New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich Announce Cast For Regional Premiere Of ONCE

The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich has today announced the cast for their brand new actor-musician co-production of Tony Award-Winning show, ONCE, which will make its regional premiere at the Ipswich based theatre from Thursday 6 to Saturday 22 September.

Directed by New Wolsey Artistic Director Peter Rowe, and presented by the creative team behind the New Wolsey's latest success, Our Blue Heaven, ONCE will be co-produced by Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, and will tour to the London based venue following its run at the New Wolsey.

ONCE will see some well-known faces return to the New Wolsey stage, including Peter Peverley, who recently played the part of Bobby Robson in the theatre's hit production, Our Blue Heaven. Peverley will return in the role of Da.

Other familiar faces include Lloyd Gorman as Svejc. Some may recognise Gorman from his latest appearances in both Worst Wedding Ever and Our House at the New Wolsey Theatre.

Sean Kingsley will also return to the New Wolsey this September in the role of Billy. Kingsley last took to the New Wolsey stage in Oxy and the Morons in 2017, and has also appeared in multiple New Wolsey Rock 'n' Roll pantos including in The Sword in the Stone, Dick Whittington, Jack & The Beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty.

Susannah Van Den Berg, who appeared in Guys and Dolls at the New Wolsey Theatre in 2011, will tread the New Wolsey boards in the part of Baruska. Other recent theatre credits include Alice in Winterland (Rose Theatre Kingston) and Sister Act (UK and International Tour).

Emma Lucia will take on the lead role of Girl, in this, her first appearance at the Ipswich venue, having recently appeared in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on a National Tour.

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Daniel Healy will appear in the role of Guy. Daniel is no stranger to this show, having previously under-studied Ronan Keating in the role of Guy, and performed the role of Eamon in the West End production!

The talented cast of actor-musicians will also include Kate Robson-Stuart as Reza (Blonde, Rada Festival and Crazy For You, UK Tour); Samuel Martin as Bank Manager (Birdsong, UK Tour); Rachel Dawson as Ex-Girlfriend (The Jungle Book, UK Tour); Peter Mooney as Emcee (The Commitments, West End & UK Tour)

James William-Pattison as Andrej (The Last Ship, UK Tour); and Caolan McCarthy as Eamon (The Plough and The Stars, National Theatre).

Three members of the New Wolsey Theatre's Youth Theatre will alternate in the role of Ivanka to complete the cast.

From Tuesday 11 September, every performance of ONCE will be available with Audio Description through a headset. On Thursday 20 September at 1.30pm, the New Wolsey Theatre will present a Dementia Friendly/Relaxed Performance of ONCE where the performance and environment will be adjusted for those who might benefit from a more relaxed atmosphere, or require additional support.

Rehearsals for the production begin on Monday 6 August, and the brand new regional tour kicks off at the New Wolsey Theatre on Thursday 6 September, with the Press Night taking place on Tuesday 11 September at 7pm. The production remains at the New Wolsey Theatre until Saturday 22 September before heading to Queen's Theatre Hornchurch from Wednesday 3 to Saturday 20 October.

ONCE is based on the 2007 film of the same name, written and directed by John Carney. Like the film, music and lyrics are by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, and include the Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly. The book for the musical is written by Enda Walsh. Performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited.

Tickets at the New Wolsey Theatre are on sale now and can be booked through the Tickets Sales Team by calling 01473 295900 or by booking online at www.wolseytheatre.co.uk

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