Step aside, Elphaba—musical theatre has some new witches prepping to hit the boards. Rehearsals are underway for the upcoming world premiere of Roald Dahl's The Witches, a new musical with a score by Dave Malloy (The Great Comet) that will begin performances at London's National November 7. Opening night is November 21, with the run set to continue through January 27, 2024.
Directed by Lyndsey Turner (The Crucible), and featuring a book and lyrics by Olivier winner Lucy Kirkwood (Mosquitoes), the cast is led by Olivier nominee Katherine Kingsley (The Larkins) as the Grand High Witch, BAFTA winner Daniel Rigby (Accidental Death of an Anarchist) as hotel manager Mr. Stringer, and Sally Ann Triplett (Oklahoma!) as Gran.
Go inside the rehearsal room with these photos below:
Zoe Birkett and Irvine Iqba
William Skinner
Tania Mathurin
Savannah Skinner-Henry
Dave Malloy
Sally Ann Triplett
Laura Medforth, Chrissie Bhima, Jacob Maynard, and Daniel Rigby
Katherine Kingsley and company of The Witches
Katherine Kingsley and company of The Witches
Katherine Kingsley and company of The Witches
Julie Armstrong and Daniele Coome
Jemima Loosen, Nesim Adnan, Cristian Buttaci, Alice Valeriano, Sasha Watson-Lobo, Elara Jagger, and Asanda Abbie Masike
Jacob Maynard and Ekow Quartey
George Menezes Cutts, William Skinner, and Cian Eagle Service
George Menezes Cutts
Frankie Keita
Company of The Witches
Chrissie Bhima
Bobbie Little and Zoe Birkett
Bertie Caplan
The cast includes a witch ensemble comprising Julie Armstrong, Chrissie Bhima, Zoe Birkett, Maddison Bulleyment, Miracle Chance, Daniele Coombe, Molly-May Gardiner, Tiffany Graves, Bobbie Little, Tania Mathurin, Amira Matthews, and Alexandra Waite-Roberts.
The production also features Laura Medforth as Mum, Richard David-Caine as Dad, Ekow Quartey as Mr. Jenkins, Maggie Service as Mrs. Jenkins, and Irvine Iqbal as Chef Chevalier at Hotel Magnificent. Completing the team at Hotel Magnificent are Adrian Grove, Jacob Maynard, and Ben Redfern.
Among the young cast are Bertie Caplan, Frankie Keita, and Vishal Soni playing the hero Luke; Cian Eagle-Service, George Menezes Cutts, and William Skinner playing Bruno; and Jersey Blu Georgia, Asanda Abbie Masike, and Chloe Raphael playing Helga.
Completing the young ensemble are Nesim Adnan, Alaia Broadbent, Chenai Broadbent, Cristian Buttaci, Sekhani Dumezweni, Rudy Gibson, Florence Gore, Elara Jagger, Annabelle Jones, Jemima Loosen, Charlie Man-Evans, Iesa Miller, Jack Philpott, Sienna Sibley, Savannah Skinner-Henry, Poppy-Mei Soon, Benjamin Spalding, Dylan Trigger, Alice Valeriano, Sasha Watson-Lobo, and Stella Yeoman.
The story—adapted from Dahl's 1983 novel—follows Luke and his Gran, who come to a gathering of all the witches in England, determined to rid the world of children by transforming them into mice. The book has previously been adapted for the screen twice, in 1990 and 2020.
The creative team also include set and costume designer Lizzie Clachan, choreographer Stephen Mear, music supervisor Nigel Lilley, music director Cat Beveridge, lighting designer Bruno Poet, co-sound designers Alexander Caplen and Ian Dickinson, video designer Ash J Woodward, illusions designers Chris Fisher and Will Houstoun, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, associate director Séimí Campbell, staff director Priya Patel Appleby, associate set designer Shankho Chaudhuri, associate costume designer Johanna Coe, associate wigs, hair, and makeup designer Kim Kasim, associate choreographer Ebony Molina, associate music director Natalie Pound, and children’s and assistant music director Sarah Morrison.
For tickets visit NationalTheatre.org.uk.
