We’re very excited to announce the cast for our upcoming festive production of Beauty and the Beast! After two days of auditions and seeing talented performers from across the UK, we’ve selected the perfect seven individuals to bring you an Albany Christmas show that’s bigger and better than ever before!
The starring role of Bella is played by someone you might have seen before, Hannah Victoria, who’s just wrapped up her role of Anne of Cleves in the UK tour of Six! This rising star will be a phenomenal lead for our latest production where she’ll go from Henry VIII to a whole different kind of beast. Hannah has also had roles as Gloria in the UK tour of Madagascar the Musical, the Preacher in Bonnie and Clyde and Aladdin in Aladdin at the Cheltenham Playhouse.
Our Beast will be played by Alex Hargreaves, an actor and musician hailing from Derbyshire. From Austen to Shakespeare, Alex is no stranger to classic tales and can’t wait to perform at the Albany this winter. Plus when he isn’t acting, Alex performs and writes for two rock bands!
The mischievous goblin queen Rajnhildre is played by Ellen Chilvers who is delighted to be performing here this Christmas. Her previous shows include The Jolly Christmas Postman at Royal and Derngate, the UK tour of Once the Musical and The Snail and the Whale with Tall Stories.
Returning to the Albany this year is Aisha Taylor, who terrified audiences in last years Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts! We can’t wait to welcome her back, this time as Bella’s sister Nigella, and she’ll be providing plenty of comedy to the show. Her other theatre credits include To Kill a Mockingbird (Royal Exchange Theatre), and she’s graced the small screen in BBC Doctors and Nick Jr’s Abbey Hatcher.
Bella’s other sister and the second half of our comedy double act, Prunella, is played by Alice Orlik. Alice is a West Midlands native, hailing from Birmingham and she’s previously starred in All My Pretty Ones at the Birmingham Rep. Alice also tours the festival circuit and has won two Best Actress nominations for her work in short films. Alice is excited to be taking part in her first festive production this year!
Jack Andrews is also joining the cast as Wheeliam, the Beast’s odd mechanical servant. Jack has lots of experience in children’s entertainment including performing in Scooby Doo Live and the CBeebies Zingzilla Tour! He can’t wait to take Coventry audiences on a spin in Beauty and the Beast.
The final member of our seven strong cast is Dawn Butler as the courageous Warrior Queen. Dawn has a large wealth of experience and has even founded her own theatre company, Smiling Eyes, which put on their show Honest Lies at the Albany earlier this year. Dawn also does TV work and has just wrapped on an exciting project for HBO whilst previously she was a semi-regular on BBC Doctor’s for seven years.
We can’t wait to show you what this incredible cast can do in a show that promises to be more spectacular than anything you’ve seen at the Albany before, so book your tickets now and get ready for the magic…