Delroy Atkinson & Gina Murray Lead London Premiere of JIHAD! THE MUSICAL

Olivier Award winner Delroy Atkinson and West End favorite Gina Murray are set to star in Jihad! The Musical, to be presented by Seabright Productions at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Gordon Greenberg (Jacques Brel...) will direct the production, which will makes it's London premiere from January 8-February 6, 2010. Jihad! previously played the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007 to sell-out audiences and critical acclaim.

This satirical romp about the war on terror follows the story of an innocent young flower seller from the mean streets of Jalalabad to the midst of a sleeper cell in the West. He's helped by a very friendly local terrorist - and an unusually proactive TV reporter in search of a ‘killer' story.

With singing camels, dancing girls and a heartfelt hero, Jihad! sends up stereotypes, politics and big business, and the love affair between terrorism and the media. Songs include Building a Bomb Today, I Wanna Be Like Osama, and Axis of Freedom.

Delroy Atkinson's work in stage includes the West End hit Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre), The Enchanted Pig (Young Vic), Come Dancing, The Harder They Come and Pinocchio (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Jerry Springer the Opera, winning the Olivier Award for best performance in a supporting role, (Lyttleton and Cambride Theatres), Bombitty of Errors (New Ambassadors), Lautrec (Shaftesbury Theatre), Rent (UK tour and Prince of Wales Theatre), Five Guys Named Moe (number one tour). Other theatre credits include Our Country's Good, The Tempest, Treasure Island and Twelfth Night (all for the Nuffield Theatre), Poison (Tricycle Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Goldsmith Park), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (WYP), Heroes (Blue Elephant) and Requiem (Café Royal, Edinburgh), The Harder They Come (Canons Theatre and Adrienne Arsht Theatre, Toronto and Miami) and Lost in the Stars (Royal FestivAl Hall). Television and film credits: My Family (BBC1), Small Island (BBC1), No Heroics (Tiger Aspect/BBC3), After You've Gone (BBC1), Moonmonkeys (Avalon/BBC3), The Bill (ITV), Still Crazy (Columbia TriStar), From Bard to Verse (Baby Cow for BBC3), Did You Get the Bag? (Candella Films) and Weekends (Sightline Productions). Cast recordings include Jerry Springer the Opera and Day-o.

Gina Murray Starred in the West End in Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison Story, Fame, Carnaby St, Fuddy Meers, The Full Monty and played Mama Morton in Chicago (2008/09). She's done many commercials, quite a bit of TV and she's just completed her second feature film...but nobody likes a bragger! The Flirting Club is Alex Jovy's follow-up to Sorted, Gina's first film and is set for release this year. Gina appeared in the Edinburgh festival this year, starring in Murder Mystery Musical. She is currently collaborating with sister (Killer Queen in We Will Rock You) Mazz Murray, on a comedy project for the BBC. Together they also form half the quartet WOMAN. Along with Kerry Ellis and Anna-Jane Casey, they've recorded "I'm A Woman" in aid of Breast Cancer Research. 

Jihad! features a book by Zoe Samuel, music by Benjamin Scheuer, and lyrics by Samuel and Scheuer. Joining Atkinson and Murray on stage are Tara Carrozza, Richard David-Caine, Yannick Fernandes, and Sorab Wadia. Elliot Davis musical directs, with choreography by Nick Winston, design by Lucy Bradridge, and lighting by Mike Robertson.

For tickets and more information, visit http://www.jihadthemusical.co.uk/

 

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