Cast Set For HANSEL AND GRETEL at Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the cast for Hansel and Gretel. Following last year’s run, this year's production is the Brothers Grimm’s classic story, with brand new songs, directed by Nick Bagnall and written by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. The cast comprises Mason Clark-Whale as Ensemble, Ned Costello as Hansel, Lizzie Grace as Ensemble / Cover, Aaron McCallum Hepple as Ensemble / Cover, Harry Hepple as Dad / Swanny, Jenni Maitland as Narrator, Jamie-Rose Monk as Ensemble, Yasemin Özdemir as Gretel, Beverly Rudd as Mum / Witch, and Marc Zayat as Ensemble. 

Director Nick Bagnall says: “I am thrilled to be returning to this brilliant re-telling of the Grimm's fairy tale alongside Simon Armitage with renewed vigour and a whole heap of new mischief. It's a delight to be working with this cracking bunch. With fresh faces comes fresh choices and a brand new world of possibilities.”

New to the creative team are Magnus Mehta (Co-Composer / Orchestrator), Patrick Pearson (Co-Composer / Songwriter), Chi-San Howard (Movement Director), and Liz Flint (Voice). They’re joining last year’s team of Nick Bagnall (Director), Simon Armitage (Writer), and Cory Hippolyte (Associate Director). This year's production is co-designed by Rae Smith and William Fricker.

Meet the Cast

Mason Clarke-Whale is Ensemble. Hansel and Gretel marks Mason's professional stage debut. Workshop and reading credits include: Quicksand (Criterion Theatre); Bad Stuff (Stockroom); Kaleidoscope (National Theatre); Brassic FM (National Theatre). Radio credits include: When the Sun Hits The Sky (Traverse Theatre). Stage credits whilst in training include: Hear Me Now (Burnt Orange Theatre); Gloria, Thebans, Much Ado About Nothing, Death of a Salesman (for Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); What Was Left (Southwark Playhouse).

Ned Costello is Hansel. Ned left LAMDA in 2021 and landed a recurring role in Wreck (BBC Three). In 2022, he performed in the adaptation of Alan Bennett's The Clothes They Stood Up In (Nottingham Playhouse), where he played support lead to Adrian Scarborough and Sophie Thompson. In 2023, he received rave reviews for his performance as the lead in Leaves of Glass (Park Theatre) and his performance gaining him an Off West End (Offie) Award for Best Leading Actor. Ned's screen credits include: guest roles in Andor (Disney+); and Grantchester (ITV). Ned has been starring as Rudge in the 20th anniversary national tour of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, directed by Seán Linnen.

Lizzie Grace is Ensemble / Cover. Lizzie trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Her theatre credits include: Peter James’ Wish You Were Dead (UK tour); The Great Gatsby (West End); We Live By The Sea (59E59 New York / Pleasance Theatre / Adelaide Fringe); Carried Away (Edinburgh Festival Fringe); A Christmas Carol (Metal Rabbit Productions, Old Red Lion Theatre). Her TV credits include: Eastenders (BBC); Atlanta (FX).

Aaron McCallum Hepple is Ensemble / Cover. Aaron is from County Durham and trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Aaron is an actor and poet; he can be seen performing his work across London. His theatre credits include: Robin Hood (Rainton Arena); and The Beatles: Yellow Submarine Tour (International tour).

Harry Hepple is Dad / Swanny. Trained at RADA. Previous work at Shakespeare’s Globe includes: The Lightning Child and Macbeth. Theatre credits include: Hello Dolly! (London Palladium); Assassins (Chichester Festival Theatre); Hamilton (West End); Romantics Anonymous (Bristol / US tour); Rutherford & Son, Follies, A Taste of Honey, Burnt by the Sun (National Theatre); The Daughter in Law, Hot Mess (Arcola Theatre); Wonderland (Nottingham Playhouse); Into the Woods, Pippin (Menier Chocolate Factory); The Saints (Nuffield Theatre); Privates on Parade (Noel Coward Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ragtime (Regent’s Park Theatre); 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Donmar Warehouse); Jump (Live Theatre); Been So Long (Young Vic / English Touring Theatre); I Caught Crabs in Walberswick (Bush Theatre); Alaska (Royal Court). TV credits include: The Red King; The Chelsea Detective; Teacher; Moving On; Boy Meets Girl; Holby City; Little B**tard; Hustle; Doctors; Misfits; Inspector George Gently. Film credits include: Peterloo; Criminal.

Jenni Maitland is Narrator. Jenni trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Previous work at Shakespeare’s Globe includes credits for Titus Andronicus, Emilia, and In Extremis. Other theatre credits include: The 47th (Old Vic); You Stupid Darkness!, The Rivals (Southwark Playhouse); Emilia (Vaudeville Theatre, West End); By Jeeves (Landor Theatre); Guys and Dolls (Cambridge Arts Theatre); A Little Neck (Goat and Monkey); Is Everything OK? (Nabokov); Hobson’s Choice (Chichester Festival Theatre UK Tour); A Chorus of Disapproval (The Mill At Sonning); Northanger Abbey (York Theatre Royal / Salisbury Playhouse / UK Tour); Coram Boy (Royal National Theatre); King Lear (Creation Theatre Company); Plastic Jesus (Old Vic); House and Garden, Fen, Sharp Relief (Salisbury Playhouse); Amadeus (York Theatre Royal); Blithe Spirit (Derby Playhouse); and Daisy Pulls It Off (Lyric Theatre, West End). Her Film and TV credits include: The Beautiful Game (Netflix); Unforgotten (ITV); There She Goes, Doctors, EastEnders (BBC). 

Jamie-Rose Monk is Ensemble. Jamie-Rose Monk trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Previous work at Shakespeare’s Globe includes: The Taming of The Shrew and Princess Essex. Other theatre credits include: Christmas Actually (The Southbank Centre); Greatest Days The Musical (National Tour); The Witch Finder’s Sister (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch); Talent (Sheffield Crucible); Dick Whittington (National Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bridge Theatre); The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Park Theatre); Yap Yap Yap (Royal Festival Hall / Soho Theatre); Fat - A One Woman Show (Hackney Showrooms / Gaggle Productions); The Poisoners' Pact (Stuff of Dreams Tour); Monologue Slam Winner's Edition (Theatre Royal Stratford East / Triforce Promotions). TV credits include: My Lady Jane (Amazon Studios); Gangsta Granny Strikes Again (BBC); Doctors (Semi Regular, BBC); Holby City (BBC); Class Dismissed (Series Regular, Series 1-3, CBBC); Gameface (Objective Fiction). Film credits include: Holmes & Watson (Columbia Pictures Corporation). Comedy credits include: Buttery Brown Monk (Leicester Square Theatre); The Gag Show (Gaggle Productions). Radio credits include: Sketchtopia S1 & S2, Athena’s Cancel Culture (BBC Radio 4).

Yasemin Özdemir is Gretel. Theatre credits include: School for Scandal, The Merry Wives Of Windsor (RSC); Arabian Nights (Bristol Old Vic); Salty Irina (Broccoli Arts at Edinburgh Fringe); Angel (Torch Theatre / Edinburgh Fringe Festival / UK Tour - received a 2022 OFFIES nomination for ‘Best Lead Performance in a Play’); You Bury Me (Paines Plough); Dance To The Bone (Sherman Theatre); Living Newspaper (Royal Court); We Need To Talk About Grief (Donmar Warehouse); Romeo & Juliet (Frantic Assembly / NYTW). Screen credits include: A Spy Among Friends (ITV); Vandullz (BBC); Yummy Mummy (Dreammore Films / BFI). Radio and Voice Over credits include: From Fact To Fiction: Amazon Warrior, Exposure, With Great Pleasure: Michael Rosen and 2 series of English Rose (BBC Radio 4), as well as video games Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Fatshark / Molinare). Yasemin trained at RWCMD, graduating in 2020.

Beverly Rudd is Mum / Witch. Beverly trained at LAMDA and is an accomplished actor and singer across stage and screen. She has recently starred in Janis Pugh's Welsh BAFTA winning film Chuck Chuck Baby (Atemisia Films). Beverly won the RTS award for Best Performance in a Comedy for her role in BBC series Massive in 2009 and is well known for playing series regular Lisa in Trollied (Sky / Roughcut TV). Her theatre credits include: Oliver, The Passion of Living Spit, More Than A Feline (Tobacco Factory); The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (The Bridge Theatre); The Magistrate (National Theatre); Days of Significance (The Royal Shakespeare Company); Peter Pan, The Beggar's Opera, Into The Woods (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre); Acorn Antiques: The Musical! (Phil McIntyre Entertainment); Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Exchange); The Little Mermaid (Bristol Old Vic); Dead Dog In A Suitcase, Brief Encounter, The Tin Drum (Kneehigh Theatre); Titus Andronicus (Paradoxos); The Hole Story (Paines Plough); James & The Giant Peach (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Anna Bella Eema (Arcola Theatre); It's About Time (Nabokov); Soho Cinders (Soho Theatre); Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Limelight / Firey Angel); The Threepenny Opera (NYT). Her Film and TV credits include: Chuck Chuck Baby (Atemisia Films); Cyrano (MGM); Trollied (Sky / Roughcut TV); Twirlywoos, Him & Her, Inn Mates, Scallywagga, Massive (BBC); Shameless, Comedy Showcase: The Function Room & Guantanamo Phil, Coming Up (Channel 4); Coronation Street, Octavia (ITV); Mad, Bad & Sad, Service (Channel 4 Films); Princess & Peppernose: A Musical (RSA Films); No Angels (Comedy Central).

Marc Zayat is Ensemble. Marc is a Mixed-Race actor from South London. Marc has spent most of 2024 commissioned to write the book and lyrics for a brand-new reggae musical in collaboration with Levi Roots, Alex Wheatle, and Ray Shell. His theatre credits include: Romeo & Juliet (Regent’s Park); measure for measure (moving stories, minack); Richard II (UK tour); Sound clash: The Musical (Edinburgh); Joyce: The Musical (UK & World Tour); Sweet (UK tour); Bigger People (UK / Ireland tour); The Big Roll Bandits (Ethereal Theatre); Dick Whittington (Everyman Cheltenham); Aladdin (Oldham Coliseum); You Can Do Anything: The Musical (The Cockpit Theatre); The Snow Queen (MT Productions); Jack & The Beanstalk (Watford Palace). 

 

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