Stephen Frost And Suanne Braun Lead The Cast Of The World Premiere Of Sci-fi Convention Musical FANATICAL

Casting has been announced for Matt Board and Reina Hardy's Fanatical, which will receive its world premiere at The Playground Theatre this November.

Suanne Braun (Stargate, Red Dwarf, Mamma Mia, Cabaret) is joined by comedy star Stephen Frost (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Blackadder, Have I Got News For You, Mr Bean), Sophie Powles (Emmerdale, Britannia High, Holby City, Rehearsal for Murder national tour), Tim Rogers (Hal Prince's Showboat, Pirates Of Penzance - The Savoy Theatre, national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar) actress and theatre vlogger Amy Lovatt, Amber Sylvia Edwards (20th Century Boy), Eddy Payne (Two Noble Kinsmen Guildford Shakespeare Company, Baby Come Back Leicester Square Theatre), and the songwriter and actor Theo Crosby.

In a distant Galaxy - the ragtag misfit crew of cargo ship Angel 8 are under the command of fearless pilot Iris Aucht.


Meanwhile...at a conference centre, somewhere in England - a ragtag misfit collection of 1,000 fans gather from all across the UK for Eight Con One, the first ever official convention of the cult TV show Angel 8.


Angel 8 started as a comic created by reclusive British Sci-fi author Scott Furnish. Its first TV outing ended on a shocking cliffhanger. With eager anticipation at the promise of a second series, these enthusiastic devotees have come together to celebrate their beloved series and to meet Scott face-to-face and hear his keynote speech.


Fanatical tells the suspenseful, comic, and affecting tale about being true to oneself, finding love against the odds, and snatching triumph from the jaws of disaster - proving that no power in the universe can keep a story from its fans.

Matt Board is a composer, lyricist and musical book writer. He co-wrote the book, music and lyrics to Austentatious, which has played in London, New York, Philadelphia and Calgary. He was a finalist in the Search For A Twitter Composer competition and Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Award and was commissioned by Comedy Central to write Friends: The Opera for a gala performance in London. Matt's other work includes Two's A Crowd, which featured in the Perfect Pitch New Musicals Festival, music and additional lyrics for the short film The Dance To War (Catsnake Films) and music for the New York premiere of Reina Hardy's play A Map To Somewhere Else.

Reina Hardy is a playwright. Her plays have been seen across America, including The Rorschach Theatre in DC and the Vortex in Austin. She's a Michener Fellow, winner of the 2014 KCACTF TYA Prize, finalist for the Terrence McNally Prize and the recipient of an Interact 20/20 Commission.

The Stable is a Production Company, established to commission develop and present original musical theatre www.thestablemusicals.co.uk

Fanatical is part of The Playground Theatre's Autumn season which also includes the world premiere of James Purdy's The Paradise Circus (October 8 to November 3) and Mary Rodgers' and Marshall Barer's Once Upon a Mattress directed by Alex Pearson and Grace Wessels (December 18 to January 19).

The Playground Theatre's mission is to work with both established and emerging artists in the UK and internationally. The ethos is one of cross-fertilization between different forms and cultures with the aim of creating work that is bold and imaginative, while fully engaging in the rich diversity of the local community. Since the theatre opened in November 2017 productions have included Picasso by Terri D'Alfonso, The Little Prince written and performed by Martin Oelbermann, Soldier On by Jonathan Guy Lewis and Shirleymander by Gregory Evans.

Book online at http://www.theplaygroundtheatre.london