Third-year casting announced for School of Rock
Updated on 20 February 2019
'We don't need no education.' The West End production of School of Rock, which is now playing at the newly renamed Gillian Lynne Theatre, has just announced its cast for its third consecutive year.
Pictured: Stephen Leask reprises his role as rocker Dewey
Starting on 22 August 2018, Craig Gallivan (Footballers’ Wives) will be leading the cast as Finn alongside Alan Pearson as Ned Schneebly, Laura Tebbutt as Rosalie Mullins, Michelle Francis as Patty DiMarco, and Jake Sharp, who will occasionally play Dewey Finn for certain performances.
The remainder of the adult cast includes Alex Tomkins, Andy Rees, Claudia Kariuki, Hannah Stratton, James Wolstenholme, Jessica Louise Parkinson, John Addison, Martina Isibor, Nick Butcher, Richard Morse, and Rob Falconer with swings Andy Prosser, Billy Mitchell, Catherine Morris, Jessica Kirton, and Paul Kemble.
The musical includes three teams of twelve kids who make up Dewey's band and who will begin their performances on the same start date. The kids who will be starring as Dewey’s band include:
Albert Atack, Amos Mayland, and Oscar Rice in the role of Zack; Jamal Ahmed, Jasper Bew, and Nayan Gupta in the role of Freddy; Noah Gupta-Wright, Alfie Humphreys, and Tom Kochalski in the role of Lawrence.
Carys John, Amelie Leatherland, and Ellie Wilcox in the role of Katie; Jack Gale, Jakub Kopec and Jensen York in the role of Billy.
Amelie Green, Anya Hewett and Éibhleann Rose McCormack in the role of Summer; Kaylah Black, Sara Sheen and Charis Claresta Tetteh in the role of Tomika; Adam Djazel, Harley Gallacher and Stanley Voss in the role of James.
Calypso Bailey, Ellie Kit Jones and Shani Roberts in the role of Marcy; Harry Linacre Brown, Charlie Gallacher and Samuelle John-Brown in the role of Mason; Jasmine Brightmore, Lia Summer Higgs and Shaye Temple in the role of Shonelle; Zoe Coleman, Aoife Connelly and Frankie-Mae Garner in the role of Sophie.
Lloyd Webber, Julian Fellowes and Glenn Slater's This smash-hit musical by Julian Fellowes, Glenn Slater and Lloyd Webber first opened on Broadway in 2015 and then transferred to the West End a year later. It is based off the 2003 comedy film of the same name, which starred Jack Black and was a box office smash. Julian Fellowes received a Tony Award nomination for his work. According to his interpretation, School of Rock is about music as the lingua franca of the world.
When rock singer Dewey (Stephen Leask) suddenly finds himself out of work, he has no other choice but to resort to desperate measures. He poses as a supply teacher at a prestigious preparatory school to make some quick cash by committing petty identity theft. One day at school, he stumbles across his students' hidden musical talents. Soon the class curriculum is tossed out the window as he and his students form a band to compete in Battle of the Bands. Will Dewey manage to sneak the children off to the gig or will their parents, and worse, the headmaster find out?
School of Rock is directed by Laurence Connor and features set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, choreography by JoAnn M Hunter, sound design by Mick Potter, music supervision by John Rigby with Matt Smith as musical director, and lighting design by Natasha Katz.
The production recently released 350,000 additional tickets for the show and is now booking until 20 October 2019. Book your tickets now to guarantee the best seats at the Gillian Lynne Theatre when you use our interactive seating plan.
Purchase your tickets to School of Rock here.
By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels
Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.