Casting announced for Beyond the Fence at the Arts Theatre

Casting has been announced for Beyond the Fence, the first musical to be conceived and crafted by a computer.

Directed by Luke Sheppard, the cast includes CJ Johnson as Mary, Ako Mitchell as Meadows and Laura Jane Matthewson as Helen.

Johnson was recently seen in Little Shop of Horrors at the Royal Exchange whilst Mitchell is currently appearing in Grey Gardens at Southwark Playhouse. Matthewson's previous credits include Dogfight at Southwark Playhouse for which she won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Emerging Talent.

The cast will be completed by Christine Allado as Girlie, Rebecca Brewer as Kim, Leonie Elliott as Raven, Llio Millward as Ceridwen, Michelle Moran as Trisha, Annie Wensak as Margie, Rob Castell as Gary, Steffan Lloyd-Evans as the Reporter and Guy Mott as Sykes.

Hollie Owen and Zaiya Omamori will share the role of George.

Beyond the Fence has been created following a statistical study of the recipe for success in hit musicals. Dr James Robert Lloyd, Dr Alex Davies and Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter from Cambridge University looked at aspects of musicals from cast size to backdrop to emotional structure and several premises were generated by the What-If Machine at Goldsmiths, University of London.

The show tells the story of Mary and her daughter at Greenham Common peace camp in 1982. Committed to stopping the arrival of US cruise missiles, Mary must face the possibility of losing her child to the authorities, when US Airman Jim Meadow becomes an unlikely ally.

Beyond the Fence runs at the Arts Theatre from 26 February to 5 March.