Last night the international hit musical THE BODYGUARD celebrated Beverley Knight reprising the role of Oscar-nominated superstar Rachel Marron. Knight plays opposite Ben Richards as Frank Farmer, Marron's bodyguard.
VIP Guests included: Toby Anstis, Tracie Bennett, Lewis Bloor, Matt Cardle, Nadine Coyle, Kirsty Duffy, Frankie Essex, Chloe Goodman, Dr Dawn Harper, Naomi Harris, Nigel Havers, Dame Kelly Holmes, Colin Jackson, Megan Mckenna, Kai Owen, Arlene Phillips, Katie Piper, Chico Slimani, Sonique, Alex Walkinshaw and Robin Windsor.
The full cast comprises Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron), Ben Richards (The Bodyguard), Rachel John (Nicki Marron), Carole Stennett (alternate Rachel Marron), Mark Holden (Bill Devaney), Alex Andreas (Tony), Dominic Taylor (Sy Spector), Matthew Stathers (Stalker) and Glen Fox (Ray Court). Ensemble members are Omari Bernard, Faye Best, Pablo Ceresuela Torres, Lisa Darnell, Charles Hagerty, Emma Joy Hopkins, Ibinabo Jack, Christopher Jeffers, Verity Jones, Annie Kitchen, Phoebe Liberty, Elliot Powell, Raul Naranjo Garcia, Mary Lynn Tiep, Michael Wade-Peters, Kyle Wardlaw, Matthew Wesley, Emmy Willow and Mark Willshire. Keaton Edmund, Max Fincham, Jaden Oshenye and Mickell Stewart Grimes alternate the role of Fletcher, Rachel Marron's young son.
Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don't expect is to fall in love. A romantic thriller, The Bodyguard features a whole host of irresistible classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, I'm Your Baby Tonight, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and one of the greatest hit songs of all time - I Will Always Love You.
Thea Sharrock's production of THE BODYGUARD received its world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in November 2012 where it opened to critical acclaim with Heather Headley as Rachel Marron and due to public demand the show's run was extended. In 2013 Beverley Knight joined the cast and took over the lead role. The show continued to play to packed houses and released a further 300,000 tickets for sale. Alexandra Burke followed Knight as Rachel Marron in June 2014who continues to play the role in the show's UK and Ireland sell-out tour which completes its hit run in June this year.
International productions of The Bodyguard continue at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, in the Netherlands and the Musical Dome Theatre in Cologne, Germany. Both productions opened in 2015 and have been playing to packed houses and standing ovations since their first performances. Later this year productions will open in Korea and Italy and a US production will open in November.
Based on Lawrence Kasdan's 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. film, Thea Sharrock's production of The Bodyguard has book by Alex Dinelaris. With designs by Tim Hatley, lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Richard Brooker, video designs by Duncan McLean, choreography by Karen Bruce, orchestrations by Chris Egan, musical supervision by Richard Beadle and production musical supervision by Mike Dixon, The Bodyguard is produced byMichael Harrison and David Ian.
Take a look at these photos from the Gala performance of THE BODYGUARD by Dan Wooller:
Tracie Bennett
Toby Anstis
Sonique
Robin Windsor
Naomie Harris
Nadine Coyle
Matt Cardle
Lewis Bloor
Kirsty Duffy
Kelly Holmes
Katie Piper
Kai Owen
Georgiana Bronfman and Nigel Havers
Frankie Essex
Denise Lewis, Toby Anstis and Angie Greaves
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Dawn Harper
Colin Jackson
Chloe Goodman
Chico Slimani
Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron) and Naomie Harris backstage
Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron) and Ben Richards (The Bodyguard) backstage
Ben Richards (The Bodyguard) and Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron) during the curtain call
Arlene Phillips
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