Duncan James Joins Marlowe Theatre Pantomime JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

West End star and pop icon, Duncan James will be joining local favourite Ben Roddy in this year's Marlowe Theatre pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk.

The show, which is co-produced by The Marlowe and Evolution, will once again be written and directed by Paul Hendy. The show opens in Canterbury on Friday 26 November.

Duncan, who is currently on TV screens as a contestant in Celebrity Masterchef, will be taking on the title role of Jack.

He is well-known as a member of pop group Blue. The band formed in 2001 and have had 40 number one singles worldwide, three number one UK albums and sales of over 16 million records. They took a break in 2005, before reforming to represent the UK at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

Duncan's stage credits include Billy Flynn in Chicago, Warner Huntington III in the West End production of Legally Blonde, Tick in the UK tour of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert and Frank-N-Furter in the UK and Ireland tour of The Rocky Horror Show.

He also played the role of Ryan in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and received nominations for Most Popular Newcomer at the 2016 National Television Awards and Best Newcomer at the 2017 Soap Awards.

In 2020 and 2021 Duncan has been the resident headliner for Proud Cabaret in London's West End.

Ben Roddy will be playing Dame Trott in his 12th panto at The Marlowe Theatre. Ben was awarded Dame of the Year at The Great British Pantomime Awards for his role in Peter Pan in 2018 and nominated for Best Ugly Sister for his role in Cinderella in 2018/19.

In 2019 he appeared at The Swan Theatre (Stratford upon Avon) for the Royal Shakespeare Company in The Provoked Wife and Venice Preserved and produced Harrogate Theatre's Autumn repertory season. This year he produced outdoor theatre show The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was performed in Canterbury's Westgate Gardens, also playing the role of Dr Watson.

Further casting is due to be announced soon.

Jack and the Beanstalk will be co-produced with Evolution Productions, which is run by Paul Hendy and Emily Wood. They have been producing at The Marlowe for the last 17 years and have built a reputation for creating some of the biggest and best pantomimes in the country. Evolution won Best Pantomime at the Great British Pantomime Awards in 2017 (Dick Whittington), 2018 (Mother Goose) and 2019 (Cinderella).

Jack And The Beanstalk is at The Marlowe Theatre from Friday 26 November to Sunday 9 January 2022, with various performance times. Please check the website for the full schedule of performances that Duncan James will be appearing in.

Tickets can be booked on marlowetheatre.com or via the Box Office on 01227 787787.

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