Initial casting announced for Regent Park's 2015 Season

Dom O'Hanlon
Dom O'Hanlon

The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre has announced initial casting for its 2015 season, which will see a return of one of their popular productions, as well as revivals of two classic plays and an MGM musical.

Full casting has been announced for J.M Barrie's Peter Pan which opens the summer season on 15 May 2015. The production, which is directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel, uses Barrie's original script to tell the classic British tale of the boy who refuses to grow up and the Darling family's adventure in Neverland. The production runs to 14 June 2015, with an official opening on 21 May 2015.

Hiran Abeysekera will play the title role alongside David Birrell as Captain Hook. They are joined by Beverly Rudd (Smee), George Bukhari (Nibs) Kae Alexander (Wendy), Patrick Osborne (John), Thomas Dennis (Michael), Rachel Donovan (Tinker Bell), Eben Figueiredo (Tootles), Thomas Pickles (Slighty), Richard James-Neale (Curly), Jacob James Beswick & Chris Lew Kum Hoi (Twins), Carl Prekopp (Gentleman Starkey), Okorie Chukwu, Owain Gwynn, Jonathan Holby and Arthur Kyeyune (Pirates), Melanie Pappenheim, Daniel Bradley, Candida Caldicot, Zands Duggan & Tamara Young (Musicians) and Joe Swain (Show Climber).

The production will feature designs by Jon Bausor, costumes by Jon Morrell, puppet design by Rachael Canning, composition and sound score by Nick Powell, musical supervision and direction by Candida Caldicot, lighting design by Rick Fisher, and sound design by Nick Lidster for Autograph.

Olivier Award winner Janie Dee will star as Irina Arkadina in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull which has been adapted by Torben Betts. Directed by Matthew Dunster, this Russian classic is celebrated as one of the most important plays of the nineteenth century.

She will be joined by Sabrina Bartlett as Nina and Matthew Tennyson as Konstantin with full casting to be announced. It will feature set design by Jon Bausor, movement by Charlotte Broom, lighting design by Philip Gladwell and sound design by Christopher Shutt.

As guests assemble at a country house for the staging of an avant-garde open air play, artistic temperaments ignite a more entertaining drama behind the scenes, with romantic jealousies, self-doubt and the ruthless pursuit of happiness confusing lives, loves and literature. The production runs from 19 June to 11 July 2015, with an official opening on 24 June 2015.

Alex Gaumond and Laura Pitt-Pulford will star as Adam and Milly in the MGM classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the venue's annual musical offering which will reunite the team behind the 2013 production of 'The Sound of Music', running from 16 July to 29 August 2015, with an official opening on 23 July 2015.

Featuring a book by Lawrence Kasha and David S. Landay, music by Gene De Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer and new songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, this Oregon set musical is based on the popular MGM Film of the same name, and 'The Sobbin' Women' by Stephen Vincent Benét. The score features numbers such as 'Bless Your Beautiful Hide', 'Goin' Courtin' and 'Wonderful Day'. The full cast is yet to be announced.

This production will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with set and costume design by Peter McKintosh, choreography by Alistair David, musical supervision and dance arrangements by Gareth Valentine, musical direction by Stephen Ridley, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, orchestration by Larry Blank, and sound design by Nick Lidster for Autograph.

The season concludes with a revival of the venue's previous production of Lord of the Flies, directed by Tim Sheader. Running for just 14 performances from 3 to 12 September 2015, this drama is based on the text by William Golding and adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams. Full casting will be announced at a later date.

Tickets for all productions are on sale.

Originally published on

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