Cast Set For Joy Productions' Inaugural Pantomime JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Joy Productions has announced the full cast for their inaugural pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk at the Broadway Theatre, Catford, marking a new addition to London's festive calendar. Written and directed by Susie McKenna, the cast includes Siobhan Athwal, Derek Elroy, Ben Fox, Evelyn Hoskins, Wayne Rollins and Durone Stokes. The voice of the harp will be played by Sharon D. Clarke and the voice of the Giant by Cavin Cornwall.

The production opens on 15 December, with previews from 13 December and runs until 31 December.

Writer and director Susie McKenna said today, “Pantomime has been a huge part of my career for 40 years, not least my 22 years at the helm of the critically acclaimed Hackney Empire panto. After a break of three years from the genre, I am over the moon and excited to be embarking on a new Pantomime adventure at the beautiful Broadway theatre, working with Joy Productions. I can't wait to create a show for the area that truly reflects the dynamic energy and diversity of this community - something every generation can feel true pride in.”

Recently formed production company, Joy Productions, led by producer Julie Clare and co-producer Chuchu Nwagu, has entered into a five-year partnership with the newly refurbished Grade II-listed Broadway in Catford to programme their annual pantomime. With a message of accessibility, inclusivity and diversity at the heart of the new alliance, over 8,500 tickets are available for only £10. Education and outreach initiatives will run alongside the pantomime, including education partnerships with local colleges, including Goldsmith's University of London, with further details to be announced shortly.

Jack, his Mum and their cow Caroline live in the Kingdom of Lewishfarm and life is tough; the people are poorer, and the rich are getting richer.

Everyone is at the mercy of Giant Egred and his evil cockroach henchman Boris (who, by the way, secretly wants to destroy humanity).

Will Jack fulfil his destiny? Will Caroline the Cow become a Tik Tok star? Will Jack's Mum find love in the audience?

This is truly a pantomime for South London, with a kickin' band, a funky Giant, magic beans, slapstick routines, laughs and silliness galore with plenty of boos, cheers and soulful songs you know and love to keep you singing all the way all the way through!

Siobhan Athwal plays Queen Bee and Antoinette Cockroach. Her theatre credits include My Beautiful Laundrette (National Theatre, The Curve), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare's Globe), Yarico (Royal Opera House), One Man, Two Guvnors (Everyman Playhouse ), And Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre), Wasted (Southwark Playhouse), The Bone Sparrow (York Theatre Royal), Bend It Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre), The Infidel (Stratford East), Viva Forever! (Piccadilly Theatre), and Cinderella and Aladdin (Capitol Theatre). Her television credits include Eastenders, and Doctors; and for film, Zebra Girl, and Walking on Sunshine.

Derek Elroy plays Dame Dolores Trott. His theatre credits include Grimm Tales (The Dukes Theatre), Aladdin (Churchill Theatre), Calendar Girls The Musical (UK Tour), The Wind In The Willows (The Rose Theatre), Screwed (Theatre 503),  Robin Hood (Theatre Royal Stratford East), One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre, West End and UK tour), Kinston 14, Little Red Riding Hood, and Aladdin (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Harder They Come (The Playhouse Theatre, UK tour, International tour),  Dick Whittington And His Cat (The Barbican), The Gruffalo (Tall Stories USA, Canadian tour), I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky (Southwark Theatre & Royal Opera House), Big Nose & Mother Goose (Belgrade Theatre), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Theatre Royal Northampton), and Foe (Theatre de Complicité tour). His television credits include Fortitude 2, Rev, If, Hope And Glory, Noel's House Party, Backup,  and Buried Treasure; and for film, Stupid Boy, Their Story, Your Choice, Val & Elsie, Breakfast On Pluto, The Diary of Bridget Jones, The Nutcracker, and Revolver.

Ben Fox plays Boris the Cockroach. His theatre credits include Guys and Dolls (Ipswich, Salisbury and Clwyd), The Commitments (Palace Theatre), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre). His television credits include Star Wars Andor, The Living Dead, Les Misérables, Pennyworth, The Crown, Game Of Thrones, and Silent Witness; and for film, Blitz, Detective Pikachu, Beauty and The Beast, Muppets Most Wanted, and Robin Hood.

Evelyn Hoskins plays SJ. Her theatre credits include Gypsy (Mill at Sonning), 42 Balloons (Vaudeville Theatre), Waitress (West End & UK tour), Assassins (Watermill and Nottingham Playhouse), Mayfly (Orange Tree); Mrs Henderson Presents (Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto), Peter and the Starcatcher (Royal and Derngate Northampton), Carrie (Southwark Playhouse), Hero's Welcome (UK Tour/Off-Broadway), This is My Family (Sheffield Crucible/UK Tour), The Light Princess, Microwave, Falklands (National Theatre Studios), and Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith/West End).

Wayne Rollins plays Scarecrow. His theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (Selladoor International), RastaMouse (Lyric Theatre), Sucker Punch (UK tour), Nine Night (Leeds Playhouse), Josie and the Multi-Coloured Weave (Geoff Schumann Productions), Real Housewives of Brixton (UK Tour), Smile Orange (Carib Theatre/UK Tour), A Christmas Carol (Hackney Empire), and Waiting To Inhale (Stratford East). His television credits include Ted Lasso; and for film, Gangster Kittens, and Dumar.

Durone Stokes plays Jack. His theatre credits include Groundhog Day (Old Vic), Lion King (West End), The Playboy Of The West Indies (Birmingham Rep), A Taste Of Honey (Trafalgar Studios, National Theatre Tour), Dreamgirls (Savoy Theatre), and Grand Hotel (Southwark Playhouse).

Susie McKenna has been working as an actor, writer, and director for over 35 years nationally, in the West End and in television and film. She has also produced documentaries including Battle Axes for Channel 4 and Journey into Evil for ABC in the USA. Susie is currently Associate Artist at Kiln theatre London and working as a freelance actress, director and writer. McKenna has always worked in Pantomime from her first theatre job in the ensemble to playing Principal Boy at Nottingham Playhouse for eight years, to writing and directing Hackney Empire's first in-house pantomime, Dick Whittington, in 1998. Susie went on to write and direct (and often appear in) the Hackney pantomime to great critical acclaim, up to and including the 21st anniversary production of Dick Whittington in 2020, winning her Best Director at the Great British Pantomime Awards. She became Creative Director of Hackney Empire until December 2017, and was responsible for programming, including commissioning the hit musical drama Rudy's Rare Records starring Lenny Henry, and curating the London Cultural Olympiad comedy festival at the theatre in 2012. Susie also managed the delivery of the creative learning and community programme including directing Hackney Empire's Artist Development Programme main house show each year which produced two graduate theatre companies – Hackney Harlem Theatre Company and TWIST theatre. Other productions at Hackney Empire include Blues in the Night, Beau Jest, Sit and Shiver starring Steven Berkoff, Kat and Tameka Show, La Variété , Sing Out , Alter Ego , A Midsummer Night's Madness (NYC and Edinburgh), a musical adaptation of Macbeth and Once on this Island - a co-production with Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse. In 2012 she was the festival director for Ha Ha Ha Hackney – a seven-show celebration of 60 years of British comedy for the London 2012 Festival.

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