and lyrics by Howard Goodall and Charles Hart. The Bend It Like Beckham original cast album features seventeen tracks from the show including: Girl Perfect, Heer, Bend It, People Like Us, UB2 and Glorious.

Bend It Like Beckham releases EPK & confirms album release date

Bend It Like Beckham's original cast album will be released on 25th September 2015 and is avaliable to pre-order now. Producers have also released the show's EPK which you can watch below.

Bend It Like Beckham is written by Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha, with music by Howard Goodall and lyrics by Charles Hart. Chadha has also directed the production which opened at the West End's Phoenix Theatre last month.

Review: Bend It Like Beckham at the Phoenix Theatre

Bend It Like Beckham 
Phoenix Theatre
Reviewed on Thursday 25th June 2015
★★★

Based on the 2002 movie, Bend It Like Beckham is the latest screen-to-stage musical to open in the West End. Featuring some catchy tunes and strong performances, importantly Gurinder Chadha's production doesn't simply recreate the film; instead the characters and story have been taken one step further to create an original musical which is unlike anything else in the West End.

New production images released for Bend It Like Beckham

New production images have been released for Bend It Like Beckham which officially opens the Phoenix Theatre tomorrow (24th June 2015). Check out the images below (click picture to enlarge).

The cast is led by Natalie Dew as Jess, Lauren Samuels as Jules and Jamie Campbell Bower as Joe. Jamal Andréas plays Tony alongside Preeya Kalidas as Pinky and Sophie-Louise Dann as Paula.

First production images released for Bend It Like Beckham

First production images have been released for Bend It Like Beckham which is currently in previews at the Phoenix Theatre ahead of opening night on 24th June 2015. Check out the images below (click picture to enlarge).

The cast is led by Natalie Dew as Jess, Lauren Samuels as Jules and Jamie Campbell Bower as Joe. Jamal Andréas plays Tony alongside Preeya Kalidas as Pinky and Sophie-Louise Dann as Paula.

Sophie-Louise Dann to star in Bend It Like Beckham; rehearsal images released

It has been announced that Sophie-Louise Dann has joined the cast of Bend It Like Beckham as Paula, Jules’s Mum. Dann replaces the previously announced Ronni Ancona. Her theatre credits include Made in Dagenham (Adelphi), Forbidden Broadway (Menier) and Lend Me A Tenor (Gielgud).

Rehearsal images have been released for the show which opens at the Phoenix Theatre on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May). The production is booking until 24th October 2015. Check out rehearsal images below (click image to enlarge).

The cast is led by Natalie Dew as Jess, Lauren Samuels as Jules and Jamie Campbell Bower as Joe. Jamal Andréas plays Tony alongside Preeya Kalidas as Pinky and Tony Jayawardena and Natasha Jayetileke as Mr and Mrs Bhamra.

Photo Feature: Cast of Bend It Like Beckham visit Southall ahead of rehearsals

Ahead of rehearsals, the West End cast of Bend It Like Beckham spent the day in Southall, West London, where the story of the musical is set. See what they got up to below (click image to enlarge).

The musical opens at the Phoenix Theatre on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May). Natalie Dew will play football crazy Jess with Lauren Samuels as Jules, a player with the Harriers, a local women’s football team and Jamie Campbell Bower as their coach Joe.

Ronni Ancona will play Paula, Jules’s Mum, with Jamal Andréas as Jess’ good friend Tony. Preeya Kalidas plays Pinky, Jess’ sister, with Tony Jayawardena and Natasha Jayetileke as her parents, Mr and Mrs Bhamra. Sohm Kapila, Buckso Dhillon-Woolley and Harveen Mann play Aunties, Irvine Iqbal and Karl Seth play Uncles, with Sejal Keshwala, Serina Mathew and Sharan Phull as Cousins.

Bend It Like Beckham extends West End booking to October 2015

Bend It Like Beckham has extended its booking period at the Phoenix Theatre to 24th October 2015.

The show opens on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May). 200,000 extra tickets are now on sale. 

It was recently announced that Natalie Dew, Lauren Samuels and Jamie Campbell Bower will star in the production. Click here for full casting.

On film, the 2002 British comedy drama starred Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Following the international release of Bend It Like Beckham the film, produced by Deepak Nayar and Gurinder Chadha, went on to win multiple awards worldwide.

Casting confirmed for Bend It Like Beckham

Following last night's gossip, casting has been officially announced for Bend It Like Beckham. The musical opens at the Phoenix Theatre on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May).

Natalie Dew will play football crazy Jess with Lauren Samuels as Jules, a player with the Harriers, a local women’s football team and Jamie Campbell Bower as their coach Joe.

Ronni Ancona will play Paula, Jules’s Mum, with Jamal Andréas as Jess’ good friend Tony. Preeya Kalidas plays Pinky, Jess’ sister, with Tony Jayawardena and Natasha Jayetileke as her parents, Mr and Mrs Bhamra. 

Sohm Kapila, Buckso Dhillon-Woolley and Harveen Mann play Aunties, Irvine Iqbal and Karl Seth play Uncles, with Sejal Keshwala, Serina Mathew and Sharan Phull as Cousins.

GOSSIP: First casting revealed for Bend It Like Beckham

According to the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye, the West End production of Bend It Like Beckham will star Natalie Dew, Jamie Campbell Bower and Lauren Samuels. The musical opens at the Phoenix Theatre on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May).

Casting has now been confirmed

Click here for info

Natalie Dew's theatre credits include: Romeo and Juliet and Swine (National Theatre) and Arabian Nights (RSC). Jamie Campbell Bower played Anthony Hope in the 2007 film adaptation of Sweeney Todd. His film credits also include Twilight and Camelot. After appearing on BBC1's Over The Rainbow, Lauren Samuels (pictured right) has starred in the West End productions of Grease and We Will Rock You.

Bamigboye has revealed that the cast will also include: Preeya Kalidas, Jamal Andreas, Ronni Ancona, Tony Jayawardena and Natasha Jayetileke.

GOSSIP: Bend It Like Beckham to open at the Phoenix Theatre next spring?

According to Baz Bamigboye, Bend It Like Beckham the musical is ready to open at the Phoenix Theatre next spring, following the closure of Once.

The show has music and lyrics by Howard Goodall (pictured right) and Charles Hart. Gurinder Chadha (who directed and co-wrote the film) directs.

Samantha Barks and Richard Fleeshman starred in the show's workshop last year. The cast also included Tara Divina, Frances Ruffelle, Shobna Gulati and Preeya Kalidas.

Theatre Gossip: Samantha Barks leads Bend It Like Beckham The Musical workshop alongside Frances Ruffelle & Richard Fleeshman

The Daily Mail has revealed that the creative team behind the musical adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham held a workshop performance last week. Samantha Barks, who recently starred in the Les Miserables film, played Jules (the role Keira Knightley famously played in the 2002 film).

Tara Divina starred alongside Samantha as Jess. The cast also included: Frances Ruffelle, Shobna Gulati, Ex-Eastenders actress Preeya Kalidas and Richard Fleeshman (pictured above with Samantha during rehearsals). Baz Bamigboye reports that no cast deals went beyond the workshop. He claims that the company were instructed not to talk or tweet about their participation in the performance which was directed by Gurinder Chadha (who directed and co-wrote the film) as the producers do not want a repeat of Viva Forever which created too much hype too early on.

Theatre Gossip: Bend It Like Beckham to be turned into a musical?

According to the Daily Mail, David Beckham has given producers permission to use his name in the title of a new musical based on the film Bend It Like Beckham, which will also feature footage of his signature, curving free kick. Workshops are set for early next year. Please remember nothing has yet been confirmed - so don't get excited just yet!

The film debuted in 2002, starring Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra, and directed by Gurinder Chadha, who will also direct the stage adaptation. 

Howard Goodall (Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Red Dwarf, The Hired Man, Love Story) will craft the score, with lyrics by Charles Hart and book by Chadha and her husband, Paul Mayeda Berges. Choregrapher Lynne Page has also signed on to the project.