Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist confirms West End run

Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist is heading to the West End next month.

The brand-new musical, come gig, come ballet, will play for one week only at the Lyric Theatre.

Reprising their roles from the touring production from earlier this year will be Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins) as Marie Antoinette, and Renée Lamb (SIX) as Jeanne with further casting still to be announced.

The piece tells the tale of Antoinette’s reign, blighted with gossip and scandal, and one that ultimately led to the French Revolution. It features a book by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Tasha Taylor-Johnson, and a score by Jack McManus and Taylor-Johnson, with direction and choreography by Drew McOnie. Set and costume design is by Sami Fendall, lighting design is by Joshie Harriette and sound design is by Andy Sharman. Casting is by Will Burton.

McOnie commented: “The opportunity to develop a new musical in this open and audience-led way feels thrilling. After an amazing short taster tour, we are so excited for London’s audiences to be part of the next steps in the creative journey of this truly unruly piece of theatre. We hope to see you there.”

“Audiences are the key ingredient to the success of any new musical – without their input, and ultimately their approval, it’s impossible,” added producer Paul Taylor-Mills. “Earlier this year we staged an incredible regional tour of Cake that taught us a huge amount about the show, the story we’re trying to tell, how we tell it, and indeed who it might be for.

“The creative team and I were completely energised by this process, and we’ve spent the last couple of months finessing Cake and want to take it back to our followers to show them what we’ve been up to and decide how we best take it forward. To that end, we’ve priced all our tickets for the first show at just £17.55 [mirroring the year Antoinette was born] ensuring it’s as accessible and inclusive as possible. Come share our journey! Thank you to Nica and Laurence at Nimax who have helped make this final step before we find our forever home a reality.”

Taylor-Mills also hinted that the production is also looking for its “forever home”.

Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist will run at the West End’s Lyric Theatre from 20 to 24 September 2023.

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