Wicked Cast Announcement | London Theatre Direct

Harriet Thorpe is to star as ‘Madame Morrible’ in the smash hit musical WICKED at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre from Monday 14 April 2008.

From early television success in the BBC’s hugely popular comedy series The Brittas Empire, where she famously played the receptionist whose children lived under the counter, to her recent highly acclaimed performance as ‘Mrs Lovett’ in the national tour of Sweeney Todd opposite Jason Donovan, Harriet Thorpe is one the UK’s most popular and successful actors. She has enjoyed a long-standing association with Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, starring with them in Girls on Top; French & Saunders (numerous appearances including the ‘Countess of Hertzegovina’ in The House of Idiot and ‘Molly Brown’ in their version of Titanic); Absolutely Fabulous, where she and Helen Lederer played Patsy’s colleagues ‘Fleur’ and ‘Catriona’ respectively; two episodes of Murder Most Horrid and, most recently, as journalist ‘Janey Evans’ in The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle. Her prolific stage career has included working with the directors Richard Eyre, David Hare, John Doyle, John Caird, Peter Gill, Howard Davies, Michael Attenborough, Rachel Kavanagh, Timothy Sheader and Rufus Norris. Her numerous film appearances include the wonderfully haughty head of the W.I. in Calendar Girls and she has just completed filming The Calling with Brenda Blethyn and S.N.U.B. with Gary Mavers.

Susie Blake will play her final performance as ‘Madame Morrible’ on Saturday 12 April 2008.

The award-winning, record-breaking hit musical has now been seen by over a million theatregoers since its London premiere in September 2006, taking over £40 million at the Box Office to date. Booking has recently been extended again and tickets are currently on sale until April 2009.

WICKED currently stars Kerry Ellis as Elphaba, Dianne Pilkington as Glinda, Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero, Susie Blake as Madame Morrible (until 12 April 2008) and Nigel Planer as The Wizard. Cast subject to change from 9 June 2008.

WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by Joe Mantello. It is based on the novel, WICKED – The Life and Times of the WICKED Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire.