Elf with Joel Montague, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Aled Jones – watch rehearsal performances

Step inside rehearsals of Elf the Musical!

As already announced, Joel Montague, Carrie Hope Fletcher, and Aled Jones will star as Buddy, Jovie, and Walter Hobbs, respectively, when the show plays a limited season at the Aldwych Theatre.

Adapted from the 2003 New Line Cinema film starring Will Ferrell, Elf features a book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. The story follows Buddy, a human raised as an elf at the North Pole, who travels to New York City in search of his birth father.

Also in the cast are Rosanna Hyland (Back to the Future: the Musical) as Emily Hobbs, Martyn Ellis (Wicked, The Lion King) as Santa/Mr Greenway, Lucinda Lawrence (9 to 5) as Deb and Dermot Canavan (Fiddler on the Roof) as Store Manager with Mollie Cleere, Farirayi Garaba, Sophie Pourret, Lucy Rice, Biancha Szynal, Kyle Cox, Zack Guest, Ryan Jupp, Dominic Lamb and Danny Nattrass. The cast is completed by on-stage swing Olivia Bella, with Sophie Camble, Amy Punter, Samuel John Humphreys and Michael Tyler as swings.

The role of Michael Hobbs will be played by Ayrton English, Max Garlick, Harry Georgiou and Samuel Sturge.

Watch the company in rehearsals below:

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The show previously ran at the Dominion Theatre in both 2022 and 2023, setting box office records on each occasion. It also had a recent run at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway in 2024, marking its first return to New York in over ten years and setting new weekly gross records.

The production is directed by Philip Wm McKinley, with choreography by Liam Steel, set and costume design by Tim Goodchild, lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, sound design by Gareth Owen, and video design by Ian William Galloway. Casting will be by Grindrod Burton Casting.

Montague leads the cast with “The Story of Buddy the Elf”:

@whatsonstage

Buddy’s rule: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!” And that’s exactly what Joel Montague, Aled Jones and the cast of Elf the Musical are doing in rehearsals 🎉 #ElfTheMusical #Musical #Theatre #London #CarrieHopeFletcher

♬ original sound – WhatsOnStage

A new set has been designed for the Aldwych Theatre by Goodchild to accommodate the venue’s dimensions. The production is presented by Temple Live Entertainment.

Elf The Musical runs from 28 October 2025 to 3 January 2026.